Virus infection on a T60 ==> how best to reinstall WindowsXP? Can I safely still use the special Windows installation partition?
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From: ship on 19 Jan 2010 18:16 Hi My T60 (WindowsXP Pro) has been infected with several viruses. Is it safe to re-install from the WindowsXP partition? Or should I kill absolutely everything on the disk (eg. by running KillDisk off a CD)? And if I do the latter, how on earth to I register it with Microsoft because the laptop did not come with any CDs. (I can borrow a Windows XP Pro CD from work - but I presume that there will be problems with the Product Key and License number etc) Any thoughts? With thanks Ship
From: David H. Lipman on 19 Jan 2010 18:24 From: "ship" <shiphen(a)gmail.com> | Hi | My T60 (WindowsXP Pro) has been infected with several viruses. | Is it safe to re-install from the WindowsXP partition? | Or should I kill absolutely everything on the disk (eg. by running | KillDisk off a CD)? | And if I do the latter, how on earth to I register it with Microsoft | because the laptop did not come with any CDs. | (I can borrow a Windows XP Pro CD from work - but I presume that there | will be problems with the Product Key and License number etc) | Any thoughts? | With thanks | Ship What Cross-Post to all those groups and NOT; microsoft.public.security.virus ? What "viruses" (assuming they were viruses and not plain old trojans) were they ? -- Dave http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html Multi-AV - http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
From: PA Bear [MS MVP] on 20 Jan 2010 01:58 HOW TO do a clean install of WinXP: See http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html#steps and/or Method 1 in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978307 After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting the machine to the internet or a network and before using a flash drive or SDCard that isn't brand-new or hasn't been freshly formatted: 4 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online http://www.microsoft.com/security/pypc.aspx Other helpful references include: HOW TO get a computer running WinXP Gold (no Service Packs) fully patched (after a clean install) http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/3f5afa8ed33e121c HOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP1(a) or SP2 fully patched (after a clean install) http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2b Tip: After getting the computer fully-patched, download/install KB971029 manually: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971029 NB: Any Norton or McAfee free-trial that came preinstalled on the computer when you bought it will be reinstalled (but invalid) when Windows is reinstalled. You MUST uninstall the free-trial and download/run the appropriate removal tool before installing any updates, Windows Service Packs or IE upgrades and before installing your new anti-virus application (which will require WinXP SP3 to be installed). Norton Removal Tool ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe McAfee Consumer Products Removal Tool http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe Also see: Steps To Help Prevent Spyware http://www.microsoft.com/security/spyware/prevent.aspx Steps to Help Prevent Computer Worms http://www.microsoft.com/security/worms/prevent.aspx Avoid Rogue Security Software! http://www.microsoft.com/security/antivirus/rogue.aspx -- ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002 www.banthecheck.com ship wrote: > Hi > > > My T60 (WindowsXP Pro) has been infected with several viruses. > > Is it safe to re-install from the WindowsXP partition? > > Or should I kill absolutely everything on the disk (eg. by running > KillDisk off a CD)? > > > And if I do the latter, how on earth to I register it with Microsoft > because the laptop did not come with any CDs. > (I can borrow a Windows XP Pro CD from work - but I presume that there > will be problems with the Product Key and License number etc) > > Any thoughts? > > With thanks > > > > Ship
From: Daave on 20 Jan 2010 09:55
ship wrote: > Hi > > > My T60 (WindowsXP Pro) has been infected with several viruses. > > Is it safe to re-install from the WindowsXP partition? I have *never* seen or read about an instance where malware actually alters the hidden recovery partition. I would say the answer is yes, it is safe. > Or should I kill absolutely everything on the disk (eg. by running > KillDisk off a CD)? No, the recovery partition is something you always want to keep (IMO). An exception *might* be made if you have a full-fledged XP installation CD and it _must_ match the license you have, too. Even so, if it were me, I would still keep that hidden recovery partition intact. > And if I do the latter, how on earth to I register it with Microsoft > because the laptop did not come with any CDs. > (I can borrow a Windows XP Pro CD from work - but I presume that there > will be problems with the Product Key and License number etc) Registration is optional. I assume you are referring to activation. The CD you borrow (and I would recommend making a copy of it for your use) *must* match in all respects. So the Windows XP Pro CD *must* be a generic OEM version in order for the Product Key on your Certificate of Authenticity (COA) sticker for activation to work. Then again, if you simply use the hidden recovery partition, the process is much simpler and faster. :-) > Any thoughts? Make sure you copy all your data. Be sure to include e-mails, your address book, Internet Explorer favorites, etc. Then follow the instructions Lenovo provided for the recovery. You'll be fine. (Then, of course, reinstall your programs and copy the data back.) That being said, depending on the malware, there might be a better solution: remove the malware. :-) If the amount of damage is minimal, that's what I would try first. Feel free to post back with specifics, and many here will be happy to guide you. |