Hello, My operating system is Windows XP on a Gateway PC.
I starting recieving pop ups on top of pop ups saying that I was infected with viruses and all these other security issues. I ran Malware Bytes and
was told I was infected with wormwin32.Netsky, and rouge Internet Security 2010 viruses. I had the Malware Bytes program delete this threats and restarted my computer. As it rebooted it went to the windows start up screen and did a saving your settings shutting down loop. I tried to reboot in safe mode and safe mode with command prompt but it kept doing the looping thing even in these settings. I cannot do a start up with the windows cd because the cd drive is not working. I think maybe the registry string for start-up is corrupted from the virus or maybe the Maleware Bytes program. I thought of buying a new cd drive but I would not be able to install the driver with the computer out of commission. I do have a laptop which I'm typing this from...any suggestions on what to next would be greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome to the Daniweb forums :).

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Have you tried going to the start menu options and choosing "Last known Good Configuration?"
If not, do so and let us know if that worked.

A new drive will work fine straight after install.

Hi and welcome to the Daniweb forums :).

==========

Have you tried going to the start menu options and choosing "Last known Good Configuration?"
If not, do so and let us know if that worked.

A new drive will work fine straight after install.

Thanks Crunchie. Yes I did try that also, but I had to do that by hitting the F10 key since I can't get to the start menu. Is a new drive my best option at this point? Thanks for the quick reply.

If you got yourself a new CD/DVD, you will be able to use your Microsoft CD to do a repair of the system.
You will not lose any important data that way, although you will have to install a few updates.

I Installed an external CD drive and I have the system recovery disc available. Ready for the next step...thanks!

Do you have a Windows operating system CD, or a recovery cd? With the recovery cd, I believe you will lose all your files.
If you have the Windows operating system cd, follow the instructions given here for a repair; http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
If a recovery cd, I have never done it that way, but no doubt there will be a menu to follow which will be fairly simple.
You need to get into the bios first so that you can make the cd drive the first boot device.
To get to bios, you need to tap a certain key on the keyboard. May be F2, F5, F8. Not sure, as different manufacturers do it different.
Once in bios, you need to find the menu where the boot order is and change the order. Once done, pop the cd in and save and exit the bios.

My windows xp was factory installed and good old Gatway informed me that I cannot obtain a installation cd. So I guess I will have to do a system restore with a backup. I had to do this once before and could not reinstall my back up files, and had to pay a Gateway tech 50.00 for one hour to do this for me. Is it possible that once I do the restore I can post back and someone could instruct me on how to replace the backup files?

Are you able to remove the hard drive from the affected pc and connect it to another? If yes, then you will be able to transfer all the needed files to a DVD/CD.

I did a restore and everything seems to be running good. My files were backed up, and I do see the backup files. when I use the backup utility and hit the restore wizard icon it says not entries found and Im not able to check the box that reads file. When I browse for the file and locate it I get a message that reads the file you specified doesnt exist or does not contain any back up sets...

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