should i just reformat windows vista?

[mossy]

my good laptop got hit with a virus called antimaleware doctor, it caused windows explorer to keep restarting, so i downloaded a free anti virus program off the net and used it to get rid of the antimaleware doctor, but windows explorer still keeps resetting, i ran another scan, but what ever is causing the explorer to reset wont let my anti virus kill it, it just keeps comming back. if i reformat windows vista will that get rid of the problem?

[sevensix2x51]

when i was a windows user, i would just reformat the entire boot partition to get rid of windows, and do a fresh install if it started acting weird. if you only have one partition on the whole hdd, i would just wipe it and set up partitions on the goback, to put all the cool stuff you dont want to lose if it happens again.

[Corbin Dallas]

my good laptop got hit with a virus called antimaleware doctor, it caused windows explorer to keep restarting, so i downloaded a free anti virus program off the net and used it to get rid of the antimaleware doctor, but windows explorer still keeps resetting, i ran another scan, but what ever is causing the explorer to reset wont let my anti virus kill it, it just keeps comming back. if i reformat windows vista will that get rid of the problem?

If you can and you won't lose any data, YES.

OR, you can run Avira Rescue CD from boot. This should find the worm/trojan/spyware.

[Uriah02]

If by reformatting you mean throwing it from a 5+ story building then yes. Oh sorry, just a vista hater over here.
If you haven't reformatted your machine in a while it would be good for it anyways. Sounds less like a virus than malware. Try to backup your files and reformat. It is the only full proof solution.

[den888]

Yes, back-up your essential files and then reformat it.

[mossy]

ok, is there any way to backup microsoft office?

[paul0660]

First, google antimalware doctor and try some of the fixes there. You will need to fart around in the registry, so back up your files first.

If you reinstall vista you will have to reinstall office.

[mossy]

thanks, i did all that, what ever is causing the explorer to restart is somthing diffrent from the doctor bug.

[sevensix2x51]

if you have another computer, you can put the drive in an external enclosure and pull the files you need via usb. i dont think that the virus could just magically move to the other pc, since it wont be run or embedded in the system files. proceed at your own risk, though.

[mossy]

i am on a laptop, i dont think you can just pop out the HD. thanks though, i think i will just goahead and reformat.

[Ricky-Ray]

Try downloading and running Malwarebytes. Sounds more like malware than a virus to me.

If you have to reformat, upgrade to Window's 7. Vista is a nightmare compared to Window's 7.