can't remove entries from registry

I'm trying to clean up after a virus infection on an XP Pro SP2 machine. I
have a list of all the registry entries added by the virus, and want to
manually delete them. I can find them easily enough, but when I try to
delete them I get an 'unable to delete all occurrences' message (or words
very similar!).

I'm not very experienced in editing the registry - I usually use a util to
keep it tuned - and I know how dangerous it can be. But although I've
removed the virus exe from the machine, and prevented firewall_anti from
loading or running, I still have all these registry entries that I'd like to
get rid of. What's the right way to do it please? I'm right-clicking the
reg entry concerned and choosing delete. Edit/Delete gives me the same
message. As I say, I have what seems like an accurate list of the reg
entries made by the virus (from Sophos).

Any pointers greatly appreciated, thanks

Hi Jeff,

I'm more experienced with NT4, but these comments should apply equally to XP:

Most people are unaware of it, but NT actually has security settings on registry
settings, just like it does on files on a NTFS volume. When you try to delete
one of the registry entries and get a refusal from the system, it is likely that
the virus has set the permissions to prevent you from deleting it.

With the offending registry key highlighted, select 'Security > Permissions'
from the menu and set the permissions back to 'Everyone - Full Control', then
you will be allowed to delete it. Be aware that you may need to tick the box for
'replace on all sub-keys' as well, if the key you are trying to delete has
subkeys underneath it - a locked key further down the branch you are trying to
kill will cause the same 'refused' symptoms you described.

Use extreme care of course !

Hope this helps,

Calvin.