I have a virus on my computer and im trying to find a program to use that will completely and safely whipe out the hard drive so no data can ever be found again so it gets rid of the virus and all i dont wanna attempt to fix it myself cause its just to much work is there any program thats safe to use to shred all the files on the hard drive so i can install a fresh copy of windows xp???
rubbish.. reinstalling xp doesn't destroy 100% of data.. it just installs the same files in the same places. I have recovered significant amounts of data from xp drives which have had a full format and reinstall. It's a common misconception that formatting destroys data.. it doesn't.. all that happens is the file table is overwritten. Try it yourself if you want. Format a drive, reinstall the same os and then issue the unformat command and see what happens.
To wipe a drive on the cheap http://www.killdisk.com/ the free one is good enough for your purpose.. the only way to really put data totally beyond recovery is with a hammer, There will always be little bits left hiding in the empty spaces between new data you write to a drive.. as forensic (read police) experts will tell you.
so format = joke
killdisk = better.. 00 to every sector in sequence blanks the drive from start to finish effectively. It takes a pretty long time.
fill drive with other data like dvd files = better still (but some virii can avoid this by lurking in unpartitioned space or the mbr)
hammer = ultimate security for disposal of old drives
deadlove is correct in saying that you really cant wipe out all data, but as hard drives are relatively cheap these days just go and buy another one, and the one that has a virus amore permanent solution is to take a hammer to it.It definitely wont give up its secrets after the bashing your going to give it.
well if all you want is to get rid of the virus here's what you do...]
*remember the day your computer was infected(or the week/month it doesn't matter which)
*Press on the start button and navigate to system restore and click on it...
(click accessories then system tools)this will bring up 2 options:
1. restore my computer to an earlier time
2. create a restore point
you will want to restore to an earlier time...
(about a week before your computer was infected)
-what this does is set your computer back to an earlier state
(by doing this it will freeze the virus)
*open up your web browser after you restore your computer to an earlier time and go to http://www.download.com and search for this file(AVG Free Edition)
the file you need to download looks like this:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 7.5.503
category:Anti-Virus Software
protect your computer from viruses and malicious
programs
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Version May Vary(7.5.503This is the version)But the Rest will stay the same(AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition)
*Download the installer(you don't have to pay for anything)
*Install AVG on your computer and you will now have very reliable Virus Protection on your computer in fact i've been using this same protection for about a year now and i've had no problems.
I used this same tutorial when i had a virus on my computer about a year ago saved me alot of time and money doing this i hope it works fine for You or anyone else who follows this tutorial.
i've never heard of that happening but it should still work...did you try it...seeing as it doesn't just restore your C: Drive it restores the whole system to that date specified,and besides if the virus ate your C: Drive and you couldn't access it...then how could you even boot windows...seeing as it ate your C: Drive?
i couldnt, i had to re format the whole bloody thing.So i went from xp home to pro in a very short time.Now if i have a virus or an issue, a mate has remote access to fix it.
The virus was really bad, slipped in as a data package under nortons .So i dont use nortons anymore.
O when i looked at the drive properties on the install there was no c: drive.So i had to reformat the hard drive so that it would show up
