Is formating a computer which has been slow for virus and other unknown problem a good solution?

Answer 1

I don't believe it is a good solution due to the timely process, but I believe it will give you a fresh start with no viruses.

Answer 2

Formatting ur computer is a good reason but it consumes a lot of time to load ur os , drivers and other required softwares.
But the other preferred alternative i suggest is better go for cleaning with an anti-virus software up to date. This works only if u r suffering from viruses.
I there is a reason other than viruses better try to navigate the problem and then put a question here.
Hope my answer will give u some clue

Answer 3

I assume you want to format the drive and reinstall your operating system in the hope that the problems will go away. Do you still want to keep some data from the present setup and move it to the new installation?
Reinstallation is usually the last resort and may cure your problems. But if you want to keep old data, you need to be careful that you do not move infected files to your new installation. And before you reformat your drive, make sure you have all the drivers for your PC. Many people misplace their drivers and have a job reinstalling.
After you have reinstalled Windows, install an uptodate virus scanner before you restore your data. Hopefully any infected file will be picked up and cleaned. Try not to install any programs you don't really need. They can slow down your PC if they load things into the startup. Keep the installation lean. All the best.

Answer 4

Most of the time YES, But if the virus is a Master Boot Record virus formatting is not the solution.

Answer 5

Formatting the C: drive? Well, it'll certainly fix any (and I do mean any) software issues you have, from corrupted files to viruses to spyware. It'll also clear out every last file that you have stored on that drive, so make absolutely sure that you've backed up any bit of data that you might possibly want to keep first. And also make sure you have installation disks for all of the software you'll then need to reload by hand. And be prepared to go without a functional computer for a few days (hint: this is a task best suited to the weekend), so if you need to keep up with e-mail and such, or make sure you have a way to get online help if needed, hopefully you have easy access to another internet-capable computer.

Answer 6

I have had to do this a few times because of the kids downloading games with viruses attached, it is a little time consuming but does work, just remember to save any files you want to keep to disc before you do it, then when you have rebooted everything install some good anti virus software, there are some good freebies if you look in the right places, mcaffee, avast and web-root window washer are my top tips. GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 7

It all depends on the conditions. If you can easily backup your data, format the HDD and reinstall everything, then it would be more radical and effective to use format. Now if you can't do that for any reasons you may try to remove the virus(es) with antivirus software, anti-spy utilities or just manually. It all depends.

Answer 8

short answer NO!

Formatting a drive should always be the last resort when attempting to diagnose and correct errors.
first re-run a malware scan and clean. browse to:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
allow the scan to completely scan your entire system. now let it clean what it can and delete anything uncleanable.
now go to http://registry-clean.net and download and then run the demo of registry clean expert. you will need to run the scan and fix several times until your computer reports as clean/ fixed/ no errors. I strongly urge you to buy the licence for the software to save time next time you run it. and you should run the registry clean at least once a week.
you should now use registry clean to remove your browser history files.
now go and get adaware from http://lavasoft.com now run it and allow it to scan for negligible risk items. this will include clearing out your MRU lists this
next restart your computer, clear out the quarantine log in adaware and repeat all the scans.
once they all say your system is clean next step is to run chkdsk and allow it to fix any errors. opting to scan on next restart if it can not run instantly.
finally run defrag once all this is done if the system is still slow then your hard drive may be failing, or most likely you have too much datya on your hard drive. To operate at peak (optimum) performance it is best to have atleast 20% of your hard drives capacity free for the use of the swap/pagefile. less than this and your system will become slow and sluggish.

I speak from personal experiance of having once had a system report the symptoms you describe. following the steps above solved my problem.
if all the above fail then a format will not help. it may be best to buy a new hard drive.

good luck

Answer 9

If you cannot solve the problem with system restore or a good anti-virus programme, ie: norton security, (which i find excellent) then personally i would reformat, which i have done a few times with no problem, machine as good as new. I hope to have been some help, good luck.

Answer 10

My answer -NO!
Formatting should the the last and final opinion.
To remove virus you can use an anti-virus.
"Avast" is a good freeware anti-virus.
Download it from
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

To remove spywares and adwares use "Spybot search and deatroy"-a freeware. Download it from
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/spybot.html

To clear registry you can use "Tweak now Registry Cleaner"-a freeware, Download it from
http://www.tweaknow.com/RegCleaner.html

Also if this doesn't work Format you hard drive.Use 'Partition Logic' for this-another freeware.
BEST OF LUCK!