Re: Can't handle infected PC. Please Help!

Thank you very much for your detailed answer. I will try as far as the second
step, because I am not sure I can handle further.
I appologise for posting improperly. It was an ignorant mistake.
"Malke" wrote:

Slun4eva wrote:

Hi,
I'd be very grateful of s.o. could offer a solution to my problem.
Yesterday I got a message that my Mozilla firefox had installed an
update and asked for restart, which I unsuspectingly did. Then the
problems began. My PC sort of blocked and did not want to close any
applications, nor call the Task manager bar, but finally, today I
managed to shut down and restart. I tried to check for viruses with my
Adware and eTrust EZ antivirus, but they were blocked and as a
consequence all the icons of all my programs turned inactive ( as if
windows does not recognise them). If I try to start e.g. e-explorer,
the following box appears:

Windows cannot open this file:
To open this file windows needs to know what program created it......
etc.

I can't open anything except for some PPT, word, mp3, etc. documents.
ANy links to internet explorer, as well as the explorer itself, are
inactive. I can't even burn my data on a CD, because the Nero burnng
rom is also inactive and can't open. I managed to transfer only part
of the data on USB stick. Only the Mozilla Firefox works currently.
I can't download any malware programs, because they appear
unrecognised by the system. Could any of you please give me advice on
what may be the malware that I caught and how to proceed on. I am, as
you've probably read between the lines, not very good at computers and
computer language, so a more detailed explanation, from whoever has
the time, would be helpful. Thanx in advance for taking the time!

I have no idea what you installed or what happened. Things to try:

1. Probably you'll have the same troubles in Safe Mode, but you should
try anyway. Do this by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the computer is
starting up. This will get you to the right menu. Navigate using your
Up arrow key; the mouse will not work here.

2. If you can get into Safe Mode, try doing a System Restore to before
the problem started. If you can't run anything in Safe Mode, try
booting into Safe Mode Command Prompt. Then at the command prompt, do:

c:\Windows\System32\restore\rstrui.exe [enter]

to start System Restore. If you can run System Restore from the command
line but the issues aren't fixed, you can run antivirus/antimalware
programs that way. Whether you are comfortable working without a
graphical user interface (command line only) is a determination that
only you can make.

3. If that doesn't work, you can try booting into Last Known Good
Configuration (same way you got to Safe Mode).

4. If that doesn't work, I'd suggest taking the computer to a
professional computer repair shop. It is completely possible to
retrieve your data and perhaps even fix the computer, but that will
need to be done outside of Windows using a rescue system such as
Knoppix, a Bart's PE, or ERD Commander (expensive). Since you say you
aren't computer-savvy (and it is wise to know your skill level), I
don't believe you'll be able to do this yourself.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

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