I need to clean up my folks’ Windows Vista laptop, and I haven’t done it in years. Normally, I would install AVG antivirus, look through msconfig and remove non-essential start-up programs, and then maybe perform a defrag, however, I have a feeling that the machine is riddled with viruses, but a fresh OS install is not an option.
Can anyone recommend other practices or free software I should be using?
Reinstall the OS, this lets you install updated drivers, applications, OS patches and clean out the whole thing. Vista disks are easy to find online, as long as you have a key that works, its relatively easy to do. YOU DON'T NEED TO FORMAT to do this. Just reinstall the OS, keep it easy.
I don't like AVG much, I'd go with Microsoft Security Essentials. I also like Autoruns, versus msconfig, for removing startup items and other nasties (make sure to enable "Verify Image Signagures" and "Hide Microsoft Entries". Be careful with this however, as you can break things if you don't know what you're doing.
