I'm looking for advice on fully wiping my PC because it's been running slow lately, and I suspect I might have picked up a virus while downloading some stuff to enhance my emulator games. This slowdown started happening a few years in, particularly after using my uncle's Wi-Fi, where I got a warning about a threat. I've tried various antivirus programs with little success, and even after a factory reset, some programs like Razer were still present. I also attempted the 'net user' command, but the command prompt just flashes without doing anything. I've been looking into using DBAN or Diskpart for a complete wipe, but I don't currently have a thumb drive. I might get one from my uncle, but I'd really appreciate some clear instructions or tips to achieve a total clean slate on my PC.
3 Answers
I suggest downloading a Windows ISO from the Microsoft website and creating installation media on an 8GB or larger USB drive. Boot from that drive, and before the installation, delete all existing partitions on your Drive 0. This will give you a clean slate with fresh Windows installed.
You could try searching for 'Reset this PC' in your settings. It might take a bit, but it will reset your computer to the state it was in when you first got it. Just be aware that it will require you to re-download all updates afterwards!
Make sure to back up anything important first because this will erase everything! Use the links to create Windows installation media on a flash drive. Once you're booting from that, delete all partitions on your drive to turn it into one big chunk of space, then proceed to install Windows.
I already did that, and it didn’t fully fix the issue.