Windows Vista problems after Trojan

[crazy_crouton]

I usually have my computer on almost 24/7, making use of the hard disk sleep,
but recently I was leaving for a few days, and shut my computer down
completely. Next time I tried to start it up, it started loading, then would
freeze on a blank screen. I was able to get it started in safe mode, only to
discover that I had what seemed to be a very malicious trojan on my computer,
and the only way I was able to start the computer normally again was to
rewrite the master boot sector on my main hard drive, then run the repair off
my Vista disk. Once I did that I was able to scan my computer, and heal the
infected files of the trojan, but now I can't restart my computer without
having to rewrite the boot sector and running the repair off the disk without
it freezing up on the black screen. Also, when I open the start menu, the
normal shut down/restart option don't appear, and I have to log off the only
account on the computer before I can tell it to restart or shut down, and I
can't seem to fix that. Does anyone know anything I can do?

 

[Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM]

I usually have my computer on almost 24/7, making use of the hard disk
sleep,
but recently I was leaving for a few days, and shut my computer down
completely. Next time I tried to start it up, it started loading, then
would
freeze on a blank screen. I was able to get it started in safe mode, only
to
discover that I had what seemed to be a very malicious trojan on my
computer,
and the only way I was able to start the computer normally again was to
rewrite the master boot sector on my main hard drive, then run the repair
off
my Vista disk. Once I did that I was able to scan my computer, and heal
the
infected files of the trojan, but now I can't restart my computer without
having to rewrite the boot sector and running the repair off the disk
without
it freezing up on the black screen. Also, when I open the start menu, the
normal shut down/restart option don't appear, and I have to log off the
only
account on the computer before I can tell it to restart or shut down, and
I
can't seem to fix that. Does anyone know anything I can do?

Do a thorough check for malware, following all of the steps at one of these
Web pages.
Help with malware:
All MS-MVP Sites.
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/darnit.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
For quite a few people it's by installing programs like Messenger Plus,
whose ads for malware don't identify the malware as such and try to convince
you that you owe it to the author. See also:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971
Don't ever do a "default" install of anything. Always choose Custom and see
what else is being carried along. Don't install any extras you're not sure
of.