Help! Need to format my hard drive

[Jules]

Hi

I need the idiot's guide to formatting my hard drive if
anyone can help. I currently have xp pro and wish to
format my hd and re-install xp pro due to a couple of
lovely viruses I received recently. I can't access my
hotmail or messenger as well as sites such as internet
banking or internet shopping. I've tried all sorts of
things such as installing Norton 2003 to get rid of the
little devils which infected me in the first place and
trying various manipulations of my internet connections
and other things I haven't really got a clue about (which
probably made the problem worse!)so unless anyone has any
other suggestions I would like to format my hd and start
with a clean slate. I've backed my work up on cd's for
the past few hours and have browsed countless sites which
supposedly tell me how to do it, but don't! I also have
the xp disc by the way so I think I'm ok to go if I can
just have the right set of instructions.

Thanks in advance. My second alternative is to take a
hammer to the darned thing or take it to someone who
knows what they're doing with it (the hammer is looking
good right now!!!!!!)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJulesxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[purplehaz]

Put xp disc in. Reboot computer so it boots to the xp disk, follow on screen
instructions.
If your computer wont boot to the cd, go into the bios and set the cdrom as
the first boot device.

 

[Guest]

Try this site first. It may help. Viruses
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/tools.list.ht
ml Lori

 

[Guest]

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/honey
cutt/02october07.asp browse this article also

 

[Guest]

review this article for some info
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;313348

 

[Alex Nichol]

I need the idiot's guide to formatting my hard drive if
anyone can help. I currently have xp pro and wish to
format my hd and re-install xp pro due to a couple of
lovely viruses I received recently. I can't access my
hotmail or messenger as well as sites such as internet
banking or internet shopping.

You do it as part of a reinstall of the system after booting the XP CD
direct. Enter Setup, and after the license agreement take New Install.
When it asks you to confirm where, hit ESC; select and delete the
current partition and make a new RAW one to be formatted at the next
stage

The important point is the delete. Without that it will just go ahead
and make a new install over the top of the old one