Working on a computer with a bad one...

[artificer88]

Aye, they all failed failed to initiate... sorry, I failed to post that bit.

[Broni]

They failed in what way?
Didn't work, yielded some errors....?

Do you have any errors in Device Manager?

[artificer88]

"The request is not supported" is the error message that yielded for most of them.

Also, as I mentioned, the drivers for a lot of my hardware have been wiped either by the cleaning or the virus itself.

My 1394 net adapter, direct parallel, ethernet adapters, networking controllers and WAN miniport (IP, L2TP, PPPOE, PPTP) all have the yellow exclamation point status and there is one "Other device" classified as an "unknown device"

[Broni]

OK, OK, then we're getting somewhere...
Try to reinstall them.
Do you have drivers CD?
What's the computer brand, and model?

[artificer88]

It is custom built and I am in the process of obtaining them right now. The motherboard model is nVidia 780i.

[Broni]

If you need some help here...

Download System Information for Windows: http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html to your Desktop.
Get SIW Standalone (English-Only).
Double click on siw.exe to run the program.
Go File>Create Report File>HTML
Save the file to known location.
Zip the file, and attach it to your next reply.

[Broni]

In any case, let me know, when you're done.

[artificer88]

Rebooting now leads me to a black screen... back to square one?

[Broni]

Same in Safe Mode?

[artificer88]

When I boot into safemode, it crashes on start.

Also, it automatically goes into CHKDSK and locks the computer afterwards when booting normally.

[Broni]

You installed Recovery Console, so restart computer, and watch the screen closely.
You'll have only couple of seconds to select Recovery Console, instead of normal Windows boot.
When you boot to Recovery Console....
...follow the steps from here: http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp, starting below this picture on page 1:

[artificer88]

Still booting into black...

[Broni]

Try repair, then: http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/How-t...s-XP-t138.html

[artificer88]

So, there was a mishap and the harddrive got fried (click of death)... already looking at ways to retrieve the data, but a new one has been picked up and is in the process of installation right now.

What would you suggest be done to do it to protect it from future issues?

I have installed Avira AntiVir and am running Windows Firewall (deciding between the other two options you provided earlier).

[Broni]

I thought for a moment, it could be some hardware issue, since the computer stopped responding all of sudden for no reason.
At least, we had a good training here
Too bad, because the computer was really badly infected, and basically we got it all clean.

Avira is very good. Then, I'd go with Comodo firewall, instead of Windows firewall.
(Comodo Internet Security (firewall + AV): http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
NOTE. During installation, Comodo will also allow you to install AV only, or firewall only, so you can skip AV installation).

These two:
- SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition: http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (trial version is fully functionable): http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
both free, are currently best on the market, regarding malware protection.
Run them on occasion.

Make sure, Windows Updates are current.

Download, and install WOT (Web OF Trust): http://www.mywot.com/. It'll warn you (in most cases) about dangerous web sites.

Read How did I get infected?, With steps so it does not happen again!: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic2520.html