Many of the top antivirus providers offer a bootable recovery disk that can be used to clean your computer following an infection. These are basically Linux-based tools designed to cleanse an infected PC that won’t start or cannot be scanned from a normal antivirus software program running in Windows. I recommend the Kaspersky disc for its ease of use (though it might not work on some Dell systems).
You can also get similar features using the Avira or ESET rescue disks, which have a graphical interface but need an USB or CD device to boot. Both options can search for and decipher any malware on your system. However their virus definitions may not be updated as frequently as the rescue disks for Linux.
The Trend Micro rescue disk is another option and is among the smallest options on this list with around 70MB. It doesn’t have an interface that is graphic, but it’s fast and comes with several options for customization. These include the ability to mount specific files, drive volumes or even individual folders.
You can also get a reliable virus scan with the Comodo rescue disk, but it doesn’t have quite the flexibility of the alternatives based on Linux. However, it is an efficient tool for detecting and deleting the kinds of viruses that can hide themselves in Windows files to prevent detection by traditional antivirus programs. You can select between a the option of a text-only or full graphical interface, as well as the option of running the smart or custom scan.