Re-Installation & Erasing HD

J

jimlau

New Member
i caught a virus and tried to re-install windows xp from the boot disk. i went through the partition step. once xp was installed, files from before re-installation are still there (tho i could not see them at first).



doesn't re-install and partitioning erase everything that was on the hard drive?



thanks.
 
Reinstall Windows again. When you get the list of partitions, delete them. Then format the drive and install Windows.
 
Yes and no... Partitioning isn't really the term you need to be using here seeing as many partitioning tools can partition without requiring a format afterward. And it is possible to essentially re-install Windows over itself and retain your data.

Basically, during the setup, you need to FORMAT your drive/partition. This will erase everything from the hard drive (or that partition)
 
I would recommend that the next time you get a virus, come here first. Infections can nearly always be dealt with in less extreme ways than reinstalling the operating system.
 
done and done. thanks.

i did have a problem at first - during the set-up, the dvd drive that had the re-install cd made a clicking sound, after which the installation stalled. does that sound like a faulty drive? i thought it was working ok.

i tried to put it in my other, cd-drive (drive E), but the re-installation did not recognize that drive yet. so it took multiple trials before the drive did not click.

btw, u suggest to come here if i have a virus instead of re-install. is that because it's a pain to erase everything and re-install, or is there some potential problem re-installing?

thanks.
 
jimlau said:
btw, u suggest to come here if i have a virus instead of re-install. is that because it's a pain to erase everything and re-install, or is there some potential problem re-installing?
Click to expand...

He meant that most infections can be cleaned very easily with just running a few programs. FYI, a virus scanner alone won't remove most of today's infections. You need a malware scanner such as Malwarebytes or Superantispyware. We probably could have removed your infections so that you didn't have to reinstall windows.
 
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