Need some computer help

[Haire Ball]

My parents computer has been swamped with virus'. I've cleaned out most all of them but the damage is too great.
How hard is it to save all the data, clear the system and reload XP.
I am pretty comfortable on a PC but I've never done this before.
Are there tutorials?
Is it costly to have someone else do it??

Thanks,
Steve

[Clint]

My parents computer has been swamped with virus'. I've cleaned out most all of them but the damage is too great.
How hard is it to save all the data, clear the system and reload XP.
I am pretty comfortable on a PC but I've never done this before.
Are there tutorials?
Is it costly to have someone else do it??

Thanks,
Steve

If you were on the west slope, I would hook ya up. IF you have a burner or a flash drive, just copy the data off, then boot from your XP or recovery CD, and off you go.

[Jake_Blues]

How much data do you have? I have a 1 or 2 gig thumb drive laying around somewhere. Reloading Windows XP is actually pretty easy, but realize that you can't save all your installed applications. That is really the hard part of rebuilding a computer, you have to reinstall all your applications after the rebuild.

-E

[Haire Ball]

... realize that you can't save all your installed applications. That is really the hard part of rebuilding a computer, you have to reinstall all your applications after the rebuild.


I really only need the basic office applications, explorer, and of course XP.

I have a whole stack of CD's ready to be filled with data.


SO(!), is there an application that will automatically save documents, photos, etc. or do I have to save all the files manually?

Then I just put in the XP disc and start up the computer???

(I used PCs for years but now I'm on a mac (and love it) so I can't "dig around" to see what to do. I'm just trying to get a feeler to see if it's even worth my time to try and figure it out. Looks like it will be.

[Jake_Blues]

SO(!), is there an application that will automatically save documents, photos, etc. or do I have to save all the files manually?


There is, but you stand a chance of "migrating" the viruses along with it. Best bet is to burn the files to CD, virus scan the CD, rebuild the PC, and then reload the files from CD.


Then I just put in the XP disc and start up the computer???


Yup. It'll ask if you want to reformat the drive, say yes, and it'll chug through and rebuild it. Make sure you have the CD key (often on a tag on the computer if it was an OEM like Dell).

But get all your data off first, and double check you've got everything. Then pop in the XP CD, reboot, and it'll take over.

-E

[mrutledge]

I can't help with the fix, but I can help prevent it next time.

Tell your parents that only happens when you surf pr0n. In order to fix it properly, you're going to need to know the names of all the sites they looked at.

Done.
-matt

[jeeplvr79]

Download and install Avast (http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html) (its FREE for home users)... when you restart the system it will do a full scan on the computer and clean up everything...

I've use this on my own computer and recently used to get a couple worms & viruses off my friend computer (darn porn sites). IT WORKS!

[Jake_Blues]

I usually rebuild my PCs about once a year or so, even when they don't have viruses or other issues. Tends to clean out all the crap and they run a bit faster. My gaming machine, especially.

-E

[Jeff Mason]

I believe you can also use the file and settings transfer wizard to create a pretty complete backup of data files. aftermarket programs usually need to be reinstalled one-by-one after you reload XP

Start >AllPrograms>Accessories>SystemTools> look for the wizard.

You should probably read up on it - it has been a while since I used it.

Last time I had to 'repair' my desktop it was beyond fixing - A bunch of system files got wiped out. I was able to grab a 500Mb external drive for $120. I considered that cheap insurance. Then I just went through folder by folder and moved the important stuff to the external drive. I also went through my downloads file and program files and made a list of all the 3rd-party software that I had installed so I would know what I wanted to reinstall afterwards.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/crawford_november12.mspx

Worked pretty seamlessly, but took a few good hours of work to complete.

[Jake_Blues]

I believe you can also use the file and settings transfer wizard to create a pretty complete backup of data files. aftermarket programs usually need to be reinstalled one-by-one after you reload XP

Start >AllPrograms>Accessories>SystemTools> look for the wizard.


Yea, I'm just thinking this is a good way to export all those viruses to the new computer :)

-E