How do i delete everything off my computer?

Question

How do i delete everything off my computer. I want to get all those trojans viruses worms and such that norton and other things cant detect. Ive noticed my computer go slower.... slower...... slower............... every day and i just want to start fresh. but i dont even know if i have the cd thing because all i remember is getting my dell with it on. all so i was wondering if theres a way to keep a couple programs on my system and leave everything else off. Please give me a effective safe way!

Answer 1

You really need the CD. if your computer did not come with a CD, then you would of have to create the dsik. if that's the case, click start, all programs, there should be something that either says system restore or system recovery, it will then give you the option to create the recovery disks.

If you do not have this option, then the CD's would have come with your computer.

Answer 2

You bought s a a DELL, with all of that crap trial software on it.

Backup anything important: Pictures, passwords, movies, favorites, games, etc...

You'll lose everything.


1. You are using NORTON. Get rid of it. I got viruses in the past that Norton didn't even recognize. GET AVG, it is FREE and updated daily and uses very LITTLE computer resources compared to Norton.


2. Download a clean copy of Windows XP PRofessional, not the home edition, and burn it to a CD. Don' ask me for a serial, I am just giving you an alternative decision. Home edition requires hoops and loops to get it registered.

3. Instead of WindowsXP, you may want to consider LINUX. It is free for personal useage and more reliable than XP. REDHAT is not a bad choice.

4. If install the CD that you burned, and follow the instructions for a NEW install.

5. After that is done. Install AVG anti-virus and all of the other drivers that you need.

6. I should have listed this earlier, get all of the DELL drivers for your PC. Download them, like Audio, VGA, Modem, LAN, USB etc...

FOR XP, get the Service Pack1 (not 2) and install it. Get a copy from somebody, the online upgrade may not work for you.

Answer 3

you can look for "kill programs" , but a good reinstall, commonly called a clean reinstall would be your best bet.
Do not go on the Internet without a firewall and AV.
If you have DSL, here is a quick tip to speed up your system. go to control panel>Internet options>connections tab> and click on LAN >remove both check marks. Do not select the "automatic detect settings and you will find you computer will respond faster."
You may have invalid paths in your registry The best thing to do in this case is to purchase a good registry cleaner. I use registry First Aid by Rose City Software.
I like their registry compressor also. Along with running adware, there are system clean up programs. Check into the new program from Microsoft called Windows Live Care. From here you can back up your system on CD or DVD'S and then it checks your AV , defragmates your "C" drive and checks to see if you have the lastest updates from who else, "Microsoft"! Good luck!

Answer 4

Long hard way is to run antivirus and antispyware software until you don't find anything bad anymore.

Fast way is to reformat, but then you need the restore CD, because everything will be gone.

There is no way to keep "just a few things".

If it didn't come with restore CD's, there may be a program on the computer to create them. This is a farly recent development I have run into.

Check your manual or computer's help function.

Answer 5

first of all, backup all the files you may need.

if you say you have a dell then they would have included "system restore cds" FIND THEM!

if you don't have the CDs, do what Lindsay G. said above, create them.

next step is to insert the first CD, the process will be automatic from that point on, follow the instructions and select yes if it asks you if you want to format C: or D:

this will install windows and any other program that came initially with the computer.

hope it helps!

don't forget to backup your files

Answer 6

Well if it's a Dell, that was your first mistake...

But go to the start menu, choose Run and enter cmd. Then, at the prompt, type in:

del *.*

Problem solved. (Although you will also create a few other problems, since you'll lose EVERYTHING, and will have to buy a new copy of Windows if you can't find the CD... but the viruses will be gone.)

Answer 7

if you want to gut your computer, you can't just keep some programs on. you have to reformat the whole thing and hope that any worms didn't physically damage your hard drive or processor.

get to the command prompt and type in...

format c:

and kiss it all goodbye

Answer 8

Most manufacturers will sell you a Windows CD for abut $20.

Answer 9

To have a fresh start you will need to redo your system. No you will have to reformat your hard drive and that will take it all off...you could burn the progams to disk

Answer 10

just try formatting it . Search in google for "Formatting Windows [or your other Operating System].