My Windows PC was recently infected with malware, and I'm planning to perform a completely clean Windows installation. An internal HDD and an external HDD were connected while the infection may have been active, so I'm worried the malware could have copied itself onto them and come back when I reconnect them. They mainly contain STL files for 3D printing, videos, photos, documents, Adobe presets, ZIP archives, and other personal files. What is the safest way to check and reconnect these drives without reinfecting the new installation?
3 Answers
The safest approach is to treat executable content as suspect rather than deleting all personal files. Keep installers, scripts, shortcuts, macro-enabled documents, and unknown files isolated until scanned. If the original infection was serious or you cannot identify what caused it, back up only irreplaceable personal data, scan it from the clean system or trusted offline environment, and reformat the old system drive before restoring files.
Yes, a storage drive could contain malware, but simply plugging it in does not usually mean an infection will happen automatically. Modern Windows versions generally disable the old automatic USB autorun behavior. Disconnect the drives during installation, update Windows and the security software first, then connect one drive at a time and perform a complete scan. Do not run programs from the drives until they have been checked.
A drive can carry malware, but ordinary photos, videos, and most data files generally cannot execute by themselves. The higher-risk items are programs, scripts, shortcuts, macros, cracked software, and archives containing executable files. STL files are normally just model data, though any file format can be abused by a vulnerable application. Install Windows with the drives disconnected, fully update it, enable antivirus, and scan the drives before opening anything. Avoid launching unknown files or extracting suspicious archives.
Most of the files are STL models, videos, documents, Adobe presets, and ZIP archives. I have a clean Windows 11 installation now, but I want to be careful when reconnecting everything.