I want to wipe my computer clean and start anew. I think I have a virus, because my C drive keeps mysteriously becoming full and I haven't even downloaded anything. When I delete an older program to make space, it fills back up again. I tried starting fresh with the Windows 7 cd. It reset everything, but my drives were not reset. How do I wipe out my ENTIRE computer? Thanks guys
Get a new computer, purchase a very good virus protection program and always have your fire wall on strict. Or you can simply stop going to web sights you never been to before, because you don't know if they're carrying viruses or not.
You can use TreeSize to find out what's taking up space on your hard drive. Did you actually format it when you tried the Windows CD?
Sounds like he didn't format. He probably chose the windows repair option, which only rewrites the windows folder. If you don't need any files on your computer, just boot off your windows CD and choose clean install.
Darik's Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe and Data Clearing Burn it to a CD, boot from it, and basically follow the instructions. It will take a couple hours to wipe (well, overwrite with zeros) your drive. Then you re-install Windows with a copy that has worked for you before.
This. Its not just a "wipe" that you want, you want an over write, which basically writes on top of the data you already had replacing it with blank info. A format and simple over write should do it. You shouldnt need to buy a new hard drive....
Purchasing an anti-virus program seems to be the biggest misconception in the windows/virus war. No matter how well protected you are, viruses can still infect your pc. It all comes down to your browsing habits i.e, downloading unknown torrents, etc. I use windows defender (free), and I haven't gotten infected ONCE.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Installing-and-reinstalling-Windows-7 To install Windows 7 using the Custom option and formatting the hard disk To format your hard disk during Windows 7 installation, you'll need to start, or boot, your computer using the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive. Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, and then shut down your computer. Restart your computer. Press any key when prompted, and then follow the instructions that appear. On the Install Windows page, enter your language and other preferences, and then click Next. If the Install Windows page doesn't appear, and you're not asked to press any key, you might need to change some system settings. To learn how to do this, see Start your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then click Next. On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom. On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced). Click the partition that you want to change, click the formatting option you want to perform, and then follow the instructions. You want to delete all the existing partitions, then create a new one When you've finished formatting, click Next. Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account.
Insert your OS disk and when you boot up to install the new OS make sure you format your entire hard drive. I do this at least once a year. It keeps my computer fresh from filling up with shit.
