Shaba:

The .exe fix worked, in that I could launch some programs (e.g., Solitaire).

I went ahead and tried to launch gmer, but as far as I can tell it did not run. Windows task manager said it was running, but no gmer screen appeared. There was no reference to gmer.sys loading, nor a warning about rootkit activity, nor a Rootkit tab, etc.

I tried in Safe Mode too, same result. Am I not waiting long enough, or should there be some screen after doubleclicking the Gmer icon saying gmer is running?

As an added bonus, during one of the reboots, Antivirus Pro 2010 appeared and began running a fake scan.

I did NOT try Combo-fix.