I've been busy removing the SMART HDD virus from my laptop today with the help of the various downloads, and self help guides on this forum. All seems to be back to normal now except - 1, The programme folders on my Start menu are all still empty. Running the unhide programme re-populated the list, but the folders remain empty. 2, When I open PDF files the appearance is very fuzzy as if the screen resolution is wrong. It has the same appearance as the SMART scan screen which makes me think there is a remaining problem? Following removal of the virus I downloaded and installed McAfee Total protection thinking this would safeguard me from further problems. However, when I attempted to run the system back-up function this too had the same fuzzy illegitimate look about it! Could it be that the virus remains and has actually corrupted the McAfee software? The deep scan from carried out by the McAfee software revealed 3 trojans, I can't excactly remember the names but they were all related to PDF exploits. I am very nervous about using my laptop for anything much until I'm convinced it's safe!! Thanks James