XP Boot Problem

So I’m having a hard time with my mom’s computer – I fixed it up last week – removed some viruses, 3 worms, and a bunch of spyware. I am her tech support. I installed AVG, Adaware, and Spybot and between the three of them, got it clean.

It had something take the browser hostage (super search or something like that, and some undeletable bookmarks), and it had something else take the desktop hostage - which I had never seen before. Basically a virus which advertised it's own removal software. That one made me mad and was a little harder to remove.

So I got it all cleaned up and now it’s having difficulty booting. On cold boot, it will load the splash screen, and then lock up before the little loading bar starts going back and forth. Basically it just hangs up - the HD is not spinning or anything. So once I force a power cycle shutdown or hit reset, it will give me the boot selection screen (choices between safe modes, command prompt, windows, etc.). I can start it in safe mode but only without drivers/network support - if I try to start windows normally, I get into a reboot cycle or get the splash screen+hangup.

My instinct is that I’m thinking one of the programs I used to remove viruses/repair stuff changed a registry value. Do you have any quick ideas on stuff to check? I’m not much of a registry hacker – though I do know how to get into regedit etc. I don’t really know what most of the script means. Booting issues are about the only tech mystery I can't fumble though very efffectively. I'm more of a drivers and networking and desktop application gal.

I did have the thing booting normally immediately after I scanned and cleaned it. This booting problem started the next day.

I’ve played around with the utilities available on her machine – pc doctor etc. – but every time I try to run it and it wants to enter the boot cycle to analyze what’s wrong, it of course won’t boot and then I don’t get my analysis. I can fix almost anything but boot problems are out of my league and she is really missing being able to get online. My mom has started doing a lot of business online (banking, avon orders, reading news, mystery shopper submissions, etc.) and she’s anxious to get her computer back up.

I am hoping someone can tell me a quicklist of things to check for in the boot sequence.

Also, I tried doing a system restore but since there were so many problems for so long, every date I keep going back to try the computer complains about. Not sure that I can get good results with a really really old date - should I try?

In case it matters, she has an IBM (yeah, the real thing!) computer, Windows XP home, and dialup for internet access. Her machine is older, but OK (think P4, 128 or 256 (can't remember) MB ram, 2.x Mhz processor). Virus definitions are updated and I ran a complete scan.

Thanks SO MUCH for reading if you got this far!!!

 

Last case scenario is always a clean install-- after reparing all that stuff your hd is probably really messed or are you retreiving irreplacible documents?

System restore is not a good option as these infections replicate themselves in you boot sequence hence the reinstall even after cleaning them.

thereyago

 

That's what I was kinda looking at doing - from reading a couple other threads on here I was worried about the possibility that the system restore fxn was corrupted by the garbage that was on board. There are no irreplaceable docs on there - my parents ONLY websurf and email and make photocopies with their scanner!

The only problem is, their Win XP is this weird IBM-ized version of it. I have only successfully done a clean install once on this machine. Once you successfully get into it (through DOS command prompt) then it's smooth sailing - IBM had the foresight to script the entire process AND has the OS pre-burned onto either a chip or a protected HD sector, and it self-fdisks and reinstalls the OS BY ITSELF. No babysitting and enter-hitting required.

I thought that I would try a couple last ditch things first though - been reading around on the forums and saw a couple tricks I might try first regarding registry cleanup utilities. I just don't wanna give up completely yet. Clean installs are almost as much a pain in the butt as messing around because then you have to spend a few days on re-setting your desktop and folder options. Pain in the butt for me, because 1) It's not my machine, so I'm not SURE what their preferences are, and 2) I'll have to listen to them whine and complain about this or that being DIFFERENT, and 3) Mom will really whine about no cookies in IE/FF because she never writes anything down and all her online passwords will be gone from the browser's memory.

Sooooooo - any other options than clean install? Thanks so much for the reply!!

 

Do a 'Repair Install' before resorting to a clean install.

 

I'll try that. Thanks!

 

Be careful, and check thoroughly, the defaults that are set up for AdAware, CCleaner and EmpTemp.

As standard, they will wipe all cookies, all history, etc.
They even clean your recycle folder automatically, if you let them.

I had installed them on a ladies PC, who also did not save favourites, or write things down. You should have heard her whinge when her old ISP's were gone.

My fault, I guess, as I thought people saved their Favourites.

I learn't a lesson then. Now I ask first and check each of the programs standard defaults.

Remember you have to set up all 2 or 3, if you use all 2 or 3, with the same defaults. No use unchecking the default on one program and forgetting to uncheck it on the other/s.
Also, you have not mentioned that mom has a firewall installed. What firewall is she using? Bazza