temporary internet files in ie5 in vista

R

rpchip

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
163
My nephew asked me to check his computer because it was slow and having trouble getting on internet. It is a hp with a intel E5300 duel core at 2.6 gig. I tried to install avast antivirus but it would not install. I finally got MSE to install. It took 70 hours to run. It found a lot of viruses and trogans. I then installed avast and ran a boot scan. It found some more viruses and trogans. It took two or three days to run this scan. One file is taking most of the time to run a scan. It is c:windows\syswow64\config\systemprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\windows\temporary internet files\content.ie5\9tz9ymyv\ then a lot of different file names and numbers. It takeas at least 50 hours to run through the 9tz9ymyv file. Would it be safe to delete this file or would it screw up vista. Sorry for the long post.
 
CCleaner + ATF Cleaner are very recommended to get rid of all temp or unnecessary files before a virus/spyware scan.
 
Yes, definitely clear the temporary internet files - you can delete everything under temporary internet files.

Go through the system cleanup tool as well. .
 
thanks for the replies. I will delete these files and run a new scan.
 
take the drive out and put it in an external enclosure.
attach to another PC that has up to date virusscanner
scan drive
come back in about an hour or so

reinstall drive
boot machine
 
I have been trying to delete these files since the 13th. Once it said that the files were to big for the recycle bin, then it said i couldn't delete theme because they were in a open file. Today I took out the hard drive and hooked it to my computer. When I accessed the syswow64 file I got to the systemprofile file. It would try to open but would not open. I think I am going to tell my nephew to run it like it is and take three days to run antivirus or
run the recovery partition.
 
If you still want to "recover" the computer, then I'll also recommend using a Rescue LiveCD (Others have posted options for this already). This will bypass the file system and OS, and allow the computer to scan any file without it being "in use" by the OS, and will circumvent any fail safe measures the infected files may have.

But honestly, if it's as bad as it sounds (It sounds pretty bad!), then a reinstall is highly recommended. Even after you clean out all the viruses, the state Windows will be in will likely not be ideal or optimal. The viruses and trojans could have caused all kinds of damage to the system.

I'd back up all his important files/documents, and reinstall Windows. If possible, use a retail or OEM Vista install DVD and install a "blank" copy of Windows (Assuming this system is a prebuilt, the license for Windows will be on a sticker on the case, often near the PSU). You can even leave the recovery partition there, and just format over the C drive. This will ensure that all of the pre-bundled programs and settings are forever gone (most of which is useless or inferior).

However, if you don't have access to a Vista install DVD, then go ahead and use the recovery partition. Once that is finished and you're back in Windows, I suggest uninstalling as much of the pre-installed applications as possible. I prefer to use a 3rd party uninstaller (Such as Revo), as it deep scans the file system and registry for left-overs. Alternatively, you can just run CCleaner or similar afterwards.

Once the system is back up and running, make sure that all Windows Updates are completed, all browsers he will use are up-to-date (Including IE, and any others he likes), and definitely make sure anti-virus is running. I recommend Avast for the free products, or Kaspersky for the paid ones.

Anyway, hope this helps in some way.
 
I ran the free avast scan as a boot scan and it found some trojans in the temporary internet files so I think the computer is pretty clean now. The only problem is the temporary files. The content.ie5 file contains 2,375,000 files with 49 gigabyte size. I would hate to have to delete that many files one at a time. I installed avast free and malwarebytes on the computer and told him to run both at least once every two weeks. He will have to put up with taking 2 or 3 days to run scans Unless someone can come with a way to delete the temporary files.
 
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