I have a virus and want to format my Hard Drive please help?

Question

Ok I've got one or more virus' on my computer and I want to format my Hard Drive because all the anti-virus software I've tried doesn't get rid of it/them.

1.I've got an external HDD but its formatted to FAT32 to work with my ps3 will it still back up my system?

2.Will I have to re-install Vista becuase I have the back-up disc but I don't know if it will work?

3.How do I format my drive safely?

4.Is there anything else I need to know?

Please keep it simple as I'm good with computers but not an expert.

Thanks :)

Answer 1

hmm , maybe it's just me but I have never had to reformatt a pc just because it had a virus . how about telling us what the virus or trojan is and see if I or another know how to fix it .. reformatting should always be the last resort .

Answer 2

I agree with Randy on this one

Answer 3

Go to http://www.malwarebytes.org and download the latest version of their free scanner. It will detect and remove all types of malware.

Answer 4

1. yes, it is okay

2. check your backup disk first

3, boot from your windows distribute cd, choose format target drive while installing, this will clear all on ttarget drive

4. make sure always that you have backup of your data, and it's not infected (yes, even .xls excel files could have been infected)