Speaking from personal experience, the first time my computer became infected I couldn't connect to the internet. Had to find another computer to download suggested repair tools. First place I tried was a public library but their filters blocked my attempts. Had to wait until I got to work to do the downloads and after all was said and done, I still couldn't fix my machine. Had to reformat and reinstall everything. And there's no gurarantee the virus/spyware was completely removed. Lesson learned.
So to repeat the advice given earlier by
andsome, 7 makes it easy to do a
system image and it can save a lot of headaches. A lot of people here recommend Macrium Free and one of the forum members made a sweet
tutorial (thanks whs.)