SP2 Update with virus in PC

[wojo629]

This was a first, at least for me.

My nieghbor was given a laptop, a hand me down, Dell Inspiron 1150 w/ Intel Celeron 2.4Ghz, 256 ram, 20G HD running XP. A bare bones model to say the least. He decided to update to SP2 and just banged away at the keyboard and did so....Now the problems start, shocking, I know.

In a nutshell he had tried(keyword) to upadate to SP2 without scanning for Mal\Spyware or viruses before the install.."Thats not good?" he quipped. I think you can guess the rest.

I ran the usual gamut of tools-HJT, AVG/Ewido, SpyBot, AdAware, KAV, SmitFraud remover, and found and deleted all kinds of nasties-yes without system restore on and in safe mode. Laptop is running real slow, show's 100% CPU usage.

The big question I have is: Uninstall SP2>Reclean laptop>Reinstall SP2 the best route to take?

Any other ideas? The OEM XP CD? I have a better chance of winning the lottery than I do of seeing that.

Once again, thanks guys!

[lgbpop]

The big question I have is: Uninstall SP2>Reclean laptop>Reinstall SP2 the best route to take?

Yes. Go to the head of the class.

[wojo629]

Thanks for the quick response lgbpop.

I was looking for another input on what I was thinking, I know what i'll be doing 'tis afternoon!..Man, what a pain..Good thing I have two PC's so i can multitask while laptop is thrashing away...Hmmmm, what movie to watch? And some schoolwork- boo-hiss!

Thanks.

[104456]

Depends it may be quicker to bite the bullet,back up data and use the restore disks then install SP2.