Should I reformat my hard drive myself or let a professional do it?
Answers:
First I would consult professionals, not the Geek Squad. Most trojans or viruses do not require reformatting the hard drive to remove them and, in fact, reformatting the hard drive without completing certain steps still will not ensure that a virus that requires this level of removal will be completely removed.
Much of the time, malware/spyware/trojans/viruse... can be removed somewhat simply with common tools by booting into safe mode. The problem is that a few viruses and the like may leave your computer inoperaple when they're removed. That being said, I would attempt non-destructive removal first.
Get a 2nd opinion and let someone else handle reformatting your drive and reinstalling your OS.
Addendum: Be careful about backing up any program files as you can also be backing up the virus and make sure that the first thing that goes on your PC after the operating system is a good quality security suite with anti-virus and anti-spyware.
its as easy to reformat your hard drive and way to cheaper to do so as in FREE.
first off an option could be Trend Micro PC Cillin internet security 2007, yep a long name, its really good and updates every day, that could be a solution to your virus, second off reformatting is an annoying option, if you have the original install disc that you should of burned of windows when you first got your computer, you could use that, but if you use an install disc EVERYTHING will be deleted, and windows will be reinstalled.
First of all, exhaust all your options in seeking a clean-up module for your trojan. Don't be too hasty in reformatting your drive considering all the data you have to back-up and programs you have to reinstall. However, if you really have to,
make sure that you have all your installers ready and that you know what you're doing especially with installing your OS.
Otherwise, have somebody else, who really know what to do, do it for you. Goodluck!
if the hardrive isnt c: do it yourself , if it is c: let someone do it, they ll install an operating system which i dout you can afford to do it yourself.
You should be able to recover from this infection.
Formatting is a LAST resort. Try using moosoft's "the cleaner"
make sure your scanning in safemode with networking, google the virus name for detailed instructions how to remove. turn off system restore an restart it later if need be (clears the restore points as they will reinfect you)
If all else fails and you want to format your drive. ENSURE you have downloaded and burn all the drivers for the machine in question (cannot connect to the net to get drivers if your NIC is not recognized). Also when done formatting, installing, updating ect, check into www.blackviper.com they have a nice extensive configurations guide to reducing the consumption of xp and vista resources.
Ohhhh, why did u have to use geek squad. Those over-charging idiots could barely start a p.c. Have a pro, not geeksquad but somebody else reformat your hard drive if they cant. There also gonna ask if you want everything backed up, and then say that'll be 200 bucks. I would go to wal-mart pick up a nice external hard drive and back up my documents and desktop, then take it to the profesional and tell him to do a reformat. And i dont hate geek squad just because their my competition, its because their idiots and their prices are too high. Before i had my own shop i remember taking it their once. It was for my dymo label maker not working. They charged me 150 and told me buy a new label maker. I found out the next day, all that was wrong with it was the labels had to be turned over.
If you decide to reformat, it is very easy to do yourself.
1. Make sure you have your system restore cd's or your copy of Windows XP.
2. Restart PC with XP cd in drive, and your computer should boot from CD. (If not you need to enter BIOS and change boot device priority to CD drive)
3. After a few mins of loading you will be presented with your install options. You want to DELETE the current partition, CREATE a new one, and choose format and install option. (follow the instructions on the screen)
you can do it yourself but I would suggest you get a virus remover 1st. Don't got to the reformatting until you try something that will remove it first.
Yeah, you can reformat your hard drive pretty easily. What you should do, if you didn't build your computer yourself, is call up the manufacturer and get the original install disk for your model. Usually you can pop it into the CD drive and just reinstall everything on the computer (like everyone else said, make backups of everything that you need to keep). If you haven't installed any new hardware on your computer (like a video card) then you don't have to worry about drivers or anything.
If you still don't want to try it, I would be willing to bet that most kids around your neighborhood know how to do it.
U dont have to format the entire hard drive..only the drive where ur os is installed.then reinstall ur os and a good anti virus....then run a virus check. That shud solve the trojan prblm without losing any data..trust me i had the same problem.U can do this by urself.if u hv an os cd...
This is long BUT not complicated all programs are free and will teach you about computers while your doing it.
Used with permission from NumberSix6
Printing this would be helpful
Step 1) DON'T PANIC! Take a deep breath and go grab a cup of your favorite beverage. This may take awhile.
Step 2) Clean up your pc. Remove programs you don't use via the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. In Vista, you remove programs by clicking Programs and Features in the Control Panel. If you are unsure of a particular program, you can check it against a list of offenders here: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.
Clean your hard drive of unnecessary files using CCleaner here: http://www.ccleaner.com/download/...
Save to your desktop, install it, then run the cleaner. Simple, yet it will free up tons of space on your hard drive. While you have the program open, run the Registry Checker as well. This will fix invalid registry entries safely. Note that you should run CCleaner for ALL accounts on your pc.
Step 3) Create a new System Restore point. Click Start>All Programs> Accessories>System Tools>System Restore. Create a restore point. Now delete all but this most recent restore point. Click Start>All Programs>Accessories> System Tools>Disk Cleanup. Click More Options tab, and then under System Restore, click Clean up. Click Yes to remove all but the most recent restore point. Click OK, click Yes, and then click OK.
Step 4) Now let's start to get rid of those nasties. Download the following programs to your Desktop. You should then install each one, but don't run them yet. Patience...patience.
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware from here: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_a...
AVG Anti-Spyware from here:
http://www.ewido.net/en/download/...
Spybot Search and Destroy from here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/downl...
SUPERAntiSpyware from here:
http://www.superantispyware.com/...
I know this seems like overkill, but until someone can come up with one program that can detect everything in the wild, we need to use programs from several reputable sources.
Step 5) Use them safely. Once these programs are installed on your pc, their effectiveness may be negated by running scans normally. You need to reboot your pc into Safe Mode. Shut down your pc, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on. As your computer restarts but before Windows launches, press F8.
Use the arrow keys to highlight the Safe Mode with Networking option, which loads all of the above files and drivers and the essential services and drivers to start networking, and press Enter. If Windows launches before you can choose a safe mode, restart your computer and try again. Now it's time to start each program you installed and run scans. First, open Ad-Aware, update to the latest signatures, and run a full system scan. Delete any malware found, close the program and move on to AVG Anti-Spyware. Again, update, run complete scan, and delete the baddies. Do the same for Spybot and SuperAntiSpyware. When you are finished, restart the computer normally.
Step 6) Clean up and protect. I would recommend leaving AVG and Ad-Aware on your system, and delete the other two. These anti-spyware programs do not conflict and offer good future protection. If you happen to like the interface of the others, then by all means keep the ones you want, just so long as you have at least one solid stand-alone on your system. Uninstall the others via Add/Remove in the Control Panel.
Step 7) Not done yet. We've taken care of the spyware, but there still may be viruses and trojans lurking on your pc. If there is an anti-virus program running on your pc, shut it down. Yes, you read right, end the program. We need to run a few online scans that may conflict with the anti-virus installed. Go to Trend Micro: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/... to download and run their free online scanner. Take whatever action the scanner tells you for any virus found. Finally, do the same with the Panda Online ActiveScan : http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/ac...
Restart your computer.
Step 8) Peace at last. Make sure your anti-virus program of choice is running again and is up-to-date. If you do not have one, I suggest AVG Free Antivirus here: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/ or Avast 4 Home:
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-...
Be sure you have at least one of the anti-spyware programs running, and also make sure you have a good firewall. PC Tools Firewall Plus is free and works on XP and Vista: http://www.pctools.com/firewall/... , as does WinPatrol 2007:
http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html..
This procedure will remove MOST malware. However, it may not catch some really nasty buggers. If you've followed all the steps and still believe you have something not right on your pc, you need some extra help. Go here: http://www.tomcoyote.org/hijackthis... to download a program called HijackThis. It examines certain key areas of the Registry and Hard Drive and lists their contents. Install, run and save a logfile which you may post on one of the forums listed on that same page as above. Some kind soul will then come along and examine your logfile and give you recommendations in order to wipe any remaining buggers away.
Please email me with comments, suggestions, and errors. If you like it, feel free to pass it on to other infected folks.
You may also find this Tweaking Guide useful
http://www.tweakguides.com/tgtc.html...
If you’re a Gamer he also has excellent guides to many game
You do not have to format for a virus, some viruses are tricky, but they can all be removed without formatting.
Unless you want to go that route, I would not.
Do all scans in safe mode, and you will get rid of it. There are many very good free on-line scans and downloadable programs to remove viruses. Google the virus and try the recommendations from people who have had the same.
Also, make sure you turn off system restore before doing any scans, as certain viruses hide there.
I am not taking anything away from the Geek Squad, but any virus can be deleted with a bit of research and determination.
putting windows back in is the easiest thing you can do but do it from startup but i'd try an online virus check first
If you could tell me what type of trojan that is infecting your system I could remove it with out the long process of formatting and reinstalling you OS. How do you know it's a trojan rather than a virus.. I have both option but need to know more..
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