Can't run any programs

I apparently downloaded a virus. Now no programs will work. Windows will boot up fine (although it takes a long time), but I cannot run any programs. Whether I click on a program icon or right click on it and choose "Open," nothing at all happens. I tried running fix_exe.reg and regfix.reg as recommended elsewhere in this forum, but nothing has changed. I tried doing a system restore to restore to factory defaults, and the computer reboots, but it is unchanged.

I was able to remove the virus using the Linux-based Trinity Rescue Kit, booted from a CD, but still can't get any programs to run.

Task Manager will open, and under "services," more than half of what is listed shows "stopped" under "status." If I right-click any of them and choose "start," I get the error message, "The operation could not be completed. Access is denied."

Any ideas what to try?

Do a system restore and if that fails then a complete reinstall of the OS is in order. Sometimes with a virus a reinstall is the only option.

I already tried the system restore. I ran the "Gateway Recovery Management" tool, and it ran to the point of asking me if I really wanted to restore factory defaults, etc. After clicking "yes," the computer shut down and rebooted, but did not restore factory defaults.

Since my computer didn't come with operating system disks (the Gateway Recovery Management is supposed to make those unnecessary), what can I do next?

Thanks!