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Thread ID: 104354 2009-10-25 02:08:00 Reformatting XP w/ i386 (+ a virus) jaffy (15374) Press F1
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823940 2009-10-25 02:08:00 I have a Windows XP. I know very little about this kind of stuff.

So I picked up a virus somewhere along the line, of the AntivirusPro 2010 & SecurityTool variety, and ran Malwarebytes soon after. I did full sweeps, but whenever I restart the computer, the Windows desktop opens up with the same AntivirusPro pop-up in the toolbar that I always start out w/, so I don't think Malwarebytes is getting to the root of the problem.

I had planned to reformat, and figured wiping the comp clean would take care of any leftover malware (?). Since I don't have the Windows install CD, I need to reinstall from the i386 folder. After I follow the steps in winnt32.exe, and it runs its course, the computer restarts and at startup gives me the choice of running Windows Home edition or Windows Setup. I choose the latter (as I think I'm supposed to) and it ends up at a blue error screen saying the computer may have viruses and will restart (everytime I choose Setup I end here). Is it not possible to reformat w/ i386, w/o completely clearing up the malware beforehand?

I've read about booting from a USB, w/ i386, but it read like too complicated a procedure for my brain. There was also mention of special hardware and such, which I probably don't have the money for.

I hope the above is not too confusingly/confusedly written.
jaffy (15374)
823941 2009-10-25 02:18:00 Those are fake / rogue programs (theyre not viruses). All they do, is annoy you.

Boot into safe mode / networking mode, update malwarebytes, then do a full scan. Then see what happens. Get trojan remover below, (while you're in safe mode / networking), update it then click on scan. Then select all options under the utilities menu. Then boot into windows normally. See if they've been removed
Speedy Gonzales (78)
823942 2009-10-25 06:03:00 Here are instructions if you need them:
www.howtohaven.com

Chances are, the viruses have infected files within the I386 folder so that may be why you are getting errors when you try to install from it..
Blam (54)
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