Tip #4163 - Will That Work?
Printer Friendly Version | E-Mail This Tip
Will
That Work?
The other day, one
of our readers asked me an interesting question and I thought it was something
everyone could benefit from, so I figured I should put a blurb about it
in the newsletter for all to see. Here's the question: "I think I
have a virus on my computer and I can't seem to get rid of it. If I were
to format or even erase my hard drive, would that remove the virus?"
Hmm, pretty intense! As you can see, this is a basic "will that work?"
type of question and that's exactly what we're going to find out today.
Listen up, this one's a definite must read!
The short answer to this question
is a simple yes. If a virus is infecting your computer, you can format
your hard drive (or even erase it if you want to take it that far) to
remove it for good. Doing that is just like starting over, so it's definitely
an option if you've already run out of other choices. On the other hand,
there is a "but" that comes along with that. (You knew that
was probably coming, didn't you?!)
While the format process will
take care of the virus, you have to be careful when you're putting everything
back on to your computer. For example, if any one of the programs, files,
etc. you put back on your computer contain a part of that virus, it will
go right back on your PC as if nothing changed. That includes any backups
you did, any media drives you may use and so on. That virus could be stored
anywhere, so you really have to pay attention when you're reloading your
computer. Make sure you put your virus scan programs back on first and
run them continuously until you have everything installed again. Take
your time and be patient. Otherwise, that virus will be back in action
in no time and that's just not acceptable!
~ Erin
Want To Comment On This Tip? Click Here! We'd love to hear from you :-)
Like These Tips? Get 'Em Free In Your E-mail
