Avira Rescue System is a free product that can scan and repair an infected operating system. Additionally, it offers the opportunity to edit various registry configuration settings of your System.
The program includes a wizard which guides with ease any unskilled user through the scan and repair process.
Once the Avira Rescue System file has been downloaded, a bootable USB drive or a DVD should be created. Thereafter, the infected computer has to boot from the created medium in order to perform the clean-up process.
Note
The product does not support multi-boot scenarios and does not repair:
- Boot sectors
- Encrypted files
- Partitions
Linux operating systems can only be searched and sanitized, but not repaired.
An ISO file (image file) is a copy of an entire DVD as a single file.
If you create a new disk from an ISO file, the created disk will contain the same properties as the ISO file.
Create a bootable USB or DVD from the downloaded ISO file. We recommend to create a bootable USB drive.
Create a bootable USB drive
Create a bootable USB drive if the infected computer has no optical drive.
Burn a bootable DVD
Use any burning tool or the common Windows burner to create a DVD from the downloaded ISO file.
- Insert a writable DVD in the drive.
- Double-click the downloaded ISO file.
- Select the DVD burner.
- Click Burn.
Avira Rescue System is based on a customized Ubuntu desktop system and runs on this platform as a standalone application. Once the bootable media are created, the infected computer has to be started from the Avira Rescue System.
Note
If possible, backup your important files on an external device before using Avira Rescue System.
Adjust the startup sequence of your computer
In order to start the computer via Avira Rescue System, the startup sequence of the operating system needs to be changed in the BIOS.
Further information on how to change the startup sequence of an operating system is described in this article.
64-bit computers with Windows 8 and later support the new UEFI Secure Boot. This option is enabled by default. Therefore, it is not possible to start the computer from an alternative operating system.
Further information on how to disable UEFI Secure Boot is described in this article.
Start Avira Rescue System
Due to the previous change of the startup sequence, the infected computer will start now from the Avira Rescue System Ubuntu platform.
1. Connect the bootable Avira Rescue System USB to the computer or insert the DVD into the drive and restart the computer.
2. The user interface of Avira Rescue System will be automatically displayed.
(The product is only available in English.)
3. Accept the EULA (End User License Agreement).
4. The welcome page of Avira Rescue System is displayed.
5. Click Quick scan to search for a valid mounted Windows partition.
6. Rescue System does not perform any automatic updates.
Click Start Update to carry out a manual update.
7. Suspicious files will be automatically renamed during the scan in .rend files, to prevent any further damage.
8. The result summary indicates that the system has been completely cleaned and repaired.
9. Click OK.
10. Remove the Avira Rescue System USB drive or DVD from the computer and restart the computer.
