Need help installing XP Pro on an old ThinkPad [View all]

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I need some help please!

I recently bought an old A31 2652 ThinkPad on eBay.com. It seemed sort of ok at first but after running various scans, etc. on it, I found a lot of horrible crap on it.

System restore no longer works on it. I found a serious threat trojan embedded in system restore and one of the tools I used quarantined and removed it and that did not fix the problem (seems the idiot that had this machine liked his porn; oh yeah ...).

Also, you do not see the volume nor your online link to the internet nor the hardware removal icons on the bottom task bar.

I do have a copy of XP Pro service pack 3 in my possession.

I know how to wipe the HD clean and how to get into MS-DOS to do it.

However, what happens to the partitioned HD on this? Does it stay the same? Will I have a machine I can use after I do this or will it mess it up even more? This ThinkPad does not come with restore disks or anything like that as I believe it has a partition on it so -- ???

If I try to reformat the HD on this laptop (now using it and yes, it works well and was used not much for many years I can tell; hence I'd hate to dump it -- a computer that sold for abet. $2,000.00 new). Would be a damn shame to dump this laptop, that much I can tell you.

What advice to you have for me? I am not sure what to do. Local shop charges $85.00/hr. Ugh.

As for re-installing PX Pro, I suppose you shut down and start it up with the CD in the D:/ drive and it will do its thing (I hope). Please advise is this is not correct and if there is something that I should do otherwise. I haven't tried to reformat a computer like this ever being system restore usually works.

Virus scans for viruses, trojans, etc. are coming up clean after running several different programs on it.

Confused and do not know what to do.

As it now stand, said machine works just fine other than the problems that I describe above. Will re-formatting it do any good at all IF that trojan that was embedded in System Restore was there and it messed it up and it is in fact beyond repair?

Thanks for any help at all.