Hi all, im not exactly sure how it happend but i managed to prety much ruin my computer. I don't know exactly what is wrong but i know i need to fix it. I have managed to search for viruses using some different programs (avg, norton, and another one) and they didn't find anything. The computer constantly crashes and feezes so i want to completly wipe the computer. So what are some things i could do to wipe the computer... Thansk in advance.

Before you go that far, Rhino- have you 1) installed anything new lately and did the problems start after that? DOes it crash and freeze ayt predictable times, like only when you launch IE? Or at random times?

First - when was the last time you defragmented your drive? Know how to do that? (What OS are you using?)

It would be very rare that you'd need to wipe everything- at the least, you can simply do a reinstall of the OS. Most computers are very good about doing a reinstall and healing issues like you describe.

If you truely want to start fresh....you can use DBAN (http://dban.sourceforge.net/)

If you want to search for viruses, chances are if you are infected, you won't pick it up by scanning an infected computer. Better to load a liveCD or Load the UltimateBootCD (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) and scan your drive that way. Option 2 is remove the drive and place it into a clean WIndows computer and scan it from there (that way nothing is loaded in memory and no registries are active).

http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28908
or
http://www.planetfez.net/engl223/archive/page2.html


Good luck

...The computer constantly crashes and feezes so i want to completly wipe the computer...
I would recommend checking that all your fans are operating properly and that your CPU heat sink is not clogged with dust. I have seen many computers with the symptoms you describe cured by a simple cleaning.

I'd also check your power supply voltages. Any easy way to do this is with a program like SpeedFan:

http://majorgeeks.com/download337.html

Running a memory test is also a good idea. Give Memtest86 a try:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Memtest86_d1247.html

Both programs are free. :tu:

This is not to say that a virus isn't the cause of your troubles, but if you are virus-free and have any of the hardware problems the programs above will check for, a format/reinstall is just going to add another layer of frustration to the process. Even if it comes down to that, knowing that you are not trying to "fix" broken hardware via a software solution will at least let you know that you are not wasting your time. :)

Good Point, I've cleaned many a computer that had a (literal) insulating blanket of dust inside.
Faulty voltages can be problematic as well.

:tucool::tu:


I would recommend checking that all your fans are operating properly and that your CPU heat sink is not clogged with dust. I have seen many computers with the symptoms you describe cured by a simple cleaning.

I'd also check your power supply voltages. Any easy way to do this is with a program like SpeedFan:

http://majorgeeks.com/download337.html

Running a memory test is also a good idea. Give Memtest86 a try:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Memtest86_d1247.html

Both programs are free. :tu:

This is not to say that a virus isn't the cause of your troubles, but if you are virus-free and have any of the hardware problems the programs above will check for, a format/reinstall is just going to add another layer of frustration to the process. Even if it comes down to that, knowing that you are not trying to "fix" broken hardware via a software solution will at least let you know that you are not wasting your time. :)