Wendy had been searching the internet for a great deal on jewelry. While looking at one site, a pop-up was displayed that told her she had just been chosen as the winner of a nice prize. Being excited to win, Wendy clicked on the link provided to claim her prize. The next day, when Wendy tried to turn on her computer, her computer displayed the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).
After interviewing Wendy, you suspect that the pop-up she clicked on installed some malicious software that has caused her computer to lock up.
Which of the following is the BEST place to begin repairing Wendy's computer?
Boot the computer from the Windows installation disc and run Startup Repair.
Although BSOD can be caused by many things, given the circumstances and your suspicion that malware may be the cause, you should first isolate Wendy's computer and then try to make her computer bootable by running Startup Repair. Startup Repair attempts to fix problems that keep Windows from loading. If this process fixes her computer, you would then take the proper steps to find and remove the malicious software that caused the issue in the first place.
If the computer does not boot after completing the above, you can try to run a System Restore. This would recover your computer to a previous point, but all of the changes made after the restore point was created would be lost.
If the restore process fails, you could then try to Reset the PC. Keep in mind that this step may get the computer running again, but it will remove all of the applications and settings. If this step does work, you must still check for malicious software that may be disguised as a personal file.
If all else fails, a clean installation of Windows can be performed. And if a backup of Wendy's files are available, they can be restored.