How to get rid of a virus that won't go away?

Question

Deleting Virus File: My anti-virus program has identified a virus with a *.tmp extension, however I am unable to delete the file, here is what I have tried:

I have booted the system to command prompt only, navagated to the directory of the file, used the ATTRIB command to change the file attributes (currently H, S) only to receive the message "Access Denied" the Delete command yields the same messaage.

I booted the system using a Bart PE CD, used the same steps described above, only to receive the same message, "Access Denied"

How do I delete this virus file from my system without doing a HD format and O/S install?

Answer

This question was answered on April 16, 2006. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Because you didn't provide the name of the virus, I couldn't research further but if your anti virus software won't remove a program, you can often go to the anti virus company for additional help. For example, if you own Symantec's Norton software, you can go to Symantec.com and type in the name of the file you are concerned about in the search box. Some viruses will pop up on the website with a virus removal tool, running the tool should get rid of the problem with a few clicks. Other viruses will require manual removal, if that's the case, follow the website's instruction to the letter because you may have to into your computer's registry and you really want to be careful in there. You shouldn't have to do a reformat or a complete O/S install.

Author

Posted by Aaron of Chandler-Gilbert Community College on April 16, 2006