I'm working on a computer infected with Trojan.Bimal.B?inf in system files that crashes before Windows XP can finish loading. I've used a Norton AV 2011 CD to scan the drive and although it found and removed five other trojans it couldn't fix this one. I can't install NAV to scan and fix the drive because I can't get Windows to run.
I only need to get into the file system to remove some files that the owner hadn't backed up. I'm going to reformat the drive and install Win 7 anyway. Doing it in place and copying the files to a USB key would be simple but I could also put this into another computer and copy the files there if it's safe.
Is it safe for me to put this drive into another computer that is running NAV 2010 or 2011 with updated definitions in order to copy the needed files from it? I don't mind running a full scan on it once it's installed into a working computer but I don't want the trojan to infect that computer. It's not quite clear enough to me in the NAV help. It says a scan is done on all new media (or do I need to set something to insure that that happens?) but is there some danger in the meantime? Can it be isolated somehow and fixed?
The easiest solution would be for me to put it into the other computer, scan only the folders I'll copy files from and then copy them (and then do a full system scan on that computer to be sure). Can I do this safely?
I'll do whichever can be safely done -- fixi the WinXP installation on the infected computer or put the drive into another computer that's not infected (and won't be!).
Thanks.
Mike