my friends computer is over run with viruses so i decided to back up his computer.. he has no control panel in his version of xp!! so my only option is to flash the harddrive and reinstal the os.. how do i go about doing this i know i might have to use comand prompt so i was wondering what i might have to type into comand promt to flash the computer..
2007-12-15 07:05:37 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
if he's over-run as you say ... how can you be sure you didn't back-up viruses with his data ... anyway ... if you want to take the gamble on that ... just insert the XP CD and let it boot ...follow the prompts and you'll soon get an option to delete partitions and reformat ... that will wipe everything so you can start fresh
2007-12-15 07:11:09 · answer #1 · answered by Jack K 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, the backed up items are probably infected, so before reinstalling you better do some serious virus scanning of the data, or you will have what you had and solved nothing.
Second, I would personally use a program like "killdisk" to format the hard drive if it is indeed so badly infected. Killdisk is a free download from NTFS.com as well as other sites. Viruses can hide in partitions and so a simple format may not delete them, also a simple format can retain information and bother a fresh install of Windows.
Before you do any king of a format (either killdisk or other) make sure you have the drivers for the computer.
Use the motto "Do it right and do it once" or "DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME".
2007-12-15 07:53:44 · answer #2 · answered by Frank N 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you put the XP install disk back in the computer the intial setup will prompt you how to configure the hard drive. Go and delete the existing partition and then re create it which will completly wipe all information on the hard drive
2007-12-15 07:09:38 · answer #3 · answered by cmegrey 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you mean formatting the hard drive. when you reinstall XP you will have the option to format the hard drive before installation. just make sure you have the bios in the computer set to boot from the CD.
2007-12-15 07:11:07 · answer #4 · answered by Beandip408 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, you don't need to reinstall the OS, you need to "Repair" his XP install. Insert the CD, choose repair option of the install.
2007-12-15 07:09:09 · answer #5 · answered by cglrcng 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
uh what are you talking about.
Flashing the hard drive?
what the heck.
Learn terms that are actually defined in this context.
2007-12-15 07:08:40 · answer #6 · answered by Brian C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋