BleepingComputer.com: How to reformat a Dell XPS 410 hard drive

I have a Dell XPS 410/9200 with Windows XP SP2 that has been severely infected. I've tried everything suggested on this site, and then some. It finally got to the point where I was forced to call Dell Support and unfortunately they weren't much help either. Basically I cannot boot normal or safe mode. I cannot restore Windows XP via the built in partition or using the back up disk. Therefore, Dell advised that I take the computer to a computer shop and have them reformat my hard drive using a slave computer. I would like to avoid paying for something that is possible for me to do myself. Any Dell users out there?

emilsnake48, on Jan 18 2010, 08:25 PM, said:

on some dells if, whilst first booting, you press the tab key a number of times you'll be taken to a menu - this will allow you to re-format the computer safely.
BUT - don't leave it long - do it almost as soon as you load the computer.

Joe.

Didn't work.

When you say it "didn't work" can you provide some more details. What procedure did you follow? And what happened? Any error messages?

Basically, the virus won't allow access to the hard drive. Everything I've tried ends up with the dreaded blue screen. Even the boot menu won't work. I'd like to know if there's a program I can run from a CD that somehow bypasses the infection and allows reformatting. Or maybe instructions on how to reformat using another computer as a "slave".

You could try scanning with these boot dosks:

http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA/security/s...e-cd/index.html
http://www.free-av.com/en/products/12/avir...cue_system.html