Will zeroing out my hard drive get rid of ALL viruses?

2553>If i Zero out my hard drive, is it going to get rid of every single virus, even if it's a bootdisk virus?
Reply:I would say yes, as long as whatever bootdisk you're using isn't used again. If the hard drive itself is the infected bootdisk, Then using a factory utility to physically write zeroes to each sector of the drive will clean it back to factory specs. It will also remove the Format of the drive, and any data on it. So you would be in effect starting from scratch upon restarting the system. Your OS would have to be reloaded and all drivers for peripherals and such. Be sure to have a plan for this procedure to at least write down favorite websites and e-mail addresses. Locate all your driver disks and of great importance is the OS installation disk. I don't use a firewall, and I keep no critical information on my system. I have all my installation disks in a box with my lists of favorite sites, usernames, passwords, and e-mail addresses. I've had to do this SO many times due to the lack of a firewall and a few different viruses. Preparation alone can help you do the procedure in one night and the log-ins and visits to web sites to resave all these can be done quickly also. But first, if you have any adware or spyware or virus protection programs, try running those first as sometimes you can get lucky and they can remove your bug. Set the scan options to scan everything. If no luck, you're stuck. Do the cleanout and reload it. My system runs great after the cleanup. It's mostly my downloading habits that cause my problems.
Reply:You mean "Boot Sector" virus. And yes, if you "Zero" out your hard drive.





DBAN or "Nuking" the drive is also capable of this and has that nice "Zeroing" effect.
Reply:If you mean formatting your hard drive using an installation CD, then, yes, all viruses will be removed. I know of no instances in which OS installation disks are infected, and *everything* on the hard drive will be removed. Be careful about restoring backups - backup CDs may be infected. Make certain you install from an original OS CD, not a backup or copy.





Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/
Reply:Do you mean format?


That would certianly get rid of them


Less drasic if the machine is a Dell try this





Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec


NOTICE: Using Dell PC Restore permanently deletes all data on the hard drive and removes any applications or


drivers installed after you received your computer. If possible, back up the data before using PC Restore. Use PC


Restore only if System Restore did not resolve your operating system problem.


NOTE: Dell PC Restore by Symantec is not available in all countries or on all computers.


Use Dell PC Restore by Symantec only as the last method to restore your operating system.


PC Restore restores your hard drive to the operating state it was in when you purchased the computer.


Any programs or files added since you received your computer鈥攊ncluding data files鈥攁re permanently


deleted from the hard drive. Data files include documents, spreadsheets, e-mail messages, digital photos,


music files, and so on. If possible, back up all data before using PC Restore.


To use PC Restore:


1 Turn on the computer.


During the boot process, a blue bar with www.dell.com appears at the top of the screen.


2 Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press %26lt;Ctrl%26gt;%26lt;F11%26gt;.


IF YOU DO NOT PRESS %26lt;CTRL%26gt;%26lt;F11%26gt; IN TIME, LET THE COMPUTER FINISH STARTING, AND THEN RESTART THE


COMPUTER AGAIN.


NOTICE: If you do not want to proceed with PC Restore, click Reboot in the following step.


3 On the next screen that appears, click Restore.


4 On the next screen, click Confirm.


The restore process takes approximately 6鈥?0 minutes to complete.


56 Troubleshooting Tools


5 When prompted, click Finish to reboot the computer.


NOTE: Do not manually shut down the computer. Click Finish and let the computer completely reboot.


6 When prompted, click Yes.


The computer restarts. Because the computer is restored to its original operating state, the screens that


appear, such as the End User License Agreement, are the same ones that appeared the first time the


computer was turned on.


7 Click Next.


The System Restore screen appears and the computer restarts.


8 After the computer restarts, click OK.





Go to Microsoft Updates as you now will be WAY out of date.





Hp has something similar
Reply:If you FORMAT then yes, it will get rid of all but assembly viruses (which you dnot have)