Windows XP won't allow McAfee to install

[pcman123]

Hi,
My laptop has Windows XP and for last few days I am noticing problem with it.
It has McAfee installed but it wont' let it run!
When I tried to re-install it, it won't let it do. Now my laptop is without any antivirus!
Moreover, I can't boot my system and go into windows if I am not connected to the internet (wired or wireless).
It seems like a big spyware!!!
However, I dont get any messages about the malfunctioning.
The other thing that I observed is whenever I am in administrator's account, it won't open the Task Manager at all. Moreover it won't open the spyboat search-n-destroy program also.

Any help to get my pc to normal would be great.
I never had this issue before! and I have a lot of important data and programs on it.
Please reply asap.
Thanks

 

[mike1959]

If you think you have downloaded a virus or similar from the net, and now your McAfee anti-virus is not working, and you say you have 'Spybot S&D' installed, you could boot into 'Safe mode', and scan your C: drive with 'Spybot'. Try that first, see if it finds the problem.

 

[bazz2004]

It doesn't sound good. There's free AV programs like AVG and Avast. Perhaps you could download them and try them on your problem computer. You are only recommended to use one AV program at a time though.

 

[B00kWyrm]

If you are suspecting malware, your best bet is to
take it to TechSpot's Virus and Malware Removal forum .
You should accept advice from Bobbye, Broni, or Crunchie.
The rest of us are not qualified to guide you.

Start with the stickies at the top of the forum.
You may need to download your tools to another computer, and then transfer them to your affected computer via cd or thumb drive.

CAUTION: Do not take a thumb drive from your affected computer to any other computer.
That could spread whatever malware you may currently have.

 

[bazz2004]

Agreed, infecting your other computers is the big danger. Using the best security you can afford, keeping it constantly up to date, scanning and keeping clear of dodgy sites or suspect downloads has to be the best policy. I suspect that if a computer has something really nasty it might be easier and safer to wipe everything and reinstall. Hopefully you have backups of important data which you can check for integrity before reinstalling.

I don't know if AV programs can still be temperamental about running on individual computers. On my first Windows 98 computer only Norton would work. McAfee wouldn't install and run. On my next XP computer when I installed Kaspersky the system ran very slowly and locked up. You'd expect the security software companies to have ironed out these glitches by now though. Best of luck.