Microsoft Windows Troubleshooting Guide
- Introduction
- Malware Removal
- Fixing Networking Problems
- Repairing a System that Won't Boot
- Optimizing Windows
After Malware is Removed
Once you clean Malware from your system, there is a possibility that more damage was done to your system than you first suspected. This page will give you some tips that may help in getting your system back to normal.
Running Combofix Again
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe
http://www.forospyware.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe
I have found that Combofix may fix certain system issues that may result when removing malware and running Combofix again may fix the issues you are having.
Occasionally, removing a Malware infection could make Windows not able to run any executable, usually what happens is that Windows "forgets" how to handle executables and it asks how you want to open the program. To fix this, have windows open the executable with "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe", this will open a command prompt where you can manually running Combofix, which does fix this problem automatically for you.
Running CCleaner to Fix Registry Entries
http://www.ccleaner.com/download
Once you remove some Malware, there might be some registry keys still listed in your registry that links to that Malware. If you are getting errors stating that a certain program cannot be found or cannot be started you probably have registry keys linking to the removed Malware.
Running CCleaner to Scan for and Remove unneeded Registry Settings
The easiest way to fix these errors is to simply run CCleaner's Registry Scanner and have it remove anything that it finds. If you didn't install CCleaner before you started cleaning your system, there are quite a few other Registry Scanners available, and I do cover those later in this article.
Apply the latest Windows Service Pack again
Windows XP SP3 Page - Download WinXP SP3 Installer
Windows Vista SP1 - Windows Vista SP2
Ocassionally Malware will infect certain system files required by Windows. One of the Easiest ways to restore these system files is to simply re-apply the latest Service Pack that Microsoft Released for your version of Windows. Just remember to re-apply any updates for your system after the service pack is (re-)installed.
Running a Repair Installation
If Malware has really messed up your system, you may want to try to run a Repair Installation of the Operating System. To do this, simply put the Installation CD to your Operating System in and boot from the CD (usually hitting F12 during POST to bring up a Boot Menu). Once the installation procedure starts it will ask if you want to run a Repair on your system.
Simply Re-Install Windows
If your system is unuseable, you may want to just re-install your Windows Operating System. Just remember to backup any data you want to save, ensure you have all the hardware drivers for your system and ensure that you format the drive during installation (otherwise the problem may still be present after installation).
