Updated: 06/30/2020 by Computer Hope
If your computer is infected with a virus, formatting or erasing the hard drive and starting over often removes any virus. However, if backups of your computer were made and backed up the virus, your computer can be re-infected if not protected by an antivirus program.
Note
If other drives or disks have a virus, or your computer connects to an infected network computer, your computer could be re-infected if not properly protected.
With a few exceptions, doing a factory reset will remove viruses, spyware, keyloggers, and other types of malware—even tough infections that your antivirus software can't fix.
Does formatting hard drive remove virus? ›Formatting a computer will remove the operating system and all the data on the hard drive, including any viruses or malware that may be present. However, it is important to note that formatting a computer does not guarantee that all viruses and malware will be removed.
Does hard reset remove all viruses? ›A hard reset of your device will generally be highly effective in removing malware and spyware from your device – however, it's not 100% guaranteed to eliminate threats.
How do I wipe my hard drive after a virus? ›The only way to ensure that you eliminate a virus is to wipe your device and reinstall a new operating system on the machine: This is a good reason to practice good backup habits, because the process (called “reimaging”) eliminates everything on the hard drive (both the virus files and all of your files).
Which virus can erase your hard disk? ›The Chernobyl virus is most notably recognized as the first virus known to have the power to damage computer hardware. The activated viral strain attempts to erase the hard drive and overwrite the system's BIOS as well.
Can Trojan virus be removed by factory reset? ›“Can the Trojan virus be removed through resetting your PC and reinstalling Windows?” Assuming a modern PC, yes: Enter Reset in the search window. Choose Reset this PC — don't keep your data (unless you don't have a backup, then keep it.) That will reinstall Windows.
Will factory reset remove hackers? ›Before doing so, back up your important files, as a factory reset will wipe all of your files and personal data from your phone's internal storage. On the plus side, a factory reset will also remove any malicious files a hacker may have been using.
Will factory reset remove everything? ›Important: A factory reset erases all your data from your phone. If you're resetting to fix an issue, we recommend first trying other solutions.
Will clean install remove viruses? ›It also helps remove viruses, Trojans, malware and bloatware from the system, and eliminates system problems like blue screen errors. Before performing a clean install on Windows 10, it's imperative to back up the entire system, or at least all crucial files, partitioned drives and the recovery drive.
Trojans. A Trojan is a type of virus that can have highly destructive effects: from deleting files to destroying all the contents of the hard disk. Trojans can also capture and resend confidential data to an external address or open communication ports, allowing an intruder to control the infected computer remotely.
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