Browsers won't open at all!! Please Help

[classact]

I recently removed a virus from a laptop,
but it also deleted some files that were attached to the
browsers, as such I can't open any browsers now. I can log on to the net
using my ISP but I can't download anything like hijackthis
or any other program because i have no browser even though it is
installed it wont open. I was told to replace the MSVCRT40.dll file,
yet this hasn't worked :confused:.

Are there any other options? It has both Mozilla and MSIE, both use
to work now none. The operating system is windows
XP PRO, the laptop didnt have the restore settings on.
I have attempted to reinstall the browsers 2 to 3 times but
they still wont open up. No, it's not on a network.

[azzey]

Try removing Mozilla from the Add/Remove Programs, and then install it again (might as well pick up the latest version).

Anything else odd with it?

And, welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Discussion Forums!

[tommy]

For MSIE, have you tried REPAIR? (Control Panel, add-remove, click on your version of MSIE). In addition to add/remove there should be an option to REPAIR. Click on that and it may do the job.

[Sylvander]

XP's No-Reformat, Nondestructive Total-Rebuild Option. (http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189400897)

When all's well once more with your sofware...
"Computeractive" magazine is offering a FULL FREE COPY of "Acronis True Image 7" HERE (http://www.computeractive.co.uk/acronistrueimage7/index).
Download it, install it, make a bootable CD-RW [or CD-R], load "True Image" from that [running outside of the Windows environment], and make image backups of [the contents of] all your partitions [particularly C:].
As you move forward in time with software changes taking place [not all for the good], make image backups of C: at key points when all is well.
[You might even make an image backup before the "Nondestructive Total-Rebuild" just in case it makes things worse (most unlikely, but who knows...)]
You should never be FORCED to move only forward; you need to be able to reverse also.
In future...
If you so much as suspect that all is not well with your software...
Just restore a recent good backup and all will be back as it was.
I normally load a backup program ["True Image" or "Image for DOS"] from a bootable disk [CD-RW or floppy] and save image backups [and restore them] direct to/from an external USB HDD [you could use an internal partition or separate physical HDD, or even optical disks].
Using this method, software problems such as this become a very minor nuisance.
Infections would be gone if you restored an image that didn't include them.

You could even make an image backup of your present system, then reformat C: reinstall Windows and all your programs anew [get rid of all the trash and bloat], and recover [from an ".img" backup image file] individual folders/files from within Windows using a [FREE] copy of TBIView (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html).
It provides so much flexibility in the options available to you.

[Budfred]

Download HijackThis on a different computer and copy the log to post here...

http://www.merijn.org/programs.php

To run HJT, extract it to a permanent folder such as one you create like C:\HJT or the Desktop. Close all open windows and
browsers and make sure that all programs are enabled if you use msconfig. Run it and Scan, then Save the log.
When the log window appears, Right click to Copy it, open your browser and come here to Paste the entire log. Do
not make any changes until it is checked since most items are either benign or essential to the computer.

There are a number of very nasty infections today that are pretty vicious in their attack, so we need to find out if this is one of them... It seems unlikely that a Repair Install will fix the problem...