I have a quick question about reformatting

I am going to reformat my hardrive but i know when i do this i will loose windows

I had alot of problems installing windows when i first got my computer. So now i'm worried that if i wipe my hardrive i won't be able to install windows anymore.

So my question is.

Is it possible to wipe your hardrive but still keep windows intact?

Any programmes out there that can do

Thanks

Dan

 

go here for all the info
How to Reinstall Windows Without Losing Your Data
http://pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,111652,00.asp


Windows 2000 and XP CDs

Boot your computer with your Windows CD-ROM inserted. When you get the 'Press any key to boot from CD' message, do so. (If you don't see that message before Windows starts, restart Windows, press the key you're prompted to enter for your PC Setup program, and change the boot order so your CD drive is first.)


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At the 'Welcome to Setup' screen, press Enter. The R (repair) option takes you to the Recovery Module, which is useful if Windows won't boot, but it's no help with a reinstallation. Soon you'll be told that there's already a Windows installation on the computer. Press r for a repair reinstall or Esc to begin a complete, destructive one. For a complete restore, select your C: partition and press Enter. When you get the warning that says an operating system is on that partition, press c. When you are asked your partition preference, select Leave the current file system intact (no changes). When you're told that a Windows folder (or Winnt folder for Windows 2000) already exists, press l ('ell') to delete it and create a new one. Follow the series of prompts. When the installation program asks for your name, enter temp.

Once the installation is complete, your system will reboot into Windows, and you'll be logged on as user Temp. If the screen is difficult to read, reinstall your graphics card driver.

If you are reinstalling Windows XP, skip to "For Both Windows XP and 2000."

If you're reinstalling Windows 2000, log off as Temp and back on as Administrator. Now log off and on again, this time as Temp. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Documents and Settings. One of the subfolders will be named Administrator. Another will be named something like Administrator.computername.

Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt. Type cd "\documents and settings" and press Enter. Then type xcopy administrator\*.* administrator.computername /s /h /r /c, replacing computername with the last part of that folder's name (after "Administrator.") in Documents and Settings. Now press Enter, and when you're asked about overwriting files or folders, press a for All.

If you have any users on the old installation besides Administrator, continue with the "For Both Windows XP and 2000" section. Otherwise, open Windows Explorer and make sure your data files are where they belong. Then go to Control Panel's Users and Passwords applet and delete the user Temp before skipping to "Finishing the Job."

 

I got one for you. A friend of mine recently got some kind of virus. They said that thier computer is "dead" and the harddrive is gone. I'm assumming that all that needs to happen is that the drive needs to be reformatted and Windows reinstalled. Is it safe to assume that the drive can be reformatted and Windows reinstalled as long as the computer can be booted from the system restore disk?

Thanks.

 

Depends if the hard drive can be read or not. you could try to remove the virus using a boot cd (available if you google), I think the most common one is made by Hirens. This shoudl have a number of anntivirus programs on it with the latest virus definitions. If this is not an option, try to reboot the PC with the restore disk (I am assuming that this is a bought PC from a store) and follow the on screen instructions. I did this once with a laptop and was successful, my daughter had managed to get so much crap on the hard drive you would not believe. If the hard drive cannot be read however then it is time to get a new one, and a copy of the operating system you wish to use on the PC (the system restore disk will not suffice). Where did your friend take the PC to be looked at? They have either
A) done the above and are telling the truth (hard drive is longer in this world) OR
B) thought to themselves "I can't be arsed today let's just make something up".

 

All they told me was that they got a Blackworm virus or something and they said the computer died. That's about it. I'm gonna try to take a look at it and see if we can give it some ideas.

 

If the hard drive is fried/dead, then it is unlikely to reformatt again (more like 60% is a no and 40% yes). I may be wrong and I'm not a computer guru, but I've formatted a few times before and you can only do a reformatted when there are virus/tronjans that can not be eliminated to clean out your system.

 

Well, if I want to attempt to clean the drive, do I need a virus program that can run form a disk? Or one that can boot from a disk?

 

If there is infomation that they cannot afford to loose, I want an option to see if I can wipe the virus before I reformat the drive and loose everything.

 

Could I hook it up as an external drive and scan the drive without risking infecting all of my other drives?

 

Yea, I was wondering about that. but at least I have an idea. Thanks for the help. If all else fails, we can just buy a new drive.