renee0824 :
I'm using a laptop right now to have computer/internet access. The desktop is what is affected. The desktop is HP Pavillion Slimline. The laptop is lenovo T420 (husband's work-issued).
I was able to restart just now in safemode with networking. What can I do from here? I guess I'm rather computer-illiterate, despite the computer class I had to take back in the early 90s. hehehe.
Formatting the drive and re-installing really should be a last resort. It's like dropping a nuclear bomb on a town because you don't like the siding on the houses. If you've booted into safe mode and it's stable, download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, install it (you can choose to run the pro trial if you want it won't hurt any), and make sure the definitions are up to date. Usually it looks for updates when you first start it up. Run a "full scan" on the C: drive. This may take about an hour, could be less. If it finds anything the first time through remove what it finds and run it again. Keep re-running it as long as it keeps finding things. You want to end up with a scan that ends up finding nothing. Then reboot the computer into Windows as usual (not safe mode) and see how it goes.