Windows works, but with errors due to viruses!

[Guest]

I was asked to look at my sister-in-laws computer... I found 581 viruses!
They distroyed the User Accounts Area, Windows Firewall & Security Center are
gone, Internet Explorer is gone, Windows Installer doesn't work... and the
list goes on.
I saw that Best Buy sells a Windows Upgrade SP2... they currnetly have SP1
on the computer. If I install the upgrade, will it do a clean intall on the
computer and fix my problems? Or do I need to buy the full version of
Windows?

THey have a Dell, and Dell puts OEM's on the computers, their is no Windows
Disk with the system... so I can't reinstall it. I would call Dell, but they
bought it about 5 years ago & they can't find the paperwork on it.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

With that much damage, you want a clean install. Too bad they can't find the
install CDs that came with the computer. (Five years ago Dell included a
full set of install CDs.) Now they'll have to pay for a new copy of Windows
and all the other software (e.g. Office, Easy Media Creator, etc.) that came
with their computer.

They can use an upgrade version of Windows so long as they have an install
CD from an earlier version of Windows (after '95) to prove they qualify for
the upgrade. Otherwise they'll have to pay for a full version.

All in all, I'd say it's a steep price to pay for being lax about security.

 

[Kerry Brown]

I was asked to look at my sister-in-laws computer... I found 581
viruses! They distroyed the User Accounts Area, Windows Firewall &
Security Center are gone, Internet Explorer is gone, Windows
Installer doesn't work... and the list goes on.
I saw that Best Buy sells a Windows Upgrade SP2... they currnetly
have SP1 on the computer. If I install the upgrade, will it do a
clean intall on the computer and fix my problems? Or do I need to
buy the full version of Windows?

THey have a Dell, and Dell puts OEM's on the computers, their is no
Windows Disk with the system... so I can't reinstall it. I would
call Dell, but they bought it about 5 years ago & they can't find the
paperwork on it.

Your cheapest option may be to contact Dell and see if they still have the
factory disks available. Somewhere on the computer you will find a service
tag. Go to Dell's site and enter this tag to find out your support options.

http://support.dell.com/

Kerry