Viruses etc

[Dazza]

Hi there,

A friend of mine has given me their computer to fix. It
is riddled with viruses and files that cannot be deleted.
Ideally I would like to be able to format my hard drive
and re-install a fresh version of Pro but I don't know
how to do this.

For second best I'd settle for knowing how to get rid of
*.dll files from the Program Files directory. There are
files that appear to be related to Internet Explorer and
all they contain are dll files. I cannot delete them
because the are in use but I don't know how they are in
use.

Please help!!
Cheers,
D

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Boot the WinXP CD, start a new installation, you can format as part of this
procedure.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[DO]

First, does your friend have the original system disks
for this or will she have to buy a new operating system?
Although there are a lot of files that look like they
don't do anything, you didn't state what operating system
she had. Sounds like she is asking a lot from you as a
friend. It may be a better solution to take it to a
computer store and get it upgraded, rather than just
trying to "fix" it. There are many, many options, but
just deleting files that end in .dll is not a good one.
Sounds like you aren't quite sure yourself what to do, so
why not take your friend and the PC to a shop? They will
have options and utilities that can determine what the
problem is, or if is too complicated, back up her
important data, wipe and recreate a better system than
she had before. Then it is recommended to run virus
scans on all her back up data before returning to her
hard drive. Best not to go mucking about when you are
not sure, or she may end up having to buy a new system
and blaming you for crashing hers.

 

[Jim Macklin]

The OP doesn't have any clue as to what a dll file is or
does, he "knows" the computer is "riddled with viruses and
files that cannot be deleted" and has heard the word format
once or twice.

Before doing the whole clean install, which might be
necessary, he should first download and run the McAfee/NAI
Stinger program
http://download.nai.com/products/mcafee-avert/stinger.exe
which will detect and remove many of the common and new
viruses. He should update and run a quality anti-virus
program and follow the instructions required to remove
viruses from the System Restore folder.

If he has to do a clean install he needs to know about the
web sites with information of those operations, such a...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316941

http://www.aumha.org/index.php

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xpr.htm

and many others.


| Hi,
|
| Boot the WinXP CD, start a new installation, you can
format as part of this
| procedure.
|
| --
| Best of Luck,
|
| Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
| Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!
|
| Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
|
|
|
message
| | > Hi there,
| >
| > A friend of mine has given me their computer to fix. It
| > is riddled with viruses and files that cannot be
deleted.
| > Ideally I would like to be able to format my hard drive
| > and re-install a fresh version of Pro but I don't know
| > how to do this.
| >
| > For second best I'd settle for knowing how to get rid of
| > *.dll files from the Program Files directory. There are
| > files that appear to be related to Internet Explorer and
| > all they contain are dll files. I cannot delete them
| > because the are in use but I don't know how they are in
| > use.
| >
| > Please help!!
| > Cheers,
| > D
|
|

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Jim,

Agreed, but unless the OP comes back with some specifics about the viruses
and is asking for help in removing them, I'm not going to guess at which
ones he is dealing with. He wanted format instructions, so I gave 'em to
him. As you said, his knowledge of what .dll files are is probably limited
based on that statement, so it'd be hard to guess at what's really wrong.
His "second best" answer really would not be much good at all.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Jim Macklin]

It is true he seems to be ignorant, but he might be able to
learn. I thought a little direction might be useful,
particularly to the lurkers.


| Hi Jim,
|
| Agreed, but unless the OP comes back with some specifics
about the viruses
| and is asking for help in removing them, I'm not going to
guess at which
| ones he is dealing with. He wanted format instructions, so
I gave 'em to
| him. As you said, his knowledge of what .dll files are is
probably limited
| based on that statement, so it'd be hard to guess at
what's really wrong.
| His "second best" answer really would not be much good at
all.
|
| --
| Best of Luck,
|
| Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
| Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!
|
| Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
|
|
|
in message
| | > The OP doesn't have any clue as to what a dll file is or
| > does, he "knows" the computer is "riddled with viruses
and
| > files that cannot be deleted" and has heard the word
format
| > once or twice.
| >
| > Before doing the whole clean install, which might be
| > necessary, he should first download and run the
McAfee/NAI
| > Stinger program
| >
http://download.nai.com/products/mcafee-avert/stinger.exe
| > which will detect and remove many of the common and new
| > viruses. He should update and run a quality anti-virus
| > program and follow the instructions required to remove
| > viruses from the System Restore folder.
| >
| > If he has to do a clean install he needs to know about
the
| > web sites with information of those operations, such
a...
| >
| >
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316941
| >
| > http://www.aumha.org/index.php
| >
| > http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xpr.htm
| >
| > and many others.
| >
| >
| > | > | Hi,
| > |
| > | Boot the WinXP CD, start a new installation, you can
| > format as part of this
| > | procedure.
| > |
| > | --
| > | Best of Luck,
| > |
| > | Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
| > | Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!
| > |
| > | Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
| > |
| > |
| > |
| > message
| > | | > | > Hi there,
| > | >
| > | > A friend of mine has given me their computer to fix.
It
| > | > is riddled with viruses and files that cannot be
| > deleted.
| > | > Ideally I would like to be able to format my hard
drive
| > | > and re-install a fresh version of Pro but I don't
know
| > | > how to do this.
| > | >
| > | > For second best I'd settle for knowing how to get
rid of
| > | > *.dll files from the Program Files directory. There
are
| > | > files that appear to be related to Internet Explorer
and
| > | > all they contain are dll files. I cannot delete them
| > | > because the are in use but I don't know how they are
in
| > | > use.
| > | >
| > | > Please help!!
| > | > Cheers,
| > | > D
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|