Help - I think I have a virus...On my mac!!!

[heffer]

I've been under the impression that it's nearly impossible to get a virus on a mac, but I think it's happened to me. I don't have any anti-virus software, let me explain what my problems are.

First, I can't "drag or drop" any of the icons on my desktop. I can't move anything around in my applications folder, or any other folder for that matter. I also can't "drag" a photo from iPhoto to my desktop. I can open files, but I can't move them anywhere.

Second, my Dock is non-existent. If I move my mouse down to the bottom of my screen (where my dock used to be), nothing comes up. Even if I open an application from my applications folder, the app doesn't bounce from the dock as it opens.

Third, If i click the apple logo in the top left of my screen, I can't click access certain functions. About this mac, Force Quit, Restart, and Shutdown are all in-operable. I can still put the computer to sleep from here, and I can still access my system preferences.

One thing I noticed before all of this started happening, is that the Finder logo was present in the bottom left hand corner of my screen, even if my dock was currently hidden. I figured I'd restart my computer, and when it booted back up, all of this started happening.

My question to you is: Is there anything I can do to fix this? And would there be anyway to backup my data? I'm mainly concerned about my Music and my Photos. I can't drag anything so I don't think i'd be able to save anything to my 8gb flash drive.

Thankyou.

 

[Collin Bl]

First welcome to the Forum. More likely to be unintentional corruption. Second give a bit more info - makes it simpler to proffer suggestions - What OS? what Hardware? and for the last question - Yes.

 

[heffer]

I'm really not sure what OS I have, I'm gonna take a rough guess and say 10.4.1, but again, I'm really not sure. It's an iMac G5, Power PC. Hope that helps.

 

[hughvane]

Go to the blue apple (if visible) in the top left corner of the screen, click, and go to About this Mac. That will tell you - and us - what the OS is.

Next - do you have the Install disk that came with your Mac? It may be either grey or black colored. If you have the disk, boot from it by restarting your Mac and holding down the C key.

If your Mac starts from the disk, go to Disk Utility in the menu bar. Click the First Aid button, and then the Verify Disk Permissions one, followed by Repair Permissions.

Then, click Verify Disk. If some disk faults are found the Repair Disk button will become obvious. Click that.

Report back on any progress made.

 

[chas_m]

And just for the record -- no, you don't have a virus.

 

[heffer]

I mentioned in a previous post that I can't click "about this mac", so therefore I am unable to retrieve my serial number, or my current OS version.

I also don't have any of the OSX discs that came with my computer. Between multiple moves and lack of organization, I have no idea where they could be.

Could Apple send me one of those discs, for free? Or could I acquire one at an Apple Store? I'm not in too big a rush, but the quicker I could fix all of this, the better.

Thanks for the help so far, that Repair disc solution seems like it might fix whatever is going on. I remember doing that some years ago on my old iBook G3.

 

[chas_m]

Could Apple send me one of those discs, for free?

Very unlikely. They might be able to send you a set of replacement discs like those that came with your computer originally, but will charge you a modest shipping/handling fee.

Do you have access to another Mac? I mean, you're communicating with us so you at least have access to some other computer ... is it a Mac?

If it is, I would connect the ailing machine to the other Mac by means of a Firewire cable, restart the ailing Mac holding down the T key and enter Firewire Target Disk Mode. The ailing Mac's hard drive should then appear on your other Mac. Copy your Home folder if you have the space (you can put it on an external HD, that's fine). That's where all "your stuff" is (music, photos, movies etc). That's the key thing to make a backup of before anything else.

Then, you can try running Disk Utility from the "good mac" on the ailing Mac's hard drive. This may not work but its worth a try.

 

[hughvane]

Okay, the blue apple suggestion was in hope. It appears that you have no menu bar at the top of the desktop (d/t), so this will take a bit of searching.

From d/t, press Cmd-F. If you get a Finder pane, type Preferences in the search field, and press Return. Hopefully the result will show User > Home > Library > Preference folder. If so, open that folder and look for com.apple.finder.plist. Move it to the Trash but do not delete it (yet).

Reboot your Mac. Another Finder preference file should be created. See if that returns your Mac to its more 'normal' state. If not, you will need to return the finder file from Trash to its correct folder.

If Chas' suggestion about Target Mode doesn't work for you, another repair option is Disk Warrior. It's very good, but it's expensive @ ~US$100. Perhaps an Apple repair technician may have it to use on your machine, which could be a cheaper alternative.

 

[heffer]

I still have a menu bar, I just can't click on certain options under my blue apple button.

If I go along with that com.apple.finder.plist, (and move it to the trash), If it doesn't work, I will be unable to move it back from the trash because I can't drag anything. I would be able to move it to the trash though, because I can still click on items and FILE move to trash.

 

[hughvane]

Okay, leave the Finder prefs in the Prefs folder meantime.

If you can get access to Disk Utility on your Mac, try Verify Permissions and Repair Permissions from it. You can also Verify Disk, but you cannot Repair, unfortunately.

 

[Collin Bl]

Can u get into Safari and download this and install it?