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From: frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Alameda/Yale (PC)
Message-ID: <0008.a9102111625.AA03009@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 10 Feb 91 13:35:47 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@LEHIIBM1>
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Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu

Michael_Kessler.Hum@mailgate.bitnet writes:
>But when asked to clean the boot sector, I received that message that the
>virus could not be removed, no boot sector was found.  Copying the files to
>a new disk and reformatting the disks solved the problem. But is there any
>explanation for finding the virus in an infected boot sector that then
>cannot be found?

The diskettes are infected, all right - the problem is just that the
original boot sector, (which is normally stored on track 39) cannot be
found.

This could be because the diskettes did not contain a valid boot
sector when they were infected - the disinfector could remove the
virus, but when it attempts to locate a valid boot sector to replace
it with, it fails.

Another possibility is that the diskettes were infected by a new
variant of the virus, (which stores the boot sector elsewhere) but
this cannot be determined as the diskettes were (unfortunately)
formatted.

- -frisk

Fridrik Skulason      University of Iceland  |
Technical Editor of the Virus Bulletin (UK)  |  Reserved for future expansion
E-Mail: frisk@rhi.hi.is    Fax: 354-1-28801  |