Expert: Carolyn Meinel - 7/25/2007

Question
About 5 days ago, I was looking at foreign sites but did not lowed anything because open post info. Later that night I tried to restart my computer, it stopped after showing the windows logo right before the users. Windows has been know to have problems, but my dad thinks it's a virus. If this problem  
does not have a permanent fix can I have a small window to copy my files?

(The irony is you offer me a virus fix, but could be sending me a virus. The site doesn't cover that.)

Answer
First of all, to be able to save your files, you can try to boot into safe mode. You do this by hitting the F8 key repeatedly while booting.  One of the easiest and fastest ways to back up is to use a flash drive (also called thumb drive). If this doesn't work, find a computer repair place that specializes in data recovery.

If can get into safe mode, you also should be able to repair your computer without having to take it to a repair shop.

Here are some ways you might be able to solve the problem while running in safe mode.

1. Try System Restore.

2. If this doesn't work, first back up your data and then use the repair console from your Windows operating system installation disk.

3. If your computer is too damaged for the recovery console to work, you will have to reformat the hard drive and reinstall. This is what most computer repair places do, so you may as well save money and do it yourself. Be sure to back up all your data first! If you are lucky, your computer came with a set of CDs that will reset it automatically to the factory default. Some computers even have the factory default setup files on a hidden partition on your hard drive that you can activate upon booting to reinstall it. Either of these options will reinstall all your programs that came with the computer, but you may have to reinstall everything else, including your peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, etc.

If you don't have either of these reinstallation options, you will have to start with your operating system disk. Boot with it in your CD drive and it will offer options. If you choose the option that warns it will delete all your data, this is the right one because it will reformat the hard drive, making it clean of all the errors caused by power-outs.

This also will remove any malware lurking on your hard drive. Be sure to reinstall your antivirus and antispyware programs and get their online updates before putting your data on the hard drive or installing any programs. This will ensure that these programs can clean out any malware lurking on your backup of your data. Don't trust any programs you stored on a backup CD as these could be infected -- either install them from the original CD they came on, or if you downloaded them, it is safer to download new copies.

4. Once you get your computer working again, you may want to get a better antivirus program, since the one you were using didn't save your computer from that virus. You can try the free version of Avast! antivirus, from http://www.avast.com or AVG, free from http://free.grisoft.com or F-Secure Internet Security, which offers a free trial version at http://www.f-secure.com/home_user/support_and_downloads/evaluations/ .

5. To prevent future infections, don't use Internet Explorer, as it is susceptible to introducing viruses, adware and spyware into your computer. Instead you could use Firefox, free from Mozilla.org . Instead of using Outlook for email, you could use Thunderbird, free from Mozilla.org, or Eudora, free from Eudora.com .