forum recommendation

I would like to suggest that the read this first post be condensed so that people who are seeking help can do so easily and efficiently. Second it would be nice if moderators didn't close topics with rhetorical questions which are borderline snide. Speaking for myself I know I was not getting assistance at the other forum so I came here... If I received help at one I would update The other and vice versa so I disagree with the rule, this isn't double posting in the same forum or is it? The training and layout seem to be the same.

You're entitled to your opinion. We don't happen to agree with it.

As for your problem, well to be honest, the chances of you contacting a firmware infection, are about the same as you winning the lottery. So whilst it's not impossible, it's highly, highly unlikely that you have.

But whether you have, or have not contracted one, if you have already, as you say, re-formatted your hard drive, and re-installed Windows, and that has not resolved your problem, then I'm afraid it is beyond the scope of an online forum to resolve your issues, and you need to seek hands on help with your machine. The types of test and analysis we can do, working online, is limited, and I do not believe we would be able to help you adequately in any kind of reasonable time frame.