Thanks for your advice, guys.
I see that you guys are mostly suggesting to go with the virus scanner- even though it’s expensive, it’s worth it.
I was able to save some files on a USB drive, and some precious pictures from trips our family took in the last four years are saved (thankfully) on a CD. Not everything is lost, but unfortunately, I was too late to save some other files. It crashed very suddenly yesterday. So much lost already.
I don’t know what my father will do, but when I brought it up, it really got him into a bad mood. I guess it’s because $800 is a lot of money for a virus scanner, and we don’t know whether to trust this new one because our last one failed us.
I, myself, think that it’s best to go with purchasing that virus scanner, if nothing else is cheaper. But $800 for a virus scanner just doesn’t sound right, and I’m sure my dad thinks so, too.
I heard my dad on the phone with some people ( I think they were computer technicians, but I don’t know for sure exactly who he was talking to), so I think we’re going to solve this problem sooner or later.
I’m kinda keeping out of discussing the situation with him, though, because I’m no expert, and he gets really frustrated about this type of thing being brought up. Last time, he spent countless hours trying to fix it, and I understand that he’d be furious about it happening all over again. Hopefully, the problem will somehow be resolved, and our computers be back to normal again, for good this time.
Whatever my dad decides to go with, then I sure hope for the best.
Again, thank you for your thoughts, guys.