RamDoubler virus?

[MikeatOSX]

[SIZE=12pt]I'm using Macs since 1992 (SE/30) but never got this strange alert when copying a RamDoubler 9 image from different CF cards to a harddisk or inserting the original RamDoubler Disk  2:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"A disk has been remove that is currently in use. Please put it back!!! Failure to do so may result in loss of data on that disk" (look at the spelling mistake "remove").[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Then I'm forced to restart. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Since last night I get this alert only on 2 PowerBook 540c (I own 3), not on other PowerBooks (I own about 30 of them). So the source CF cards and disk are ok.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]I did this many many times before without alerts. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]This does only happen with RamDoubler, not with other files[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]From time to time I check my files with an anti-virus app and it didn't find some. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Am I crazy or is this a virus or some sort of copy protection?[/SIZE]

 

 

[LaPorta]

Looks highly suspicious to me, very old-school! The disk itself appears suspect: why is the tape over the hole there?

 

[jessenator]

why is the tape over the hole there?

write protect switch fell/broke off?

 

[LaPorta]

Perhaps, but usually disks such as those come without a tab at all, so my point is someone may have added it to write to the disk, thus inviting the possibility of a malicious program.

 

[olePigeon]

Scan the disk with SAM or something.

 

[MikeatOSX]

It first appeared several times with RamDoubler 9.img when be copied it from CF-Card to HD. The RD 2 disk is ok, I had to put a tape on it, because it always opened, when I put in a slightly bent floppy and I needed it closed for a 2.0.2 RD update. 

 

[MikeatOSX]

I made a Scan with Disinfectant and Techtool Pro 3: no viruses found. 

 

[Cory5412]

If you have vtools, I think we've got the newest possible Classic Mac OS virus scanning tools in the public share, or perhaps I put it on SW under utilities or file tools, I'd recommend using those. The two that are most commonly cited, if I remember correctly, are virex and I think Disinfectant.

These are available online somewhere else, I just happen to have forgotten where I got them. (probably macgarden/repo TBH)

 

[MikeatOSX]

I should tell you that these 2 PB 540c are equipped with a SCSI2SD HD, the one without failure is equipped with a SCSI2CF HD.

I copied a complete System 8.1 volume from this one SCSI2CF PB 540c to a CF card in a CF2PMCIA adapter and from this CF card to both SCSI2SD PB 540c without errors. After that I started these 2 PowerBooks and the finder told me in an alert, that RamDoubler did not load because it's not installed correctly. 

This alert is always normal. 

So I removed RD 9 successfully and then I wanted to reinstall it, as I always do. 

This was the moment, the failure occured on both PowerBooks. The system hanged and RD 9 was not installed. 

I restarted and tried to install RD 2 instead from floppy disk. The failure occured again and again. 

I hope you understand the process I did. 

In my mind there is always the spelling mistake in my first post: "remove" instead of "removed", as this doesn't seem to be an Apple warning. 

 

[MikeatOSX]

The two that are most commonly cited, if I remember correctly, are virex and I think Disinfectant.

Thank you. I have a big file archive because of 28 years of collecting Mac software and yes I have both. 

In addition I have a big collection of Mac viruses (protected!) which I didn't touch for 20 years.  :sadmac:

 

[MikeatOSX]

the one without failure is equipped with a SCSI2CF HD.

This PB 540c got the error too.  :disapprove:

But with other files too.  :disapprove:

One of two SCSI2SD PB could be repaired by DiskWarrior, all 3 partions are ok now. 

It can even boot from PCMCIA card in card cage. 

But the one SCSI2CF PowerBook can't be repaired so far, but booting from different volumes is available again, so I'll hopefully be able to repair it. 

I think the problem is not a virus...

Maybe the destination where to I wanted to install RamDoubler several times was faulty? As I copied the content of one 8.1 volume to 2 other PB 540c, I copied a faulty content?

 

[MikeatOSX]

It's no Virus !

I found the solution, it's LaCie Silverlining 5.8.2 together with SCSI2CF and SCSI2SD.

With Resorcerer I found the string of the warning (first post) in Silverlining 5.8.2 which I used to format the "drives". 

The reason was, that Silverlining drivers allow booting of different volumes of one SCSI address. 

About the spelling mistake "remove" instead of "removed":

LaCie is a french company, now owned  by Seagate. 

I also found old warnings, not to use version 5.8.1 and 5.8.2. 

So I installed the driver of Silverlining 6.3 now and the problems are gone (until now...)  )

Why Ram Doubler virus:

It was my first work to renew the install of RamDoubler after I had copied the contents of several volumes to the volumes of several PB 540c. 

In my opinion, the failure has something in common with the sleep mode of the PowerBooks which is published in other posts here. I got some short alerts of "sleeping" SCSI too, but no crashes. 

The app "nodisksleep" didn't help for me: I got crashes.  

 

[Juror22]

Thank you. I have a big file archive because of 28 years of collecting Mac software and yes I have both. 

In addition I have a big collection of Mac viruses (protected!) which I didn't touch for 20 years.  :sadmac:

I have one virus laden floppy that I have kept for decades ...not exactly sure why...

 

[MikeatOSX]

There were so many viruses 20 to 30 years ago. 

 

[CC_333]

There were so many viruses 20 to 30 years ago. 

Indeed.

Back in 2004 or so, I remember having the hardest time ever with my PC, which was a modest (even by 2004 standards) 1.7 GHz Willamette-based Celeron with 96 MB of RAM (128 MB total RAM- 32 MB for the IGP).  Basically, it was some totally weird virus that prevented me from connecting to anything, disabled logon/logoff, and wouldn't let me restart or shutdown.  What was so weird is that Windows would go through the motions (I could dial in, and all indications were that it worked, I could shut down and the "Shutting down..." message appeared onscreen), but nothing worked!  I wiped and installed Windows 2000 (which, at the time, was *much* more stable than XP), and I never had that problem again.  There was the Sasser worm though, which affected 2000 and XP equally and kept crashing the lsass.exe, causing forced reboots, which was extremely annoying;  this actually caused me to use mostly Windows 98 for a few years until XP was updated enough to be stable (one could actually reasonably use 98 without any rigamarole back then.  i miss those times!).

c

 

[MikeatOSX]

omg.

I never owned a PC myself (only Apple since 1992) but had some in my company and friends often asked me to help. 

I don't forget a policeman who asked me to "repair" his PC because he got the "police trojan". So funny!

BTW: I didn't try much and formatted the drive.