BleepingComputer.com: Need to reformat and reinstall - need help

Elusival, on 21 October 2010 - 10:56 PM, said:

Chewy said I should make a new thread. so here it is. Thanks for the help guys. I've basically finished saving my stuff onto CD's and am ready to do this but dont have to much of an idea.

Treat me like an idiot and talk me through it please.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic354730.html

Was told to put my old topic link in here too.

This post has been edited by Elusival: 22 October 2010 - 02:28 AM

In cases like this the best way to be sure that the hdd is clean is to wipe the hdd with a program like DriveWipe. Programs of this type will completely overwrite the entire hdd effectively wiping out everything on it, including infections.

If you wish to do this, you will need to have the installation CD for the operating system to reinstall it.

This post has been edited by dc3: 22 October 2010 - 02:53 AM

Yeah I have 2 operating system disks. Both have codes. One has two product ID/ CD keys for some reason. Anyway yes I have the operating system disks.

If I use DriveWipe will that sort out my entire problem? What about the reformating? Would I need to do that.

Then I just simply put in the disk and install for boot. Which button do I need to press, like F8?

Quote

Since you had Ramnit, that might not be a good idea. You would have to take special precautions.

Drive wipe will delete your partition(s) and scrub away any data so it can't be recovered with other programs.

The windows install CD's also give the option to delete the partition(s). This will effectively kill any infection on the hard drive as the drive gets a new boot sector and even if a recovery partition was infected, it gets deleted also.

This post has been edited by DaChew: 22 October 2010 - 08:45 AM

Just a bit of info from my experience`s.

Have never used DriveWipe so can not help there. Will leave that up to dc3.
But I have used DBAN, Kill Disk, as well as the normal format options when using the OS disk. I`v seen instances where neither the OS disk or Kill Disk saw and offered the option to wipe all partitions. This was on an OEM machine, do not remember the brand. I booted from all 3 disks. Checked the partitions shown. Even did the math for sizes shown. Did not add up. DBAN showed more partitions and a larger overall disk size much closer to the size the drive was listed as.
While wiping with Kill Disk or the OS should effectively break what ever infection is present, if any partitions are left it tends to leave me a bit uneasy.

I've used DBAN to fix many partition problems, and it's worked. So you could aways look into that, too.

I think I will use drive wipe (it's downloading now).

I've been reading some Re-installation Notes. My computer is just a dell one. Would it be okay to use a different XP disk on it. Instead of my dell Operating system. The dell one comes with Media center but the other is just XP home which I would prefer.

In the re-installation notes given by quietman it says

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* PCs are made so they can be reformatted. But sometimes, especially with major brand-name computers, there are special procedures that require reading the manual, visiting the manufacturer's website, or, if the manufacturer has gone out of business, searching on www.google.com.

Some computers have the BIOS or re-installation software in small partitions on the hard drive.

- Do not re-partition the hard drive without carefully consulting the maker's manual and website.
- Check on the use of any partition, other than C:, before re-formatting it.

* Some computers require special drivers which are downloadable from the computer manufacturer's or vendor's website or device manufacturer's website. Use an uninfected computer to download these files to diskettes or a CD, and print out the installation instructions, in advance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

^^ The above concerns me. It adds an extra dimension for me to be concerned about. I don't want to use drivewipe then start installing and be stuck without any help. Do you think I will encounter any problems with a small dell office PC.


My next question is. When I've installed the operating system and put some drivers on and connected the firewall. What should I do next. What are the main programs I need to have to protect my computer from this happening again. I think malwarebyes is needed. What about antivirus, AVG free? Oh and I do like to get full versions of programs from 'tehparadox.com' so is there a way I can scan those files online to make sure there's no trojan or whatever hidden within.

Wow I got way ahead of myself. After reading this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348

I'm so confused. And for some reason my downloaded drive wipe has merged in with Roxio (a program I used to burn to CD's. It's using the same icon and it's as though it wants to be burnt to a disk.

I believe I've tried installing from booting my PC before so I need to do this (Need help):

Configure your computer to start from the CD or DVD drive
To start your computer from the Windows XP CD, your computer must be configured to start from the CD or DVD drive. In some cases, you may have to modify your computer's BIOS settings to set this configuration. For information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD or DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with your computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.

If you have a computer that cannot start from the CD or DVD drive and you need to start your computer from the startup disk, make sure that you have the floppy setup disks so that you can run the Setup program from the floppy disk drive.

Note You can obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks from Microsoft, but only by download. We provide the Setup boot disks so that you can run the Setup program on computers that cannot use a bootable CD-ROM. If you can start your computer from a CD-ROM or from a network-based installation, we strongly recommend that you use those installation methods instead. Future products will no longer support installation by using the Setup boot disks.

So confused, so confused. This stuff is really complicated.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&dn=1090151

Maybe I should use this dell site to reset factory settings first? I think thats a reformat.

Which way would you like to go. Really not confusing once you have done it a couple times. Let me know and we will see about getting you going.

I`v got a little time before the eye lids get to heavy.

I would try the factory restore, it's a lot simpler, you may not remove all the infection but you will find out soon enough, chances are good that it is safe.

Elusival,

do you need to install any special drivers to obtain an internet connection?

DaChew, on 22 October 2010 - 10:23 PM, said:

I really just want to remove the whole thing.

ejames82, on 22 October 2010 - 10:46 PM, said:

I don't think so, I think I can just plug in a cable and then I get a connection.

On another note I've been reading through another page and I believe reinstalling windows should be easy enough. Just following options. And I delete a partition in that setup then reboot and create a new partition and install on that. I think this computer has 2 drives a C and D. I'll install the OS on the d drive if possible.

Now I just need to figure out how to work drive wipe. < That is the route I would like to go down.

This post has been edited by Elusival: 22 October 2010 - 11:32 PM