Just want to format my C drive, this possible?

So I somehow got a virus, some kind of spyware because my browser is redirecting me and my anti-virus picked it up. I'm using CA security suite and it's not detecting it. I'm also not going to go searching and downloading to find another virus remover because I've done it before and it sucks and in the end nothing works.

Instead of going through the hastle of backing up information reformatting my whole computer, can i format my C drive? all of my pictures and important stuff is on my D and E drives.

 

Yes, you can format C:. Just boot to your Windows install disc, and make the appropriate selections for a clean install. If using Vista/Win7, when the list of drives appears, select drive C: and click "Advanced", then click "Delete", then click "Next". In Windows XP, the process is a bit different: press "Enter" at the first screen where you're asked a question, then press it again at the 2nd screen where you're asked a question. Eventually, you'll be shown a list of hard drives, select drive C:, press "ESC" (I think), make the appropriate selection to delete the drive, then format the drive; all the instructions will be on-screen and as long as you read everything and make your selections CAREFULLY, you shouldn't have problems. Good luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!
:-D

 

My computer is custom built. When I format the drive, does that mean I have to install all of the drivers and such after formatting.

 

I'm not installing a new OS, i'm just re-installing i guess windows XP. I just want to make sure I don't have to go through that painstaking process of setting up windows XP again, you know activating it, getting drivers, etc. The things I would have to do if starting from a new computer. I'm certain that the virus didn't come from any files on the D and E. I just cleaned those drives out too.

 

When a hard drive formatted everything on the drive is permanently erased. "Everything" truly does mean "E V E R Y T H I N G ! ! !" This means Windows will be gone, drivers will be gone, any and all programs will be gone, pictures/music/documents will be gone, everything will be gone, permanently. To get the PC functional again, you must install Windows, drivers, programs, etc. And, yes, you will eventually have to activate Windows again. There's no legal way around it, so be sure you have a valid/legal product key for your version of Windows.

(OK- if you want to get technical, formatting the drive doesn't remove really everything permanently, it simply makes everything on the drive unaccessible and makes the PC 'think' the drive is empty; however, low level data recovery can usually still be performed on formatted drives. As soon as new data is written to the formatted drive, then all data previously on the drive will be permanently unaccessible and unrecoverable. But for all intents and purposes, and for the scope of this thread, formatting is a very permanent method of completely erasing all data on a drive).

 

I'm just making sure that when I reinstall it, I don't erase all of my important information that's on the D and E drives by accident.