Error nessages and computer shutting down

I have a gateway computer with Windows XP pro. I had a virus the other night and ran the verizon scan and repair that was offered when I got my DSL. It showed I had a virus and several other errors. I ran a fix and since then nothing but problems. When I turn on the computer it is really slow. My background picture disappears and I get a message that "Your current settings prohibit running Active X controls on this page. ". Then you can cancel that and try to run explore or get into anything windows and I get this message. "This operation has been cancelled due to restricitions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.". Then at different times for no reason the whole computer shuts down and restarts. This can happen after 10 minutes or after an hour. Or every 5 minutes. Any help would be appreciated. I hate to wipe everything out and start over. This is my personal computer at my home.

 

Your background may have been set to a website by a virus, you must have a lot of them. If you can't get into any programs, the best thing to do is wipe it out. But, if you have a virus scan that can boot from CD, you might be able to safely scan your computer and remove the viruses.