A computer was hit by an unknown virus, and Notepad will not start up anymore. How do I replace the bad startup files or find out which ones are corrupted?
If you're running Windows 2000 or Windows XP, use the system file checker to search for corrupted files. Log into the system as Administrator, and simply click Start > Run and type "sfc /scannow" without quotes. You may need to provide a copy of the original installation CD, and a copy of the latest service pack installed on your system so corrupted files are replaced with the latest versions. If this fails, you should try doing a repair installation using your startup disks.

This was first published in June 2004

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