The way I see it, a virus can only reside on the hard drive. So, replacing it and using a system restore disk should solve the problem, right?
2007-02-05 15:07:29 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
I understand that all my important files should be backed up before replacing the hard drive.
2007-02-05 15:12:30 · update #1
Yes, but...
1. Any devices with Flash memory (USB flash drives, camera/phone cards, even some joysticks and mice include a small amount of onboard memory) could potentially have a copy of the virus installed on it.
2. Backing up your files will certainly save them...but by opening up the destination that you'd plan to save them to, you could easily end up allowing the virus to be batched in with them.
3. Replacing the hard-drive won't do anything that reformating it wouldn't also accomplish. Once you've wiped the drive clean (or at least the File Allocation Table and the Registry), a virus can't regenerate itself.
4. It's always possible to clean a virus out of your system, provided you know both what virus it is, and the proper steps to take to clean it out.
5. You might not have a virus at all. Your problems could be caused by basic adware/spyware, a hardware failure, or even a badly fragmented harddrive.
What I'd suggest to do, in the following order, is set your web-browser options to delete all temporary internet files upon exit, use the Disk Cleanup utility, use the Disk Defragmenter utility, install and use a good antivirus program (for these, stick to something that you actually pay for, as the free versions, in my experience, don't update nearly fast enough to keep up with the slew of new viruses that are released every single day, and viruses will generally do more harm to your system than spyware), install and use at least two good anti-adware/spyware programs (the two best, in my experience, are Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, and Spybot Search & Destroy, but it wouldn't hurt to run more than two), and finally start comparing the various programs and applets that load when you reboot vs. how much or little RAM your system has available. The last step is a very basic option that might easily reveal your culprit, but the rest of it is stuff that you should already be doing as a matter of general system upkeep.
Now, if it does turn out that you have a virus, the anti-virus software should be able to either delete it, quarantine it (most likely), or at the very least identify it for you. If all you get is the latter, check the websites of all the major antivirus programs (Trend-Micro's PC-Cillin, McAfee, and Norton) to see if they have instructions on how to delete the offending virus and keep it from reinstalling itself the next time you reboot your computer (I had one slip past my antivirus software twice before they managed to identify it, but both times I was able to find removal instructions on a competitor's website and scrub it of my system).
2007-02-05 15:41:51 · answer #1 · answered by the_amazing_purple_dave 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Replacing the hard drive will solve the virus problem but if you do a restore it will likely be contained in one of the programs. Which will give you the same problem.
Unless you use the original software and not transfer any of the data files.
2007-02-05 15:17:22 · answer #2 · answered by harvman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes that should do the trick. The hard drive is the only part of the system that is non-volatile, meaning that it stores information once the computer if turned off. No other part of your computer would be able to "save" a virus other than the hard drive. However, if you have other types of media that might be affected (things you've saved to a cd [like a virus embedded song or program] for example) once you use them with your new hard drvie it could effect it again. But if the virus is only on your hard drive a new one will fix that problem.
2007-02-05 15:16:53 · answer #3 · answered by ilovelamp 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
christainer or whatever is right not roadrunner it can effect your cmos/ bios if its a bad one. Your assumption about it only being able to be on a hard drive is wrong but if its a cruddy virus you shouldnt even have to do that just do a low level format of the drive. If that doesnt work its probably affected your bios too in which case reset them. And if that doesnt work sorry.
2007-02-05 16:47:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would be retarded to change out your hard drive to get rid of a virus. That would be similar to throwing out your clothes if they got dirty. Like the other person said if you do a restore or format your hard drive and reinstall Windows, it should get rid of any viruses on the computer. While their are viruses that can get into your cmos, they are EXTREMELY rare.
2007-02-05 15:31:37 · answer #5 · answered by jlachovsky 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Replacing the hard drive will solve your virus problem but it will also erase all of your memory.
2007-02-05 15:10:17 · answer #6 · answered by Luke Vader 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You cant get a virus on a cmos or bios i test firmware!!! but if your files are infected they will infect the new hd. You can restore the hd and keep the original hd. But you will lose your info.
2007-02-05 15:59:47 · answer #7 · answered by 2000jeep 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes since virus is stored on a HDD replacing it will get rid of it altogether
2007-02-05 15:14:54 · answer #8 · answered by Truth is Divine 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes unless you have a hardware virus that can attack your BIOS/CMOS but more than likely you only have a software virus.
2007-02-05 15:12:16 · answer #9 · answered by chrisnterri520 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well that's a drastic measure a reformat and a good virus program and you also be almost as good.
2007-02-05 15:20:23 · answer #10 · answered by Dave K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋