stupid virus!!

right so i did the most noobish thing ever while looking for an email extractor i downloaded an exe and installed yes i know major stupid etc etc anyways problem is now i boot up and after about 3 seconds on the desktop i get the BSOD 0*0000008e ataport.sys error message, been doing some digging seems it could be win32 virus, so tried all the usual stuff system restore, system check, ran hijack this n still no go im in safemode at the minute can still get in there, i really dont want to have to reinstall windows tbh but may have to as im lost here my last resort now is im running virus scan as if it is win32 virus its a trojan from what ive read so im hoping this works but as im in safemode and had no virus scanner so now have to install one while in safemode which will mean i wont get the full effect of it i dont know if it will work, any ideas guys?

Given that it only takes about 35min to install windows and virus scans take hours...

A) Backup data: external hdd, drop box, flash drive, etc...

B) Wipe system clean

C) ReInstall

D) Start using a virtual machine or have a separate computer for less than legit stuff

This is directly from another post this morning:

I'm actually in the security business and running Malwarebytes will clean most infections. For free AV I am impressed with Avast, it has done a good job for me. As with any AV solution your mileage may vary and any single solution can let you down with a brand new infection in the wild.

The recommendation regarding a VPN is good advice. As I have mentioned before if you regularly go to bad neighborhoods then using Ubuntu is highly recommended and is more immune from viruses and trojans than even the Mac. Why? Only 12 million machines in the world are running it and hacker haven't targeted it yet!

If you can't clean the laptop download Hiren's free boot CD and boot your laptop with the CD. The malware won't run with the boot CD and you can safely backup your data. Just be sure not to the original source of the infection, i.e. warez, with you. Good luck and feel free to PM with questions.

cheers the AV found some trojans and got rid of them well it said it did, but still the same thing happens, going to just reformat and reinstall windows :/