Format a drive

[Pghpooh]

HI
My nephew called tonight asking for advice.
He has a old Dell pc and is having problems.
Originally the pc had a virus in it. A buddy of his gave him a corporate version of Norton antivirus ge loaded it into the Dell pc. Since then between the virus and antivirus not working the pc is on it's last legs.
My nephew wants to format the drive and start over.
Can he insert the Dell install or system disk and do this?
Or, is it best to just use the old dos comands or make and use a floppy with the format cammand on it to format the disk?
Are there any sites I can go to to get the dos command or download a disk to do this?
He needs to make a cd rom as his working pc is a laptop and doesn't have a floppy drive.
And and all help is needed!!!
BTW, he lives in another cith which makes it hard to trouble shoot and give detailed commands over the phone.
Thanks
Pghpooh

 

[Jeff7]

I expect that the Dell CD would wipe out the hard drive regardless, and set the hard drive looking like it was at the factory.
I don't know if it'll affect boot sector viruses though, as I've not dealt with many restore CDs.
Might you happen to know what the virus was called?

I actually don't have much virus experience either - downside to being careful about what I download.
But I do generally know how to wipe out data. If he really really wants to be sure the virus is totally dead, there's always DBAN. A simple zero-write will do the job. Then the setup CD will take it from there.
Note: Some PCs use a hidden "restore" partition. DBAN might wipe this out too. If he's got a CD though he should be alright.

 

[mechBgon]

I wanted to add that if your nephew restores to an old, unpatched Windows, it will be very easy prey for worm attack in its vulnerable just-built condition. He'll want to take precautions.

1) what version of Windows does it use (98, ME, 2000, XP)

2) what sort of Internet connection does he have (cable, DSL, dial-up)

3) does he have a router

4) are there any other computers there

5) does he have access to a non-infected computer with a CD burner, or a USB drive that could hold about 1/2 a CD worth of stuff, so he can download and save resources to help get his computer armored up before it goes online?

 

[Pghpooh]

HI
mechBgon,
This is what I know for sure.
The pc uses Windows xp home
The pc is on cable for internet access.
I can't say for sure if he has a router.
He has a laptop that he uses for day to day work and can burn a cd.

Thanks
Pghpooh

 

[bdww00]

Originally posted by: Pghpooh

Originally the pc had a virus in it.

no actually that is dells original software that came on it lol


if the disks say system restore it will do that if it just came with some driver disks and u dont have a license number u will have to go out and buy full version of winduhs

but if it has system restore disks just insert those load windwoes updates and put on nav and maybe a firewall such as zone alarm

 

[mechBgon]

Here is my suggestion:

1) unplug the network cable and/or any wireless network card or dongle, so there's no way for worms to molest the computer.

2) Install WinXP in this 100%-isolated condition.

3) With the system still isolated, install Service Pack 2 from a CD. He can download the whole Service Pack 2 installer from here to put on CD. This gets the Windows Firewall turned on and patches the worst of the worm vulnerabilities too.

4) When he reboots after installing SP2, he'll be prompted does he want to enable Automatic Updates? and he should answer Yes. After rebooting, have him fully enable Data Execution Prevention by right-clicking My Computer and doing what's shown in this pic.

5) Now of course he will be itching to install video drivers, but NOT YET. First, with the system still isolated, he should install the drivers for the motherboard's chipset. It being a Dell, that'll be some sort of Intel chipset, and here's their driver matrix. Remember, motherboard drivers first.

6) After the motherboard drivers are installed and a reboot, with the system still isolated, he can install his video drivers, which might be onboard Intel video (in which case see the driver matrix above), or else the latest drivers from nVidia or ATI or whomever.

7) If his restore has left him with some old antique antivirus software, he should uninstall it, which could take several stages if it's Norton for example. Then (with the system still isolated) he should install some modern antivirus, and if he can afford a pay-for one, I'd suggest Kaspersky. That link shows where he can get the 30-day trial version, and how to configure it, if he wants to try before he buys. Otherwise, check out AntiVir from http://www.free-av.com.

8) After installing the antivirus, and with the Windows Firewall for protection, he can now connect the network cable or wireless card and update his antivirus, reboot if needed, and update Windows at Windows Update.

9) I'd also recommend the free Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

10) If the PC has Microsoft Office, or any components of it (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc) then also drag it off to Office Update. This can be pretty important to security.


Hope that helps If he really wants to boost his security, then he should check out making a Limited user account for daily-driver stuff like email and web and instant messaging. Combined with common sense, this is a really good foundation to overall security.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: Pghpooh
HI
mechBgon,
This is what I know for sure.
The pc uses Windows xp home
The pc is on cable for internet access.
I can't say for sure if he has a router.
He has a laptop that he uses for day to day work and can burn a cd.

Thanks
Pghpooh

Your paragraphs are arranged like poetry. I suggest you do what mechBogon says - he has many posts which gives him great supernatural powers.

 

[mechBgon]

I suggest you do what mechBogon says - he has many posts which gives him great supernatural powers.

So that's what's been causing that! :Q