It started with a runtime error for a paperport.exe scanning application which I have been using for over a year without any problem. The message was 'this application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact etc.' I tried to recover the system from 3 weeks earlier right before a critical update. In the process, another message popped up: 'do you want to allow Microsoft to perform changes' i.e. search for malware. I said no. The computer restarted. After restart, I got the same message but said yes this time. The computer did its business, restarted and sounded terrible, a repetitive grumbling, grinding sound, not loud, but persistent. Then it sounded like it was shuffling through files, then the same error message came on for just a couple of seconds ('do you want to allow MS to make changes etc'). Next error message, 'too many 16 bit programs, get rid of some....' and then it went into a repetitive cycle of shutting down, restarting, shutting down, restarting again.
I went to the link for the malware clean up. I think it assumes an ability to download files from the internet onto the affected computer. I cannot do that on my affected desktop. I am trapped in safe mode with no access to the internet. Where can I go from here?
Thank you for your interest.
