Reformatting a hard drive may be part of the virus removal process.
A common limitation of anti-virus software is the inability to alter operating system files while the operating system is in use. This disadvantage makes it difficult to remove deeply ingrained computer viruses or adware from a computer that has a system file infection. Often the only recourse in such a situation is to reformat the drive and remove all data from it. This gives you a blank slate, removing all data from the drive, including the invading virus software.
Instructions
1. Insert the Windows installation CD into the computer's optical drive.
2. Reboot the computer.
3. Press any key when prompted.
4. Press the "F8" key when presented with the End User License Agreement. Pressing "F8" affirms the user intends to abide by the agreement.
5. Press the "Escape" key when prompted to repair the current hard drive.
6. Select the hard drive to be formatted using the up and down arrow keys and press "Enter."
7. Using the arrow keys, select the "NTFS" file system from the list at the bottom of the screen and press "Enter." This begins the reformatting of the hard disk, which takes several minutes to several hours depending on the size of the drive being formatted.
Tags: hard drive, arrow keys, data from, operating system, press Enter