Scanning it from another computer seems to have worked. The malware bytes flagged a file called weather-install.

I put the HD back up and it fires up with no errors, and programs that wouldn't work before work now.....

Good deal! Just make sure to scan it again now.

Yup... Going to use it carefully for a few days before returning it to normal duty



Thanks for the help!

Your welcome. Glad it worked out. Hopefully it's clean and won't be a problem.

Good work, virus hunter!!

Install Microsoft Security Essentials, it's free and it updates itself. It's pretty good...

You guys are amazing. Without taking a lot of anyone's time can you tell me how you do this "If you have another Windows pc handy, you can take this drive and hook it up
To the other pc as a secondary drive and attempt to scan the drive from the other pc."

If its too detailed just forget about it.

Paul,
It's very easy if you have a "USB to hard drive adapter", you don't even have to open up the PC to do it, you simply hook up the "infected" hard drive to the adapter and your PC will see the drive. Use the AV tool of your choice (I use MalWareBytes, Norton Power Eraser and Microsoft Security Essentials) and start the program and select the drive you want to scan and clean, then select the infected drive that you hooked up to the PC and you're all set.

If you don't have the adapter, you have to open the PC and hook up the hard drive as an additional drive and this can be a lot more intimidating, especially if you're not familiar with the innards of a PC. The adapters are very inexpensive and I buy them through Amazon. One of the tools in my PC toolkit...

Art,
Thanks very much. Happy New Year to you and your clan!
Paul B.

Art nailed it...... This was the first SATA hard drive I had to do so I had no USB adapter, I just opened the other case, plugged in the SATA cable and used the power plug for a second hard drive and it was all good to go. :)