Troubleshooting a Mysterious Glitch: The Case of the Misbehaving Computer

Navigating technology can often lead us down a frustrating path, and today, I want to share a particularly perplexing situation I encountered with my computer. It all began yesterday when my computer started exhibiting erratic behavior, continuously copy-pasting random content without any input from me. This peculiar glitch rendered my machine practically unusable, so I decided to seek assistance.

Initial Attempts to Solve the Issue

At first, I attempted the standard troubleshooting steps. I restarted my computer multiple times, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like the problem had resolved itself. However, within minutes, the copying frenzy would return. I even reset my computer and removed the driver associated with my keyboard, but to no avail. Interestingly, I also tried using a different keyboard, which ruled out the possibility of hardware failure on that front.

A Suspicious USB Drive

The plot thickened when I recalled downloading a program called Radiant Viewer – a medical viewer for DICOM files – which I had used to access files provided to me by my professor via USB. Almost immediately, my desktop started to glitch. To make matters worse, I noticed that my laptop, where I had downloaded the same files, began to display identical issues.

In an effort to demonstrate the anomalies, I recorded several videos showcasing the problem and shared them online. Visual representation can often be the key to garnering further insight and support from others in similar situations.

Discovering the Root Cause

After a session of experimenting, I discovered that the USB drive was likely the culprit. I formatted my disk and performed a full reset on my system, which yielded a brief period of normality. But as soon as I inserted that USB drive again, chaos returned. I even attempted a factory reset, which initially seemed effective but ultimately failed after about an hour.

In search of deeper solutions, I explored various malware detection programs and antivirus software recommended by friends, yet none managed to identify any threats. It became increasingly clear that a clean installation of Windows might be the definitive answer.

An Unexpected Twist

Just when I thought I had my situation figured out, I reached for an old laptop to continue my work only to find that it started exhibiting the same annoying glitch. I had not connected the problematic USB to this device, which left me bewildered. The only peripherals attached were a keyboard, mouse, and my OneDrive cloud storage.

After some trial