[shroomo]

It's not for my computer (don't worry Dave, I havn't broken it yet!)

My friend has had his computer for a while and is a bit too tempted by dodgy internet sites!! Basically he has an outdated anti virus (that I dont think has ever been used) and his computer is completely riddled with virus's and all sorts of random programs he has no idea what or where they came from! I think he needs to wipe it out and start again. Obviously he needs the windows installation disk but how do you go about reformatting the HD and wiping basically everything!?

Cheers

Kris

[Dave Hybrid]

Hahah, gave me a shock there...

Basically its quite simple, you need an XP CD.

Then boot from it, rather then booting from the hard drive.

Follow these instructions, easier then typing it all out... ;) > http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[shroomo]

Cheers Dave, I'll have to persuade him to part with his picture collection! or at least virus scan them before opening them / transferring them over. An infected picture / video file would be slightly larger than normal wouldn't they? And would it infect your computer as soon as it's downloaded or as soon as it's opened?

[Dave Hybrid]

I doubt any viruses would be embedded in a picture or video, chances are he just has a lot of regular viruses installed.

As long as he re-installs and then scans his backup before transferring it back to his clean PC he will be fine.

Cheers Kris.