Issues after infection cleanup...

[Steven Sinclair]

Well, I was working on a buddy's computer, cleaned up a whole lot of trojans
and viruses and worms (oh, my), but now the PC is having some interesting
problems.

- unable to access the taskbar/system tray area; it is "hidden"
- unable to utilize most control panel features; they start to load, then
freeze
- unable to choose a theme; they've all disappeared
- the processes view within task manager shows no users for any processes
- adapter shows in device manager, but no connections in network connections

Needless to say, there are many, many other issues. In the end, I've nuked
all the bad stuff, but apparently some necessary stuff as well.

Is there an easy way to correct these issues?

Thanx.

 

[Gerry]

Steven

Try a Repair Install. Take care to back up important data files first.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Alias ;-)]

Well, I was working on a buddy's computer, cleaned up a whole lot of trojans
and viruses and worms (oh, my), but now the PC is having some interesting
problems.

- unable to access the taskbar/system tray area; it is "hidden"
- unable to utilize most control panel features; they start to load, then
freeze
- unable to choose a theme; they've all disappeared
- the processes view within task manager shows no users for any processes
- adapter shows in device manager, but no connections in network connections

Needless to say, there are many, many other issues. In the end, I've nuked
all the bad stuff, but apparently some necessary stuff as well.

Is there an easy way to correct these issues?

Thanx.

At this point, I would back up my data and reinstall Windows.

Alias

 

[Thee Chicago Wolf]

Well, I was working on a buddy's computer, cleaned up a whole lot of trojans

and viruses and worms (oh, my), but now the PC is having some interesting
problems.

- unable to access the taskbar/system tray area; it is "hidden"
- unable to utilize most control panel features; they start to load, then
freeze
- unable to choose a theme; they've all disappeared
- the processes view within task manager shows no users for any processes
- adapter shows in device manager, but no connections in network connections

Needless to say, there are many, many other issues. In the end, I've nuked
all the bad stuff, but apparently some necessary stuff as well.

Is there an easy way to correct these issues?

Wow, you'll likely need to re-install if it is that bad. I'm sure this
could be fixed but it would require WAY more time than it's worth. If
you have an XP install CD, might I recommend using NLite to create an
XP SP3 Slipstreamed CD to make this task less painless.

- Thee Chicago Wolf

 

[Steven Sinclair]

Well, after reading your replies (especially the link within Gerry's reply),
I've decided it is simply to much work to "attempt" to fix the issues. I'm
going ahead with a new drive, a clean install of XP, reinstalling all the
programs, and moving all the data back. Yes, it's a pain, but at least I know
there'll be no further issues.

Not to mention the further education I'll be giving my buddy on the
importance of keeping up with his antivirus subscriptions.

8^)>

Thanx.

 

[Daave]

Well, after reading your replies (especially the link within Gerry's
reply), I've decided it is simply to much work to "attempt" to fix
the issues. I'm going ahead with a new drive, a clean install of XP,
reinstalling all the programs, and moving all the data back. Yes,
it's a pain, but at least I know there'll be no further issues.

Actually, you don't know this. It's quite possible your buddy will
repeat the same behavior.

Not to mention the further education I'll be giving my buddy on the
importance of keeping up with his antivirus subscriptions.

That's a step in the right direction. However, there is a lot more to
practicing "safe hex." Make sure your buddy looks at these links kindly
provided by Bruce Chambers:


Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/default.asp

Home Computer Security
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/

List of Antivirus Software Vendors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;49500

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/

Scumware.com
http://www.scumware.com/