how to wipe / clean up computer? hard drive?

Question

i've had my latptop for about a year, and there's a few minor annoying problems with it, when i hit shift key sometimes everything cap locks, recently, i keep getting a blue screen that says i must shut down, supposedly a 'serious error;' and my computer might have viruses, adware, spyware, etc; i'm thinking easiest way is to buy a protable hard drive, transfer all data there, and wipe out my laptop(how do this?), and then transfer files from protable drive back to laptop; however, if i have installed software such as photoshop, will this be erased also? any other ways to clean up computer?

Answer 1

If your hard drive is infected by virus, you will need to clean all virii,spyware, malware,etc before transferring the files to your portable hard drive.
The procedure you are talking about won't remove the virus, so there isn't any point in doing it.
You have several other options:
1- You can do a system restore to an earlier date when your computer wasn't infected;
2- You can download a tool such as System Mechanic that can run comprehensive scans to find all the problems with your laptop

The problem in your case is that you don't know what or where your virus infection is, so if you transfer files, you will in all probability transfer the virus as well. Clean your laptop and then back up your data so you won't have the same problem next time.

Answer 2

Proceed cautiously. Reimaging (the process of erasing your hard drive completely and reinstalling the OS and other software)can be a bit involved if you've never done it before. If you've only had your laptop for about a year, the "junk" your computer has accumulated might not be enough to warrant that.

What is the make/model of your laptop?
What OS are you running?
What is your hard drive size and available space? RAM?
Do you have an antivirus installed? Firewall?

Answer 3

Yes, you can wipe your hard drive clean. If you do everything will be gone and inorder to use your laptop you will have to reinstall all.

Try this first,

Left click on My Computer
Right click on drive C: then left click Properties
Left click on the Tools tab
Left click on the Check Now button
Make sure there is a check mark in both boxes
Left click the Start button.

It is also a good practice to run the Defragmentation tool
about once a month.

Best wishes and have fun but be safe.

Answer 4

You should get anti virus software, fire wall, and spyware if you do have it and it still happening then to wipe your system clean you will need all the software that came with your laptop and if you don't take it to a computer repair shop to have it done.