erasing hard drive

[Steve S]

I got a virus on my PC and need to erase the hard drive of
windows XP and start over. Can anyone help?

 

[Lou]

You can probably find utility at HD manufactures web site
to zero hard drive I know Maxtor has one Maxblast 3. Hope
this helps.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Use the following procedure for a "clean install" of Windows XP:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

To secure your computer and prevent possible future security breeches,
consider installing a first-rate, comprehensive, internet security program:

Norton Internet Security 2004
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/nis_pe/

-- Includes Norton AntiVirus 2004
-- Includes Norton Personal Firewall
-- Includes prevention of annoying web pop-ups
-- Includes Parental Controls
-- All in one, easy-to-install package


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I got a virus on my PC and need to erase the hard drive of
windows XP and start over. Can anyone help?

Why do you think you "need" to do this? Viruses can normally be
removed with anti-virus software.

But if you insist, just boot from the Windows XP CD and follow
the prompts for a clean installation. It will do the reformat for
you.

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Travis King]

The steps are correct, you should go into the BIOS and make your CD drive
the first bootable device, otherwise the computer will probably start into
Windows XP as normally. I've had to reformat for a virus several times; you
remove it and it comes back. Sometimes, I've had it completely removed, but
you could still see traces of it or the computer lost performance
afterwards. I understand why you want to reformat. I just reformatted my
computer last night because it was getting severely slow to the point where
it was bascially unusable. I couldn't even get into my computer without it
wanting to freeze up. No, I didn't have a virus that time, however. I
didn't have much running either. I don't know what it was. Oh well, I
wanted to get Windows Media Player 10 Beta out of there anyway.