Safe Mode ver

[Newsgroup]

To rid myself of some malware/spyware I run the various anti 'this and that'
programs in safe mode from time to time. I upgraded recently to Ad-Aware
2007 and find that I can not run this program due to my screen resolution
being very low (i.e.: the video drivers have not been loaded).

How can one run the machine in safe mode and only load the video drivers so
as to be able to get better legibility and run some of my programs that
otherwise appear too big for the screen in safe mode?

Thanks.

 

[David B.]

You don't, that is the purpose of safe mode, no drivers loaded. On a well
maintained machine there really isn't a need to perform any maintenance in
safe mode anyway.

 

[Newsgroup]

Well.... do not quite agree. If the system seems infected, then the best
SOP is to reboot into safe mode and run the virus/spyware scanners. The
problem is that the graphics are so bad that most of the buttons on the
anti-virus software 'appear' outside the monitor and one is unable to access
the same on the monitor/screen. So one can not actually use the scanners in
safe mode.

 

[David B.]

I don't quite agree with you either. I don't know where you got the safe
mode idea from, but it should only be needed in drastic cases to clean up
stubborn malware, no need to use safe mode for regular maintenance. I clean
many clients PC's and rarely do I require a safe mode boot, on occasion it's
needed, but not regularly. In fact, many times, if you scan in safe mode,
don't clean, and re scan in normal mode, the scanner will actually find more
malware than the safe mode scan, because some malware does not run in safe
mode, so the safe mode scan doesn't find it. So an argument could be made
that your method is less efficient.
Either way, there is no way your going to be able to load video drivers in
safe mode.