Need Advice Computer Repair

I either need someone to fix my computer or someone to assist me in fixing it.

Somehow, we downloaded a virus and the computer slowly started dying. It got to the point where it wouldn't boot, asking for a windows file that it couldn't find. I put the XP setup disk in and reformatted the drives, reinstalled XP (I am pretty sure that I did this right) and still I get the message asking for that same windows file.

I would really like to learn how I could fix this myself but if you have a recommendation of someone who does repair that will work too.

Does anyone know how much something like this costs? I only paid $160 for the computer.

 

Call Will @ ask1expert.com. He might be able to troubleshoot and give you an idea of what to try on your own and if that fails, he'll give you a quote of what it might cost for him to come out and give it a look. Great customer service and prices are reasonable. http://www.ask1expert.com/about.html

 

This might sound silly but try installing the OS again. I just had a very similiar experience. I have the recovery disks so I re-installed the OS, didn't work. I did it again and it worked and I've had no problems since then.

 

If you really did format the hard drives, then anything pertaining to the virus shouldn't be a problem anymore. If it is still looking for the same file, I'd guess that the hard drives weren't actually reformatted. Sometimes the Windows CD tries to repair the currently installed version rather than wipe everything and start clean.

Virus creators are pretty good at making their viruses impossible to kill. You can cripple them, but there will always be some traces of them in your registry. Best bet is to back up all your data (pictures, movies, documents, etc) on an external hard drive, then wipe out everything on your PC and rebuild from scratch. I would try reformatting and reinstalling Windows again.

 

Are you certain it was a virus? The computer just may have parts failing.