Can I reload my XP system? How?

[Linda K. Long]

Help?  I have tried to search the forums and the other help on the site and still am not quite sure of if/how to do this.  My son's lap top starts to boot up, shows it is loading XP, goes to blue screen and shuts off.  He has tried to start in safe mode and it will not allow him to do so.  Last Friday I had put a virus scan on the computer and ran it. It came up with several trojan horses and "fixed" them.  He was able to boot up on both Saturday and Sunday(in the morning) but Sunday afternoon this problem started. I am assuming it is a trojan horse virus and wonder how to repair it or if I can simply wipe out everything and reload the XP.  If I can - how do I do that?  Will I have to reformat the hard drive?  Thanks for any help!    I have found a program called "WD Cleaner" that states if will clean up your hard drive before trying to reload.  Has anyone heard of or used this?  Thanks!  Linda

[Raptor]

You do not need any such program in order to reformat the Hard Disk Drive.

I suggest you refer to this
article for precise details on how to format your Hard Disk Drive and what to keep in mind before doing so.

Once that is done, you should follow the instructions described in this
article in order to reinstall Windows XP.

If you have any questions regarding these documents, do not hesitate to contact us.

[LINDA k LONG]

Thank-you for the information.  I have read and printed out the articles you suggested.  The computer will not boot up at all so I am stuck!  How do I get to the point where I can reload?  

[Raptor]

Clarify

The computer will not boot up at all so I am stuck!  How do I get to the point where I can reload?

1. Will the computer not respond when you press the On button?
2. Does Windows fail to load?
3. Does the POST fail?

At what point does your computer fail to boot?

[Flame]

When you press the power button, do you hear the fans activate, but there is no display on the screen? When you press the button, does ANYTHING happen?

[glb]Flame[/glb]

[hywaydave]

I think what she means is that the computer is failing to boot to XP.  What you need to do Linda is turn on the laptop, pop in the XP CD, and restart the laptop again.  If the computer does not boot from the CD, you'll need to go into the BIOS and tell it to boot from CD.  

After it boots from CD, you can follow these instructions.  If you need additional help, you can reach me at ResourcePC.

Dave

[Computer_Commando]

Even if you reinstall Windows, how do you plan to insure that the computer does not become infected once again?

Have you installed WinXP, Service Pack 2 (SP2)?
Have you installed an anti-virus program and is it kept up to date?

[Linda K. Long]

Dave you are right!  I can turn the computer on and it will say that it is loading windows xp, the status bar will start running the green across it but then it goes to the blue screen. I thought it would then turn off but it keeps restarting.  I will try your suggestions tonight.
 
Commando - this is my son's computer.  He was home from college for 10 days when this happened. He had been online and did not have a virus scan running.  His excuse was that the one he used at college wouldn't work here (school is in Florida and home is in Pa.) The college had one they recommended and was free. He is 20 and fights with me when I tell him about keeping it updated - both the windows and the virus scan!  I have decided he needs to buy one and keep it updated!!!  Maybe if he is putting some money into the upkeep of the computer, he will make sure these things get done!
Thanks to all for the help!  I'll let you know what happens!

[Computer_Commando]

Maybe you can get him to read this:
Setup and Secure your PC once and for all