boot disc

T

tmb867

I have a computer that has a virus and I cannot reformat it the usual ways. I
believe I need a boot disk with FDisk on it so that I can reformat. It is Win
XP. How can I create this disk?
 
D

DL

And what do you mean by cannot format in the usual way?
The usuall method is to boot using the winxp cd and delete any/all
partitions, you cannot format your sys drive within win.
 
L

Lem

tmb867 said:
I have a computer that has a virus and I cannot reformat it the usual ways. I
believe I need a boot disk with FDisk on it so that I can reformat. It is Win
XP. How can I create this disk?

And if someone tells you how to create a boot disk with Fdisk on it,
what do you propose to do with that empty formatted hard drive?

If you want to take the drastic action of wiping your hard drive and
reinstalling Windows, see http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
 
E

Elmo

tmb867 said:
I have a computer that has a virus and I cannot reformat it the usual ways. I
believe I need a boot disk with FDisk on it so that I can reformat. It is Win
XP. How can I create this disk?

Download this Avira Antivir Rescue System program which will burn a CD
image to a blank CD. It's updated a few times per day. Insert the CD
into the damaged machine and let it do a scan of your system. Before
starting the scan, select "Configuration" and set to repair or rename
the infected files. Sometimes your machine won't restart after such a
repair process, so you might want to save needed files to another system
before using this. If you can't, then you can move the hard drive to
another machine to copy needed files. You can do that before, or after
this scan.

http://www.free-av.com/en/tools/12/avira_antivir_rescue_system.html

Then run these:

Malwarebytes© Corporation
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

SuperAntispyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

You can try some of the CD's mentioned at the following site.
BitDefender was my favorite, but if the infected machine can't connect
to the internet to get updates, Avira comes with current virus
definitions. Also, some of these just won't run on some systems,
perhaps because there's no drivers available for some system devices,
motherboard, graphics card, etc. So try a few of these till you find
one that works:

Burn BitDefender, or another program listed at the link below, to a CD
(using a working machine) and test the infected machine with it.
BitDefender also has a Rootkit checker on the Linux Desktop; run it if
you think that's the problem:

http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-list/

Download the executable rather than the .iso image, if one is available,
(though no .exe is available for BitDefender).

After the scan is run, if you elect to quarantine files, they're
quarantined to RAM and lost after you reboot. You'll need to copy any
quarantined files to the hard drive, a thumb drive or elsewhere before
exiting.
 
T

tmb867

Yes using the winxp cd would be one of the usual ways. It gets an error. I
have a virus and need to reformat the drive clean. It effected all the
..exe's. I can format from dos either.
 
T

tmb867

Reformat obviously. I want it wiped clean. I cannot do it with the winxp cd.
it gets an error because of the virus.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

tmb867 said:
Reformat obviously. I want it wiped clean. I cannot do it with the winxp cd.
it gets an error because of the virus.


If you're truly booting from the WinXP CD, there is no way it'd be
possible for any virus on the hard drive to come "into play." You'll
not have loaded or accessed the hard drive's WinXP installation in any way.

All legitimate WinXP installation CDs are bootable and have the
capability of deleting, creating, and formatting partitions.

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

If the computer is failing to boot from the WinXP CD and/or you're not
able to delete the partition and create/format a new partition in its
place, there is something else wrong. What is the *exact* text of the
error message(s) you get when booting from the WinXP CD and trying to
format the partition?




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
D

Daave

Yes, you can (and must) do it with the Windows XP installation CD. Use
the method in the link provided by Lem.

You need to make sure you boot off the CD instead of the hard drive!!!
Otherwise, you will continue to get errors!
 
D

Daave

tmb867 said:
I have a computer that has a virus and I cannot reformat it the usual
ways. I believe I need a boot disk with FDisk on it so that I can
reformat. It is Win XP. How can I create this disk?

Formatting your hard drive is a radical way to get rid of the virus! It
takes a lot of time and effort to do it correctly.

Perhaps you would prefer a far less drastic solution (removing the
virus). If so, post back with details, such as the name of the virus,
which AV program you used, etc. If there are error messages, post them
verbatim. Same thing goes for text in popup windows.

If your PC is indeed far too compromised and a Clean Install is the only
sensible move, make sure all your data is backed up first (including
e-mails and Web browser favorites/bookmarks). You will also need all the
installation media/files for all your programs as well as all the
necessary hardware drivers (now is the time to ask questions if you have
any). Once all the prep work is done, follow the directions here:

http://michaelstevenstech.com:80/cleanxpinstall.html

And make sure you configure your BIOS so that you boot off the CD and
not the hard drive!!!

What is the make and model of your PC?
 
J

Jose

Yes using the winxp cd would be one of the usual ways. It gets an error. I
have a virus and need to reformat the drive clean. It effected all the
.exe's. I can format from dos either.

You should be able to start over using your genuine bootable XP
installation CD.

Here is a popular link that tells you how:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

We still don't know what the problem is though - it may be fixable.

What is the error and when do you get it?

What do you mean it effected all the .exe's?

The chances are good if you want to try to fix it, somebody here has
seen it before an is familiar with the problem or we can gang up on
it.

I have never reinstalled XP to fix any problem.
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I have a computer that has a virus


What virus?

How do you know you have it?

How long have you had it?

and I cannot reformat it the usual ways.


Why do you want to reformat it? It's very seldom the best way to deal
with a single virus?

I
believe I need a boot disk with FDisk on it so that I can reformat. It is Win
XP. How can I create this disk?


If your plans are to reinstall Windows XP, you do not need a boot
disk. Simply boot from the XP CD and follow the prompts for a clean
installation. It will do the reformat as its first step.
 
D

DL

Unless your PC has a bios virus, booting from the winxp to clean install
would not be affected by any virus.
Of course you cannot format via dos, niether can you format within win, you
wont see anything on the drive if you boot from the winxp cd
 
B

Ben Myers

tmb867 said:
I have a computer that has a virus and I cannot reformat it the usual ways. I
believe I need a boot disk with FDisk on it so that I can reformat. It is Win
XP. How can I create this disk?

If there is nothing on the disk worth saving, go into the BIOS setup, find
"Boot Sequence" and make sure "CD" is first. Be sure to save any
changes. Then try booting with the XP CD. If this doesn't help, try a
different CD or try booting a known good computer with the Windows
XP CD.

Ben
 

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