How do i wipe my hard drive completely?

Question

I have found coolwebsearch on my computer, and despite all anti-virus and other utilities apparently 'wiping' it away, i think it is still there. I want to wipe the hard drive completely.

I use E-machines computer and have 3x Recovery disks. How do i do this? I have tried to run from start-up, and even open the first disc via D:drive, but it won't do it. Cheers :)

Answer 1

I have the solution and it doesn't involve wiping your harddrive.

The guys at the following forum are the absolute best of the best. I had coolwebsearch a while back...a massive infection...but they were able to kill it. Register at the forum there, explain your situation, and be patient as they are helping quite a few people. Make sure to read the stickys as well. I promise you won't be disapointed.

http://boards.cexx.org/index.php?board=1

Answer 2

You do realise what ever you use you will wipe out everything including your "My Document files" so I suggest you back them up first if you have more than one hard drive, if not use data discs to save too.

Then start up your PC and go into BIOS or CMOS i.e. the boot directory change what your PC reads first if your recovery disks are floppy disks make sure the PC reads the floppy drive first, then your C drive and lastly the HDD (hard drive) then start your PC it should then start reading the recovery disks and you follow procedure of each required disc.

Failing that change your sequence of which driver is read first so that it is the D drive (normally), place in your Windows disc which ever it is and re format the hard drive it will clear the lot following the step by step guide on screen it depends how fast your PC is but can take a while to reload everything.

Take note only do this if you have the supporting software for your PC if your PC is from PC World STOP! they don't normally supply you with your software which we all know is wrong, so please make sure you have the required software before you start or your PC will be rendered as useless.

Basically what you want is a wipe and reload of windows as said remember when you do that it will wipe the hard drive clear and you never be able to retrieve your work again.

Hope this has helped.

Answer 3

Depends what you mean by wiping the drive... If you just want to wipe it and leave yourself with no windows operating system then all you have to do is:

1. go to my computer
2. right click on the desired drive
3. select format

you can then select a quick format if you want to quickly erase the drive. if you want a more thorough format leave the quick format box unticked. it will take longer but is a bit better.

If you want to wipe the drive using your manufacturers restore cd's reinstalling windows then what you will have to do is change the boot priority so that the computer will read from the cd drive first instead of the hard drive.

Upon startup you will see what button you need to press displayed usually at the bottom of the screen, different systems have different buttons to activate the bios so you need to look carefully for what button to press. once in the bios go to advance setting and select it to boot from your cd drive first. place your first restore cd in the drive and save the settings and exit.

all you have to do now is follow the instructions that will appear upon your screen.

Any questions dont hesitate to message me I'll be happy to help

Answer 4

1. Make sure you have the install codes for the windows. 2. Load the Windows CD and shutdown/restart the machine. When the option appears - BOOT from CD. The windows install will start. Now is a good time to get a cuppa. 3. You will have a screen that shows partitions on the disk, asking where to install windows. Option D and L to confirm, will delete the partition(s). Delete them all. 4. Create a partition using all the available space, tell it to format and install. Now go and have dinner. When you come back, it will be asking for code numbers, where you live, time, etc Finish all the question and keep going - it will ask you what it needs. After 2 or three reboots, it will be running... Graeme

Answer 5

coolwebsearch is a pretty nasty peice of spyware however the spyware scanner"spybot" is specificly designed to clean this type of spyware
download spybot from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html,then install it,remember to update it,then imunize it,then run a scan
spybot will scan for problems and once the scan is complete it will display"fix selected problems",depending on the amount of spyware found this will take between 30 seconds up to a few minutes
sometimes you may be required to reboot the p.c,and spybot will fix the remaining problems after the reboot
another program specificly made for the coolwebsearch infection is CWShredder™ avalible from http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html
CWShredder™ finds and destroys traces of CoolWebSearch. CoolWebSearch is a name given to a wide range of different browser hijackers. Though the code is very different between variants, they are all used to redirect users to coolwebsearch.com and other sites affiliated with its operators
however if you wish to format your drive ,then windows xp will do this for you during the re-installation or when you use your e-machine recovery disk
a recovery disk will basically restore your p.c to its "factory default " state,the way it was when you first took it out of the box
any further problems let me know
good luck mate!

Answer 6

To use the recovery CD, put the 1st one in the CD drive and reboot. Watch for it to boot from the CD, or prompt you to hit any key to boot from CD. May have to check the BIOS settings for the boot order. Kind of desperate move just to clean up coolweb.

Answer 7

you don't say what system you're running. if less than xp you can put a system start up disc in and type format c/ :s but put the operating disc you want to install in your drive before you do this. it is self explanatory after that. it tells you what to do x

Answer 8

You will have to open your BIOS on startup and have it boot from the CD. This is often done by holding either esc or F1 at boot, but it varies greatly, so consult your motherboard's manual.

Answer 9

If you go to 'my computer' and right click on your drive logo it should give you the option to format the drive.

Answer 10

I think you have to format it by right clicking on the drive icon and selecting format.