Computer stuck on please wait screen after attempt to remove a virus.

[Leigh]

I guess I'll start from the beginning and go into as much detail as I can. I got a virus in the process of trying to re-tag all of my music. I did what I did the last time I got a virus and tried to go through my files and deleted ones that would seem suspicious when I looked them up. I also downloaded at least three Anti-Malware and Anti-Virus Programs and scanned my computer with them. I uninstalled all of them except for two, MbAM and Baidu, when they said I had to pay to actually clean the virus off. I kept scanning my computer with MbAM and Baidu until they had stopped finding virus files in my computer and then it was fine.

At the same time, I kept repeatedly getting a Pop-up that said "dwm.exe" has stopped working".

At the same time all of this was happening, one of the viruses, www-searching.com, seemed to want to make itself visible and put a whole bunch of random programs on my computer. If you're familiar with this virus, you know that it changes your browser home screen and search engine. I countered this visible part of the virus by repeatedly switching my Chrome settings back to how they were and I assumed MbAM and Baidu would have gotten rid of the parts of this virus and the others that I *couldn't* see.
I mentioned before that I went and deleted some files that I thought were suspicious. Here is what I remember messing around with:

- Deleted a file named "cmd.exe"
- Switched ownership of "addins" and "System32" folders from "TrustedInstaller" to myself (because at the time, I thought TrustedInstaller was part of the virus)
- deleted some .DLL files I thought were suspicious.

After I assumed MbAM and Baidu got rid of the virus and the dwm.exe error stopped poping up, I continued on doing what I normally did on my laptop until I had to go somewhere. When I came back and tried to turn my laptop on, it got stuck on the screen that comes up after the Dell logo and before the Login screen. Of course I was stupid enough to start turning it off and turning it back on multiple times but that didn't work. I can't boot into safe mode with the F8 or Shift keys. I tried that multiple times too. The only thing I can do now on occasion is Ctrl+Alt+Delete and that slides the Please wait screen (that doesnt actually have the words "Please Wait") up to a Login Screen except without a Login box or profile image. I turned my computer off, left it alone for about 2 hours, and It's still doing the same thing.

I guess I should also note that the last time I got a virus, I got rid of it, but every time I started my computer up, a command box named JZIP would pop up and go away for an instant, and I got an error message that said "DinerForm.dll has stopped working"

Yes, all of this sounds very reckless to do, especially since I know nothing compared to a computer specialist but I just need to know how to fix this.

OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Laptop type: Dell Inspiron 13 7000 Series

 

[Vince Massi]

Welcome aboard, Leigh.

You have more than one problem, so you need to do more than one thing. First, press the Windows logo key and the R key at the same time to open the Run command. Type shell:common startup to see what is starting automatically. Do not disable anything that has the word "Microsoft." If you see suspicious programs, disable them one at a time to make sure that your rig still works.

 

[Leigh]

Welcome aboard, Leigh.

You have more than one problem, so you need to do more than one thing. First, press the Windows logo key and the R key at the same time to open the Run command. Type shell:common startup to see what is starting automatically. Do not disable anything that has the word "Microsoft." If you see suspicious programs, disable them one at a time to make sure that your rig still works.

I actually turned my laptop off and just let it sit there closed for a few hours and when I turned it back on, the blue recovery screen (not the BSoD) came up so I factory reset it (saving all my files in the process). This solved all the problems I had with my computer, including the JZIP command box and "DinerForm.dll" error notification, BUT if I go thru this same situation again, I'll be sure to do what you suggested. Thanks for the reply anyways.

 

[Brian M Kochera]

The lesson to be taken away from this: 1) cmd.exe is one the applications Windows needs to fully function, 2) Before you delete any file you think is suspicious ... Look it up on Google or Bing to see what it does, 3) The website or help of the antimalware app you use will have a listing of all known virus, adware, malware that it treats with more detailed information. If you use a paid app there will be some kind of user support if you don't know what you are doing, are uncertain you can ask someone who is familiar with the app.

Brian