The OS is Vista. I'm going to try to tell you as much as I can about it, but I don't know much about computers, so stick with me, please.
It's a laptop. Dell Inspiron 1520. Her anti-virus is McAfee, but she doesn't have it updated because she doesn't have the money to buy it. (I assume that may be part of the problem.)
The problem started over a week ago, I think, maybe before that. I tried to turn it on and either on the login screen or after I manage to log in, the screen would go black and we would have to shut it down. Eventually we figured out it would only work in Safe Mode.
We tried System Restore to all Restore points, but that didn't work either.
Yesterday she tried uninstalling and installing all of her software, completely starting over, and it worked for a few hours. But then she tried to get on it again and the mouse and Task Bar kept disappearing.
So we shut it down for awhile and tried to get back on and the same problem started over again. The screen turned black before we could get to the login screen and now it only works in Safe Mode again.
Also, whenever we get on, the screen is super-magnified. My sister knows how to fix it, but that isn't working either.
A few days ago I tried to install new anti-virus software, and it detected Trojans and Addware and what-not, but it was one of those scams where you have to buy it so I couldn't remove them, and all the other anti-viruses won't install in Safe Mode.
Is all of this just the cause of a Trojan virus?
If you need more information on the computer, please explain it to me and I'll do my best.
Thank you.
-Mari
