Can viruses survive reformating?

Derek895 · 04-23-2005, 08:59 AM

Is it possible for a virus to survive Re-partitioning (FDISK) and reformatting?

Derek

**johnwill** · 04-23-2005, 11:09 AM

Remotely possible, depending on the specific virus. However, if you download the disk manufacturer's diagnostic and write zeros to the whole drive, they're 100% certain to be gone.

I have personally never had a virus survive a new O/S installation FWIW.

Joe4pal · 04-23-2005, 11:20 AM

Some virus' can survive but it's rare if they do just download AVG7.0 free edition
and hijack this and make a post in the hijackthis thread and the mods can help you.

Immortal · 04-23-2005, 11:24 AM

As John said, its possible, but writing zeros to the drive, they cannot survive.

However, if you still think you have the virus after reformatting, trying reseting your MBR, and see if that helps. Writing zeros takes a very long time depending on your capacity.

If you have a Maxtor, Maxblast does wonders.

**waffleweed** · 04-23-2005, 12:06 PM

i agree with johnwill but ive never had a virus survive on me when i installed the o/s fresh, thank god. its possible though but writing zeros which are time consuming will kill the last surviving virus.

dai · 04-23-2005, 12:13 PM

virus check your programs before reinstalling them,this is how they usually get back on

Derek895 · 04-23-2005, 12:55 PM

Ok, Thanks.

ohgrbyte · 04-24-2005, 09:34 AM

Hey I'm new lol.

Anyway, some viruses can survive if they are written into the MBR like the other guys said.. And in some rare cases if they are still in the RAM, even after a full format. I've only run into that problem once in my life. These days you don't see many of those kinds though, because most viruses today are just varients, and poorly written. Still they can reak havoc on your system though. I think you'll be ok as long as you do a scan after you format the drive again... just to be safe.

Oh also, if you're still a little leery of the whole thing, in some BIOSes, there is an option to turn on a Virus check during boot up. The BIOS looks for MBR and other viruses, and if it sees something fishy, it will beep at you and tell you something is up. Like the old "Chip Away " Virus.

crazijoe · 04-25-2005, 06:03 AM

I've had a virus destroy the firmware of a HDD and render it useless.

04-23-2005, 08:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
Derek895 Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belfast, N. Ireland Posts: 178 OS: Windows XP	Can viruses survive reformating? Is it possible for a virus to survive Re-partitioning (FDISK) and reformatting? Derek

04-23-2005, 11:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,832 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Remotely possible, depending on the specific virus. However, if you download the disk manufacturer's diagnostic and write zeros to the whole drive, they're 100% certain to be gone. I have personally never had a virus survive a new O/S installation FWIW. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

04-23-2005, 11:20 AM	#3 (permalink)
Joe4pal Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 95 OS: Win95/WinXP	John's right Some virus' can survive but it's rare if they do just download AVG7.0 free edition and hijack this and make a post in the hijackthis thread and the mods can help you.

04-23-2005, 11:24 AM	#4 (permalink)
Immortal Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 277 OS: WinXP	As John said, its possible, but writing zeros to the drive, they cannot survive. However, if you still think you have the virus after reformatting, trying reseting your MBR, and see if that helps. Writing zeros takes a very long time depending on your capacity. If you have a Maxtor, Maxblast does wonders. __________________ Due to my very limited time here, please do not PM me for help!

04-23-2005, 12:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,746 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	virus check your programs before reinstalling them,this is how they usually get back on __________________

04-23-2005, 12:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
waffleweed Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 629 OS: winxp	i agree with johnwill but ive never had a virus survive on me when i installed the o/s fresh, thank god. its possible though but writing zeros which are time consuming will kill the last surviving virus.

04-23-2005, 12:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
Derek895 Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Belfast, N. Ireland Posts: 178 OS: Windows XP	Ok, Thanks.

04-24-2005, 09:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
ohgrbyte Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2 OS: Windows ME	Hey I'm new lol. Anyway, some viruses can survive if they are written into the MBR like the other guys said.. And in some rare cases if they are still in the RAM, even after a full format. I've only run into that problem once in my life. These days you don't see many of those kinds though, because most viruses today are just varients, and poorly written. Still they can reak havoc on your system though. I think you'll be ok as long as you do a scan after you format the drive again... just to be safe. Oh also, if you're still a little leery of the whole thing, in some BIOSes, there is an option to turn on a Virus check during boot up. The BIOS looks for MBR and other viruses, and if it sees something fishy, it will beep at you and tell you something is up. Like the old "Chip Away " Virus. Last edited by ohgrbyte; 04-24-2005 at 09:37 AM.

04-25-2005, 06:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	I've had a virus destroy the firmware of a HDD and render it useless. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software