PRINT THIS PAGE AS A GUIDE! ONLY USE THIS METHOD AS A LAST RESORT!
Hi JDB69,
You have some serious issues if there are a bunch of viruses on the PC. But
there is a way to fix this. But first I have to warn you that this method
WILL cause complete data loss and may take a day or two of the PC being on
while the process automatically runs.
Note: you can skip the following methods if you can replace the hard disk
inside the PC ensuring there are no viruses. If you can, then do NOT do ANY
OF THE FOLLOWING!
Remove any USB and printer devices from the PC, unplug all the cables except
the monitor, keyboard and mouse.
If you have a floppy disk installed on the PC, you will need a NEW Blank
Disk, it won't need to be formatted, but its OK if it is. If you don't then
that’s OK too, you can use a different PC with a CD burner.
You will need to use a separate PC to download a file called DBAN (Darik's
Boot and Nuke). It's the only way to ensure the removal of the viruses from
the hard drive and the PC's memory to reinstall without problems.
You can get DBAN from it's official website at
http://dban.sourceforge.net/
and be sure to read the page to know exactly what it does, because if you
accidentally boot a different PC with the DBAN disk you will never be able
to get the data back. DBAN can be run to use DoD (Department of Defense)
standards, which I would recommend you do since you say there are several
viruses.
After you are done with the DBAN floppy or CD, break it in two to be sure
it wont be used inadvertently on another PC.
The time it takes DBAN to run depends on how fast the processor is and how
big the disk drive is. I have a 2Ghz system with a 200GB drive and it took 3
days to complete a DoD style wipe which erases the drive and memory 35
times. DON’T TURN OF THE PC WHILE ITS RUNNING, LET IT FULLY COMPLETE ITS
TASK.
Leave the power on to gently let the drive, cpu, and memory cool down
slowly, about an hour or two if DBAN was running for more than 6 hours or
more.
Once your done you will need your Restore CD. Make sure the PC is not
connected to your home network.
Insert the Restore CD, that came with the PC, into the CD Drive and reboot
the system. The PC should be able to boot from the CD Drive, UNLESS you, or
a virus modified the PC's BIOS settings.
If you get the setup screen, your all set, just follow the instructions on
the screen, and DO NOT continue with this document.
------------------Section 2- Skip the remainder of this document if you were
able to boot from CD ROM! ---
If the PC does not boot from CD ROM, I would recommend that you assume a
virus changed its settings. However you can try to attempt to access the
settings yourself.
Immediately after turning on the PC, keep pressing the F1 key on the
keyboard to access the BIOS. If that don’t work retry it, by turning off
the PC, waiting at least 30 seconds, and the key presses again. Try at
least 3 times before going to the next possible key sequence.
If it still don’t work, then try the "ctl", "alt", and "esc" keys after the
power on, these keys need to be pressed all at the same time. If that don't
work try the "ctl", "alt", and "backspace" keys using the same method as
above.
There are still two more key sequences that I am aware of! They are the
"del" key without any other keys being pressed, or the "backspace" key
without any other keys being pressed.
Those are the only key combinations I am aware of, to access the BIOS.
There may be others, but I don't know what they are, some one else may know
here.
--------Section 3--- Once You Get in The BIOS Settings ---
You will need to use the arrow keys or the tab key to navigate the BIOS. On
most BIOS's there is a help column on the right side or the bottom that will
help you understand what each setting does and how to change it. If you
feel comfortable navigating the settings any PC repair shop can update the
settings for you for around $20 or so.
Find the BOOT options and there should be an option to select the "boot
order". CD-ROM should be listed first, then the "Hard Drive/Disk". once
set properly, navigate to find the "Save and Exit" option and proceed with
installing from the Recovery CD that came with the PC.
------------------------------------------------------
I hope this helps you out, It's helped me out in the past. But I mainly use
DBAN to recycle a PC I want to sell, it ensures that no one can ever
retrieve any personal/financial data that had at one time been stored on a
PC.