How to Reformat After a Computer Virus

A virus can severely cripple your operating system. Necessary system files are often corrupted or deleted. The only way to restore your system and remove the virus is to reformat your computer. Reformatting isn't a difficult process, but requires at least 2 hours. If you don't back up files, the process may only take an hour and a half. In order to prevent a virus from doing more damage to your system, reformat to be sure it's removed completely.

Things You'll Need

• System restore disk or operating system disk

Instructions

1. Back up all uninfected files. Scan files with an anti-virus program before you place them back on your computer to be sure they're clean.

2. Insert the system restore or operating system disk and reboot the computer.
   Boot from the disk by pressing any key at the prompt or by pressing "F12" or "Esc" to access the boot options menu and choosing "CD-ROM."

3. Agree to a license agreement if necessary. This is typically only with Windows operating systems.

4. Create or delete partitions. If you only have a single partition, choose to install the operating system on the existing partition. If you have multiple partitions, delete them all and repartition to ensure all partitions are formatted and the virus removed.
   For Windows systems, press "Enter" to install on the existing partition, "D" to delete a partition and "C" to create a partition. For Linux systems, delete all partitions and re-create the three default partitions using the setup wizard.

5. Format the drive. For Windows, choose "Format for NTFS Full" and wait for the drive to format and the GUI portion of the setup process to begin. For Linux, allow the drive to format as NTFS and wait for the format to complete before continuing.

6. Setup your time zone, network settings, computer password and computer name during the remaining portion of the setup process.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a system restore disk if possible to restore both the operating system and applications.

• Never put infected files back on your computer. You'll only re-infect your system.

Resources

• Redhat Linux Installation
• Microsoft Installation Support