Does a virus transfer to external HD?

Kristy1999 · 11-03-2009, 10:42 AM

Hi. I am new to this group. I have Windows XP, SP2 and a Click-Free External Hard Drive that I want to back-up my desktop to. If there is a virus on my computer, how do I back everything up without having the virus transfer to the hard drive as well? Any help would be great! Thanks!

**raptor_pa** · 11-03-2009, 02:14 PM

The best you can do is clean the virus with anti-virus software before backing up. Depending o how and what files the virus infects, there is no way to ensure a backup of your data is not infected. If the external is connected, and again depending on the virus, there is a good chance it is already infected.

Kristy1999 · 11-07-2009, 07:37 AM

I tried running Avast, Malwarebytes, and Spybot, but my system is still running very slowly. I really want to back everything up onto my external hd, but now am afraid to do it if there is a virus on my desktop. Is there a better anti-virus that I can run to get the virus or to clean the external hard-drive if I back everything up and a virus transfers?

**Tyree** · 11-07-2009, 09:14 AM

Back up the files one at a time and run a virus scan on each file after it is transferred.

11-03-2009, 10:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
Kristy1999 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2 OS: xp, sp2	Does a virus transfer to external HD? Hi. I am new to this group. I have Windows XP, SP2 and a Click-Free External Hard Drive that I want to back-up my desktop to. If there is a virus on my computer, how do I back everything up without having the virus transfer to the hard drive as well? Any help would be great! Thanks!

11-03-2009, 02:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,934 OS: XP	Re: Does a virus transfer to external HD? The best you can do is clean the virus with anti-virus software before backing up. Depending o how and what files the virus infects, there is no way to ensure a backup of your data is not infected. If the external is connected, and again depending on the virus, there is a good chance it is already infected. __________________

11-07-2009, 07:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
Kristy1999 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2 OS: xp, sp2	Re: Does a virus transfer to external HD? I tried running Avast, Malwarebytes, and Spybot, but my system is still running very slowly. I really want to back everything up onto my external hd, but now am afraid to do it if there is a virus on my desktop. Is there a better anti-virus that I can run to get the virus or to clean the external hard-drive if I back everything up and a virus transfers?

11-07-2009, 09:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,810 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Does a virus transfer to external HD? Back up the files one at a time and run a virus scan on each file after it is transferred. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.