I have been infected with Virut virus, and need to get rid of it. But before trying reformat, I would like advice on the " Factory Restore " option? Is that another way to go?
Hi danomind, welcome. Virut is a real nasty virus.
Need some information from you before we can look at Factory Restore.
What is the make and model of your computer. If it is a big box OEM like Dell, Hp, Compaq, Gateway, eMachine, etc then there is a good chance it will have a Restore To Factory Settings hidden partition on the hard drive that you can use to put the computer back to the state it was in when you bought it.
Hello, it's a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop…
I can't turn on my computer now, whenever I type my login password, nothing happens after a long wait.
Thanks!
Just make sure you backup any data you don't want to lose since the Symantec restore will wipe out everything and put the system back to it's factory installed state.
Since you say you can't logon, try booting to Safe Mode: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222
Login as Administrator. You should then be able to backup any data. If you have problems, post back and I or one of the other folks here will try to help.
If you're not getting the blue Dell bar then perhaps you have BIOS setup to not show that? Just start pressing Ctrl+F11 every second or so from the time you turnthe power on until you get the Recovery Screen, see if that works.
No, that is the Windows Advanced Options menu, where you can get to Safe mode. No idea how you got there.
You need to press Ctrl+F11 as soon as the computer starts to boot, until you get the screen where you can click on Restore, as the document at the link I gave you says to do. I don't remember what that screen looks like as I havn't used it in quite awhile.
Here is a link to another web site that has more info on it that may help.
I tired it load of times, didn't work, only got the advance options…
I've ran a HiJack this log in my PC, looks like its fixed…Virut32 is gone? check my other thread Spywareonlinegames…
Since you can't get the Symantec restore to work via Ctrl+F11, it would be a good idea to order the recover cd from dell. Best way to do this is to call them since I had no luck finding the link on their web site. Should be $20 to $30, much less than a XP Install CD and it wi;; also have the correct device drivers so less hassel after the reinstall.
You will need to load device drivers for any that are not supported directly by XP. You can get then from the Dell web site. You may want to do this before doing a clean install. Download them and put them on a CD or flash drive, then they will be available as soon as the install is done. This is especially critical if your NIC doesn't work leaving you without a connection to the internet.
Before you do that though, read here, see if any of this makes sense and it's something you want to try. If you can repair the Dell System Recovery partition then you're home free. Worth looking at. Post back with any questions.
Okay then, I called Dell and they said they can guide me step by step on the phone on how to "reinstall Windows completely", so hopefully that'll fix it! Thanks!
