Ask Me Help Desk - Reinstalling windows

Hi there :) My aunt is having trouble with her computer, she is a computer virus waiting to happen. I'm thinking that if I reinstalled Windows on her machine it migh take care of her problems. She has no files she needs to worry about, start with a clean slate. The only thing she does on her machine is play cards on line. I have never done this, how do I go about it. Thanks for the help.

It all really depends on which version of windows you are using and the setup of the system.

Generally,
1) format c
2) boot from windows cd (or boot disk)
3) follow the easy prompts
4) wait
5) success :)

For more detail (and specifics of each windows version) go to:
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/

The first step is to make sure you have installation disks for all your software including Windows and drivers disks for all your hardware. The next step is to make sure you have the Windows Startup floppy or a bootable floppy that will read your CD drive. You can make the floppy under Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs. You also need FDISK and FORMAT on that floppy.

Once you are prepared you boot from the floppy and run FDISK and run SETUP from the CD. You may need to Format the drive first. In which case you run FORMAT C: /S from the floppy.

First of all, I think you're a very kind person to your aunt :p

You didn't explain the problem Very well.. you just said she's having problems. But once you've Formatted your PC and reinstalled windows I recommend you to download the following.

AVG ANTI VIRUS - *(Detects viruses, and make sure you keep it up to date E.g always
Download the updates for it)* This Can be found here to download -

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition - Reviews and free AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition downloads at Download.com

This should keep your aunts PC safe, and virus free :D. I would advise here to scan her PC regulary. Also another good anti virus + spyware scanner is "Spy Bot, search and destroy" which can be downloaded at.

Spybot - Search & Destroy - Reviews and free Spybot - Search & Destroy downloads at Download.com

Before you generate a ton of work for yourself, please consider running a virus scan to see if you actually need to take the reformat step. It is not as simple as just format and re-load even though it seems simple it is an extremely time consuming process.

What application are you using for mom's virus protection, Norton AV or McAfee?

If possible get an application that will let you run protection scans off its CD. If the scan runs clean, then do a System Restore. At the completion of the Sys Restore, install the Virus protection and get any new update for the software and then re-run the full scan.

Now, turn the PC off and wait a couple of minutes to get everything to cycle down and re-boot the PC. Mom 's PC should be fine now. However, make sure Mom understands not to open mail from unknown senders, delete immediately. Be very careful of pictures some loonies like to hide executable code inside a pictures bit structure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dntrtn

Hi there :) My aunt is having trouble with her computer, she is a computer virus waiting to happen. I'm thinking that if I reinstalled Windows on her machine it migh take care of her problems. She has no files she needs to worry about, start with a clean slate. The only thing she does on her machine is play cards on line. I have never done this, how do I go about it. Thanks for the help.

1. Make sure your CD drive is bootable. Go into the motherboard BIOS and set the CD ROM to the first boot device.

2. Insert XP CD and restart computer. This will begin the windows installation.

3. Format all drives prior to install. Windows setup will give you this option. Then create partitions. It sounds like your aunt only needs one. This step is easy, just follow the on screen instructions.

4. From here on out, it's pretty much just following instructions.

Be sure to have all of your motherboard drivers handy and any other hardware drivers such as your video card and sound card. Without drivers, they will be useless.

After everything is set up, consider buying an internet security suite. Norton, Kaspersky, and Zone Alarm are the ones I would recommend. Also, download spyware removers. They are plenty of free ones, please check Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com to find them. Windows Defender, Spybot, Spyware Terminator, and Super Anti-Spyware are examples of free ones. Run them at least once week and every now and then, boot the PC in safe mode and run them there.