Reformatting a Sony VAIO

[Zurge]

Hey guys, recently, my computer has been really slow due to many many viruses. I was about to build my own computer, but I thought why not try to fix it. Anyway, I want to reformat my computer but I don't know how. This is a SONY VAIO Desktop. Also, I want to save some programs, such as my music. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[onlycopunk]

Back up all the data you want to keep on a separate hard drive or external drive or something that's not going to get formatted. BUT scan it for viruses because you don't want to carry anything over.

Then just inset the disc that came with you computer from Sony and boot up your computer .A recovery disc, just follow the instructions on the disc for a clean install.

[Zurge]

Thanks. So if I don't want to save anything I will just insert the disc that came with the computer right?

[Gregory]

Personally, with the knowledge that there are viruses on the computer, I would use a procedure to securely erase the data currently on the drive. There are many programs that can do this, however the one I use is called DBAN. Choosing the write one pass of zeros is enough to be secure from any reminant of the virus.

Keep in mind that this procedure would erase all data on the drive beyond normal recovery methods. Only do this is you feel comfortable with that. This is an optional step and is soley for the purpoe of being thorough.