I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all of
my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the virus. if
I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then reload my
data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my problems?

Nurock wrote:

> I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all
> of my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the
> virus. if I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then
> reload my data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my
> problems?

Yes.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

"Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:065EF4C2-3898-4F3B-A42B-E015D4ACFA53@xxxxxx

>I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all of
> my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the virus.
> if
> I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then reload my
> data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my problems?

Yes. Reformatting the drive and reinstalling Windows will fix any software
problems, since it wipes everything off the drive and starts over from
scratch.

But is it necessary or even a good idea to do this to get rid of the
infection? Highly unlikely.

Re-installing will solve your problem but, before you do anything so
drastic, have you tried downloading and running Malwarebytes Anti malware?
(www.malwarebytes.org) This should eradicate your antivirus xp2008 problem.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:065EF4C2-3898-4F3B-A42B-E015D4ACFA53@xxxxxx

> I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all
> of
> my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the virus.
> if
> I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then reload my
> data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my problems?

I believe that Malwarebytes will probably get rid of Anitvirus XP2008, but
will it fix the registry problems?


"John Barnett MVP" wrote:

> Re-installing will solve your problem but, before you do anything so
> drastic, have you tried downloading and running Malwarebytes Anti malware?
> (www.malwarebytes.org) This should eradicate your antivirus xp2008 problem.
>
> --
>
> --
> John Barnett MVP
> Associate Expert
> Windows Desktop Experience
>
> Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
> Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
>
> The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
> kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
> reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
> any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
> use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
> mail/post..
>
>
> "Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:065EF4C2-3898-4F3B-A42B-E015D4ACFA53@xxxxxx

> > I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all
> > of
> > my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the virus.
> > if
> > I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then reload my
> > data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my problems?

>
>

Can you describe the registry problems? Sometimes anti-malware software can
fix them.


"Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:71675E29-B687-4C1A-A575-77E3C0C1B3E2@xxxxxx

> I believe that Malwarebytes will probably get rid of Anitvirus XP2008, but
> will it fix the registry problems?
>
>
> "John Barnett MVP" wrote:
>

>> Re-installing will solve your problem but, before you do anything so
>> drastic, have you tried downloading and running Malwarebytes Anti
>> malware?
>> (www.malwarebytes.org) This should eradicate your antivirus xp2008
>> problem.
>>
>> --
>>
>> --
>> John Barnett MVP
>> Associate Expert
>> Windows Desktop Experience
>>
>> Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
>> Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
>>
>> The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
>> kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
>> reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable
>> for
>> any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of
>> the
>> use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
>> mail/post..
>>
>>
>> "Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:065EF4C2-3898-4F3B-A42B-E015D4ACFA53@xxxxxx

>> > I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of
>> > all
>> > of
>> > my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the
>> > virus.
>> > if
>> > I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then reload
>> > my
>> > data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my problems?

>>
>>

>

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:#s6tavHAJHA.3804@xxxxxx

> Nurock wrote:

>> I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all
>> of my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the
>> virus. if I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium,
>> then reload my data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of
>> my problems?

>
>
> Formatting the hard drive to solve a virus or spyware problem is
> rather like using an axe to trim one's fingernails. Sure, it'll get the
> job done, but it's rather time-consuming, and almost always unnecessary.
>
>

Well, there are different schools of thought about this. Some think that
once you get infected the only way to be certain the system is clean is to
format and reinstall. If the system is functional enough I agree it's worth
making an effort to clean it first. By using a combination of anti-malware
tools I can feel pretty confident the system is clean, but there may be
lingering damage. For instance a common problem I've seen is a task manager
with the top menu cutoff. This is probably an example of registry
corruption. It may be possible to fix this kind of thing by editing the
registry directly, but how? If would be great if someone put up a FAQ.

You haven't indicated any registry problems in your original post. If you do
have registry problems (we don't know what they are because you haven't
said) then No Malwarebytes will not repair the registry. Unless you have a
backup image of your whole drive then you will probably have to resort to
re-installing.

One question however is: Did you get the malware AntiVirus XP2008 before you
backed up to your external drive or after. If it is before you backed up to
your external drive, the malware could be lurking on the external drive
ready to re-appear.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..



"Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:71675E29-B687-4C1A-A575-77E3C0C1B3E2@xxxxxx

> I believe that Malwarebytes will probably get rid of Anitvirus XP2008, but
> will it fix the registry problems?
>
>
> "John Barnett MVP" wrote:
>

>> Re-installing will solve your problem but, before you do anything so
>> drastic, have you tried downloading and running Malwarebytes Anti
>> malware?
>> (www.malwarebytes.org) This should eradicate your antivirus xp2008
>> problem.
>>
>> --
>>
>> --
>> John Barnett MVP
>> Associate Expert
>> Windows Desktop Experience
>>
>> Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
>> Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
>>
>> The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
>> kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
>> reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable
>> for
>> any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of
>> the
>> use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
>> mail/post..
>>
>>
>> "Nurock" <Nurock@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:065EF4C2-3898-4F3B-A42B-E015D4ACFA53@xxxxxx

>> > I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of
>> > all
>> > of
>> > my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the
>> > virus.
>> > if
>> > I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium, then reload
>> > my
>> > data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of my problems?

>>
>>

While it might be a moral booster to re-install the operating system simply
because of a virus/malware it certainly isn't a necessity. if your Anti
Virus/Malware/spyware software is doing its job then the
virus/malware/spyware should be automatically ether quarantine or removed
from your 'main' system. What people forget is that Windows creates what I
call a 'subsystem' in the form of Restore points and you can bet that the
virus/malware/spyware has hid itself comfortably there just waiting for you
to restore your system back. In this situation I find it more useful to let
the anti virus/malware/spyware application do its job and clear the virus
etc. As soon as this is done I immediately delete the system restore points.
I can then create a new restore point from scratch thus preventing a further
infection.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"Victek" <Victek@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0D12D42D-EE29-4496-B39A-A324F72A22ED@xxxxxx

>
>
> "Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:#s6tavHAJHA.3804@xxxxxx

>> Nurock wrote:

>>> I picked a malware problem, (Antivirus XP2008). I have a back-up of all
>>> of my data on an external hard drive that I made just before I got the
>>> virus. if I reformat my whole computer and reload Vista Home Premium,
>>> then reload my data from the external hard drive, should that fix all of
>>> my problems?

>>
>>
>> Formatting the hard drive to solve a virus or spyware problem is
>> rather like using an axe to trim one's fingernails. Sure, it'll get the
>> job done, but it's rather time-consuming, and almost always unnecessary.
>>
>>

> Well, there are different schools of thought about this. Some think that
> once you get infected the only way to be certain the system is clean is to
> format and reinstall. If the system is functional enough I agree it's
> worth making an effort to clean it first. By using a combination of
> anti-malware tools I can feel pretty confident the system is clean, but
> there may be lingering damage. For instance a common problem I've seen is
> a task manager with the top menu cutoff. This is probably an example of
> registry corruption. It may be possible to fix this kind of thing by
> editing the registry directly, but how? If would be great if someone put
> up a FAQ.

Didn't take the time to read all the post. If this is a repeat I apoligize. I run a disc program to wipe my hard drive about every six months. Before you do run a scan for virus and anti-malware on your back up to insure it isn't effected. Make sure you have all your drivers also.