How do I COMPLETELY erase mem on my PC and reboot? Besides buy a new one :)?

Question

I can't seem to get rid of the crap on my pc, to the point that I just want to wipe it completely clean and start anew. I have managed to get the virus off, so Norton says, but not the adware. It just won't work right. Is there a logical way for me to either FIX it, or wipe it all clean and reboot from DOS?? I have no idea..... HELP

Answer 1

Unpartition, then partition the hard drive.
Reinstall Windows.

Answer 2

If you want to /completely/ erase the contents of your harddrive what you need is something called a low-level formatting utility. You can find these for free pretty easy by poking around on the web. What you want should at least be DoD compliant. What this thing does is writes over the stuff already on your drive until the data that was there is (supposedly) unrecoverable. Once you've done this you will need to reinstall your operating system and all of your software. This is a bit extreme though, especially considering this will also erase any files you may have unless you save them to a CD or whatever before formatting. If you're having problems with Adware and aren't having any luck getting it removed, you might consider taking your computer to a professional repair shop and having the technicians there perform an adware removal. You may also consider installing Firefox and an anti-spyware/adware suite of software once you get your computer back from the shop.

Answer 3

Many of us face the same problem dude..I will tell you some ways to make ur system clear without deleting each and everything.

First option is to search for any exe files in your hard drive other than the OS installed drive. Delete each and every .exe file so that the virus doesnt replicate when you use that application.Using this approach you can get rid of most of the nagging probs.

Second option is the format the hard drive in a full format mode while installing the OS.

So choose the right option depending on your needs.

Happy hunting( for the adware)

Answer 4

You ave to buy a disk that will erase everything completely off, but it usually costs a few bucks to do that..

I would say, go to Windows virus patch page. They have alot of good patches in there, and even cleaners and fixits for viruses.

Also, try using the free Yahoo virus and spyware tools. They also have free popup blocker.

Here are some sites to help. I would suggest downloading the patches first, if you know the name of the virus, or any information about it. The adware may be harmless, and may be there because of another program you downloaded, and chose to keep on.

http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/default.aspx
http://www.esecurityplanet.com/patches/

If none of this works, then use your disk and restore your computer to its original settings. That might get rid of any viruses, too, but not always, so try the patches and the yahoo scanware first. ITs all free, too, so no $$$ needs to be wasted.

Answer 5

Well I would try different free programs like Ad-ware, and spybot, those usually get rid of all the spyware you will have. If you don't care what you have on your PC you need to format your C drive. Re-install your Windows and it will prompt you to do so. But just so you know it will do you no good if you wipe your computer clean but leave it vulnerable to spyware again. Get some anti-virus,spam,spyware,adware software.

Answer 6

If you want to start off clean, read this article.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/getstarted/installnew.mspx

Then follow these instructions.
1. Start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM. To do this, insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.

2. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.

3. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.

4. Read the End-User License Agreement, and then press F8.

5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP.

6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Windows XP Setup.

Answer 7

wipe it all clean by usin a bootable disk/floppy....
it will prompt u 2 press any key wen u restart ur pc aftr insertting the cd
Do so ,& format all ur drives using normal FAT 32 format

Answer 8

If you want to just erase your entire drive, when your computer starts up, you need to find which letter is your hard drive. Then at the command prompt type fomat c:/ (or whatever your drive is).

Answer 9

Format the disk and re-install Windows, that's it! If it makes you feel any better, format this darn disk 2,3, 4... times as you want.

Answer 10

you need to have your reinstall disk that came with your computer when you first bought it. do you still have that cd? and do you have a spyware running on your computer, removing spyware often helps speed the computer up