UPS guy needs my help

Yup.....the possibilities are endless. Everyone needs PC help, including UPS. Today, our usual UPS guy was asking around our IT office for some help with his computer. I answered most of his questions, which were the usual questions one may ask a computer guy/girl. "I can't get to this website....I get an error". "How can I get rid of the spyware that got installed?" And my favorite..."My computer is running extremely slow, what can I do?"

Well...here are basically his only options:

1)I can probably get rid of the spyware, make sure he has an up-to-date anti-virus program that includes spyware protection, and run a complete scan on the PC to rule out any possible viruses that may be deep down inside the hard drive or registry.

2)Or, I could just back up his important files to a CD (which would then be scanned on another PC to make sure none of them are infected), re-format the hard drive, and then reinstall the OS, (which by the way seems to be an illegal copy of Windows XP). Last step, restore all data.

3)He could just purchase a new PC and be more careful with this one.

I believe he is going to choose #2. And before I do anything, I reminded him that he would need to purchase a legal copy of either Windows Vista (recommended) or Windows XP. Part of the issue he was experiencing was due to the fact that he could not get any Windows upates. I know there are ways around this...but there really is no reason to take a chance on some illegal software. Just spend the $$$ to buy a legit copy.

I will post a follow-up when the UPS guy makes a decision.