A CD that can crash a computer when inserted?


Recommended Posts

I have a motherboard specific disk and when I inserted it into another computer as soon as it autorun it ejected and the computer locked on a black screen.

Is this possible? I can hold shift [to stop it auto-running] and can install programs and they'll work, but when it auto-runs it crashes [i'll have to try it on another computer now]. Can you build something into a program so it can crash an entire computer if it isn't run on the correct motherboard???

This just seems wrong because it SHOULDN'T be allowed for companies [Norton] to make disks that can crash your computer and if it's not deliberate then what the hell is going on?????

-mortensenj

There could actually be a number of differing reasons. 2 of which spring to mind

1) Missing .dll or other such file the autorun proggy is expecting?

2) The inability of the CD-ROM to complete the execution of the autorun proggy for whatever reason. (Dirty/scratched CD that the CD-ROM is unable to error correct)

I actually caused a similar senario with my on PC when creating VCD's with WinOnCD. When these rouge discs were inserted into my reader the auto execution of VCD_Play.exe caused my PC to lock solid. Very strange it was. Hope this helps.

If it is a "motherboard specific disk", then its quite possible the Autorun EXE is a program writen to check the MoBo and if it is incorrect cause the PC to freeze.

-

But I've never heard of that before, but it can be dun. And the fact that is freezes on a black screen seems to signify to me that a program as been executed, and is either purposly causing that crash or genuinely is incompatible with your system (software) configuration (missing or corupted system files).

Anyways hope that gives you some ideas?

-

Open up the Autorun.inf file in the Root of the CD, and check what program/command_line is being run.

-

-

Futile

I think it's amazing that it can crash a computer just like that though. Well, at least the CD was useful...

On the CD was Virtual Drive, Norton AnitVirus and royalty free clipart which is where I got my sig picture from. :) At least the programs install on other computers... LMAO.

PS - This is the first time I've had an anti-virus program installed in AGES. I intend to scan files I download in future. 3mb was the size of the update.... wow, that's a lot of new viruses.

-mortensenj

  Quote
Originally posted by me101  

Have you never heard of the CD Rom Drive Open/close music generator, uses the ability to remotely open and close your Cd drive to the tune of a variety of songs... :)

I want it!!!! Please tell me where to find it!

-mortensenj

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • This site is just old men ranting at clouds. Neowin knows its audience.
    • That's nice and all. but I generally just stick with Lutris paired with 'ge-proton' (which gets updated fairly often (June 1st was last update) as the 'ge-proton' entry in Lutris uses stuff here... https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases ) and the like to play my games. p.s. if a person wants to stick with a specific version from that link you can download a specific version and extract it to "~/.local/share/lutris/runners/proton/". then select it in Lutris options on game shortcut is the basic idea. because by default the standard 'ge-proton' entry will automatically get updated which can occasionally cause issues even though it's usually fine. but manually setting it on a specific version will prevent the standard updates on 'ge-proton' from messing with it on a particular game you may have issues with if that gets updated etc. one good example of the 'ge-proton' updates messing with a game in particular is the offline version of RDR2 1491.50 as I setup a specific version there and after removing the 'vulkan-1 (native)' entry in 'Wine configuration' on 'RDR2.exe' entry (if you don't remove this the game won't start up) is when the 'ge-proton' updates, it will restore that 'vulkan-1 (native)' entry and prevent the game from working. you can always remove the entry on the RDR2.exe in Wine configuration specifically after updates, but doing that everytime that updates will get old quickly. hence, keeping it on a specific GE Proton version stops me from having to mess with it as then you just adjust it once and you are done with it. also, when using 'bat' files to start a game (like Hitman: WoA for example using Peacock etc) I had some issues with GE Proton after '9-27', so I got the game locked to '9-27' (April 1st) instead of the newer ones (10-1 etc).
    • Sam Altman says AI could soon help with discovering new knowledge by Hamid Ganji OpenAI is currently at the forefront of developing powerful AI models, while its ChatGPT product is rewriting our traditional way of looking for new information. The company's CEO, Sam Altman, now says AI could even help humans discover new knowledge. He also described AI agents as junior employees. Speaking at the Snowflake Summit 2025, Altman boasted that AI agents can act like junior employees, saying, "You hear people that talk about their job now is to assign work to a bunch of agents, look at the quality, figure out how it fits together, give feedback, and it sounds a lot like how they work with a team of still relatively junior employees." OpenAI CEO also added AI agents could help humans discover new knowledge in "limited cases" or "figure out solutions to business problems that are kind of very non-trivial." While the use of AI for scientific discovery is still viewed with skepticism, the technology has proven its capabilities for new discoveries in several cases. For example, the Microsoft Discovery platform, designed for accelerating scientific research and development by AI agents, was recently able to discover a new chemical for cooling data centers in just 200 hours, a process that normally takes years to research and complete by humans. AI firms are also shifting their focus toward developing AI agents capable of performing various tasks. OpenAI recently unveiled Codex, which contains AI agents for helping programmers write and debug code. According to Altman, OpenAI engineers are already using Codex. As AI agents become more intelligent, more employees should be concerned about losing their jobs. Companies have already started replacing some specific roles with AI. For example, Duolingo has replaced its contract workers with AI, while Shopify managers need to provide reasons why AI cannot handle a job before seeking approval for new hires. Via: Business Insider
    • I personally don't think there will be many survivors past the ESU date, but I can be wrong🙂 >Firefox still supports Windows 7 (until the end of August), which will be just over 16 years since release. Well, yes, but it's an ESR version, which kind of doesn't count as fresh for me. So the last mainline version of Firefox with W7 support was 115, which was released in 2023, exactly around the W7 ESU expiration.
    • Hey, sounds like it’s definitely time for an upgrade. The R7000 had an excellent run! If you want lots of wired ports and future-proofing, the Asus RT-BE88U is a killer choice. It’s got 2x 10GbE, 4x 2.5GbE, and handles WiFi 7 like a champ. Super fast, stable, and the ASUS firmware is solid with loads of features. The TP-Link BE900 is also great, sleek design, strong performance, and a combo 10G port (RJ45/SFP+), but it has fewer wired ports than the Asus. Netgear RS700S is powerful too, but the firmware isn’t as flexible and only has one 10G port. It might feel familiar from your R7000. If wired ports are a big deal, maybe adding a 2.5G or 10G switch later gives you more options. My vote is RT-BE88U all the way.
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      nothin earned a badge
      First Post
    • Enthusiast
      Epaminombas went up a rank
      Enthusiast
    • Posting Machine
      Fiza Ali earned a badge
      Posting Machine
    • One Year In
      WaynesWorld earned a badge
      One Year In
    • First Post
      chriskinney317 earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      186
    2. 2
      snowy owl
      130
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      130
    4. 4
      Xenon
      120
    5. 5
      +FloatingFatMan
      96
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!