Hi Pen;

Malwarebytes is a decent program, and isn't that expensive. It does have a trial period. You can run it for a bit and uninstall it, but don't forget to search the registry after you do. Considering what's going on, I'm just going to purchase it. It's like an extension for an antivirus.

I seem to remember your saying you didn't have a setup disk. Since Norton plans to discontinue Ghost, let me link you to where you can get a competent application compatible with Windows 8 for creating images of your system. Cheap, and Acronis makes top notch software:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095C25Y8/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0095C25Y8&linkCode=as2&tag=708media-20

When you get the machine running how you like, make a full image. It beats system restore by light years.

Tim