[theconfusedone]

I believe my computer is infected but I don't know the exact virus, malware, etc. I purchased a recovery disk from Acer but I want to be certain that it will work on an infected computer. Thoughts?

[lunarlander]

Tell me if this is the recovery program you got:

http://www.acersupport.com/desktop/a...r_vt10596.html

According to the above web page, it says it will reformat your hard drive, so it doesn't matter if your computer is infected, it will wipe it clean and start over.

[theconfusedone]

Yes, that is the disk is the recovery program I ordered.

[perfume]

Dear confusedone,
Is your hard disk partitioned? The reason i am asking is if you can clean/format the C partition alone, all should be well. It has worked for me a number of times, before i saw the light and started taking Backup and Restores. I prefer Macrium Reflect for B&R and even then i first tackle the C partition alone (Macrium Reflect has got that option) which solves the problem. That's the biggest advantage in partitioning a hard disk!

[theconfusedone]

I don't know if it is partitioned. How can I tell? I have a C and D hard drive. Does that mean it is indeed partitioned?

If the answer is yes then how can I clean/reformat the C drive alone?

[Elvandil]

If you do a full recovery, then the present contents of the drive will be removed. That means that if it is infected, all that will be erased.

The partitions matter not at all and I don't know why anyone would mention them. The recovery process takes care of all that automatically.

Just boot from the recovery CD. If the option for a partial recovery exists, don't pick it. Take the "full" option.

(Just FYI: If you have C: and D:, than you have at least 2 partitions on the drive. There is probably also a third, hidden one. They will be recreated in the recovery process.)

[theconfusedone]

I really want to avoid the recovery disk. It would help if I could confirm that my computer is infected, the details of the infection and If the recovery can be avoided.

[Elvandil]

If you want to disinfect, then that is a whole different story.

Start by going to the Malware forum and reading the sticky there about how to post a log. The experts there will help you clean up and quite possibly avoid losing everything.

If you decide to do that, let me know and I will close this thread.