Hidden Valley computer virus is an unmarked quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Unmarked Quest: Hidden Valley computer virus | |||||
| Reach the bunker occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel at Hidden Valley and gain entry during Still in the Dark; speak with Scribe Ibsen in the archive room on the second level. | |||||
| Agree to help purge the computer virus from the archives; pass a 70 Science skill check to suggest an improved method for isolating the virus. | |||||
| Interact with three randomly-chosen terminals that contain the virus to isolate it; fix the nearby circuit breaker by passing a 60 Repair check to significantly reduce the amount of un-infected terminals. | |||||
| Return to Ibsen. | |||||
| Reward: Access to bunker data archives during Still in the Dark | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
When exploring the second level of the bunker at Hidden Valley occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel, in the room found by going left from the elder's chambers (it contains multiple wall-mounted terminals), one can meet Scribe Ibsen, who will express frustration over a problem with the bunker's computer systems. Asking further, he reveals that the scribes have been tangling with a computer virus created before the Great War; after surface patrols recovered a holotape during a scavenging run, they loaded it into the computer to examine the contents and the virus spread too quickly for them to stop it while it locked off their access to the data archives. One can offer to assist Ibsen in purging the virus which he accepts out of desperation and explains the plan to lock down the three copies of the virus to the terminals they appear on, however, they'll only have 50-60 seconds before the virus breaks free of containment and they have to try again.
The archives room consists of a 4x4 layout with terminals on the columns and on all four walls. To search for the virus, quickly enter each terminal and choose the only option one can. One will know they have found an un-infected terminal if the text that shows up seems like a random string of letters and numbers, whereas the three infected terminals will display a taunting message on the second screen, along with the option to isolate the virus.
The infected terminals are almost always situated in a row or close together in a group. The virus usually has one per section (such as 1 in the middle) and can include the terminal that Ibsen himself is using. If the player character does not get all 3 terminals in the 1-minute time limit, they will have to speak with Ibsen again in order to receive a new countdown.
Once all three infected terminals are locked down, return to Ibsen who confirms the elimination of the virus. Completing this quest will be required to complete the optional objective to side with Edgar Hardin during Still in the Dark as he sends the player character to investigate the archives for the means to depose Nolan McNamara as elder.
Skill checks[]
- Passing a 70 Science skill check when first speaking with Ibsen, after agreeing to help, allows for suggesting an improved method involving partitioning the terminals when the virus jumps to it, giving read only access to the kernel administrator. This isolates the virus on that terminal permanently and leaves the player character with one fewer terminal to find should they fail and have to start again.
- Another option is to repair the circuit breaker in the archives, located in a box on a wall on the western side of the room, by passing a 60 Repair check. Doing so results in the option to power down all terminals except the three infected and one un-infected; interacting with the breaker again gives the option to restore power to all terminals. Note: It may be difficult to get the 'interact' option with the breaker in some cases - see the Bugs section for more info.
Behind the scenes[]
The behavior of the virus including displaying a taunting message to users is similar to that of "Creeper" of Creeper and Reaper, a computer program created in 1971 by Bob Thomas and Ray Tomlinson as a test case for a self-replicating program that could spread to other networked computer systems, tested using the ARPANET, and which is considered the world's first computer worm. "Reaper" was later created in 1972 by Tomlinson as the world's first antivirus program specifically to erase instances of Creeper.
Bugs[]
Prior to version 1.2.0.314 (update 3): the quest can get stuck into a state whereas it is rendered impossible to complete after passing the Science check and isolating the virus on 3 consoles by partitioning over multiple runs. If the problem was originally triggered in an older version, the update will not make the quest completable, and the problem should be fixed by other means: loading an earlier savegame, using the G.E.C.K. or a mod. [verified]
- Fix: In the G.E.C.K., find the entry HVHuntingVirusScript. Open it and change the line "if VirusTimer > 0 && NumberFixed==3" (without the quotes) to "if VirusTimer > 0 && NumberFixed >= 3" (again, without the quotes). Save the file to your Fallout: New Vegas/Data folder, and load it as you would any mod/DLC from the launcher. Talk to Ibsen to start the virus count, and check one of the already partitioned terminals. Ibsen will then announce the virus is purged, and the terminals will work.
- After several tries a scenario arose where all 3 terminals had been found and isolated. This however did not cause Ibsen to react, and merely stated the Virus had jumped again a few seconds later. The next try was confusingly won after only 2 terminals had been isolated. The save exploit had not been used either. [verified]
- Although it may be a glitch, it could be considered a rapid solution to purging the virus. If one finds a computer with the virus on it, rapidly isolating it three times will result in the virus being purged. Ibsen will say the virus had gone and one will gain access to information stored in the database. [verified]
- Interacting with the circuit breaker box is only possible while being in third-person-view. The easiest way to access the interaction prompt is to stand close to the right of the breaker box, followed by turning south, and slowly moving the crosshair to the left until the prompt appears.[verified]
- Using the breaker may not force the virus to the 3 remaining terminals, effectively removing this as a solution.[verified]
