Reinstalling Microsoft Windows

If you are reinstalling Microsoft Windows because you have received notification from ACS/ResNet or Tritonlink that you are infected with the Stormworm/Peacomm virus, make sure before continuing on this tutorial that you have read and understood the Stormworm virus page on the ACS website. The page contains critical information about the virus and its behavior, and why it is critical to remove this virus.

I. Considerations

Before You Reinstall

There are few important considerations to take into account before reinstalling Windows. Please make sure you understand all of these ramifications before you make any changes to your computer:

  • A complete reinstallation of Windows requires you to reformat (erase) the hard drive (technically, the hard drive partition). You will lose all of your data if you do not back it up first.
  • Windows programs cannot be copied from one computer to another. Unless you have original installation CDs / DVDs, you will lose the programs currently installed on your computer.
  • Music purchased through iTunes, Microsoft's URGE music store, and many other online music stores typically have a digital license attached each music file. These digital license systems are called DRM, or Digital Rights Management. One purpose of DRM is to prevent consumers from making too many copies of a music file to different computers. If you change any hardware on your computer after backing up your DRM protected music, such as replacing your hard drive, and you have already used up all of the number of copies allowed for a song, it is possible that the DRM will not allow you to play it. Backing up your license files, in addition to your music files, might help prevent any complications.
  • The entire process, from reformatting the hard drive to installing all Windows Updates, can take up 4 hours, depending on your hard drive size, how fast your computer is, and the speed of your Internet connection. Make sure you have enough time set aside to sit through the process so that you don't miss any important information.

Back up your files

Because reformatting the hard drive will erase all of the data on the hard drive, you must back up any files and settings you wish to keep before reformatting your hard drive. You will need some kind of back up medium to do this, such as:

  • a USB pen drive (these are typically 256MB - 4GB)
  • CD-Rs (700MB)
  • DVD-Rs (4.7GB)
  • an external hard drive (typically 40GB+)

Keep in mind that a pen drive or a CD-R might not have enough capacity to back up all of your files, if you have a lot of music, video, or picture files.

Back up your settings

If you are running Windows XP, you can use a feature called Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to transfer your Windows customization and personalization, such as the background image, desktop settings, etc. It can be found in Start » All Programs » Accessories » System Tools » Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. Select "Old computer" in the second step. In the third step, choose the location where you want to save the settings file. The file is typically small enough to fit on a thumb drive or CD-R. Do not save it on your hard drive, since you will be reformatting it.

When you have successfully reformatted your computer, you can then run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard again to restore the settings file.

Don't forget to back up your other items, such as your address books for your email client and your bookmarks file for your Internet browser.

What You Will Need

Please make sure you have all of the items below before you make any changes to your computer. If you are missing any of the items, you might find yourself stuck in the installation process. Please compile all of the following items before you begin:

  • AC adaptor if you have a laptop computer
  • Original Operating System CD (for example, Windows XP), unless your boot screen gives you the option of pressing a Function key on boot-up to start a system recovery, in which case the installation data is on a recovery partition on your hard drive (this is uncommon). If you use any other OS CD other than the original one, you might accidentally install a license that does not match with your key, or you might have problems activating your Windows Product ID after reinstallation.
  • Drivers CD
  • Applications CD
  • Windows Product ID — this is usually a 25 alphanumeric key printed on a "Certificate of Authenticity" sticker. If your computer is a laptop, you can find it on the bottom of the computer. Retail desktop computers usually have this sticker posted on the back of the computer, where the cables are attached. If you or somebody else built your desktop, the sticker is on the plastic wrapping of the OEM Windows packaging, unless it was removed and attached somewhere.
  • Other installation CDs / DVDs of programs you use, such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.), because a fresh re-installation of Windows will not have any programs.
  • An UpdateCD if you live on campus and your Internet connection has already been blocked. The UpdateCD is available at your Res Life office, as well as at our Helpdesk at the AP&M building in Muir College, room 1313. It will be the only way to update and patch your computer if your connection is blocked.
  • Up to 4 hours of free time

Getting Started

Once you have all these items, you are ready to get started. Begin by doing the following:

  • Unplug your Ethernet cable and/or your wireless card. This is important, because a new, unpatched system is vulnerable to viruses, and your computer could get infected before you have the chance to update your computer. According to studies done by the Internet Storm Center, an unpatched machine connected to the network survives only 4 minutes on average before it gets infected with a virus.
  • If you have a laptop with built-in wireless, there might be a hardware switch on the side or near the top panel of the laptop to turn off the wireless antenna.
  • Unplug all peripherals and accessories (including all USB drives and devices and your printer), except your mouse, keyboard, and monitor, if you have a desktop computer.

Once you have made these preparations, you are ready to begin. If you have a HP, Dell, Toshiba, or an IBM Lenovo computer, you can try following brand-specific instructions below:

Otherwise, generic installation instructions begin below in section 2. If the brand-specific instructions are not working for you, or if a recover feature described in those instructions are not on your computer, follow the generic instructions below.

II. Hard Drive Partitions and Formatting

A hard drive contains at least one partition, and your operating system is installed in the first one. During the setup process, the installer will ask you which partition to install Windows in and which partition to format. Unless you know that you previously installed Windows in a different partition, this will always be your first partition.

  1. Boot up your computer and insert your Operating System CD. If a message like "Boot from CD..." or "Press any key to boot from CD" appears, press enter. A blue screen should appear that says "Windows Setup" with status information on the bottom. If your computer does not do this and boots into Windows, your computer isn't checking the CD drive first. In this case, restart the computer, and press F12 or your boot selection key (this may differ between computer manufacturers) to bring up a list of devices to boot up. Select your CD/DVD drive. Setup may take up to five minutes to load.

  2. Press ENTER to select "To set up Windows now"
  3. Press F8 to agree to the End User License Agreement
  4. Select ESC (Don't repair) to skip Windows repair and continue to reformat your hard drive
  5. Select the first partition (it should say NTFS) and press 'D'
  6. Press 'L' to confirm deletion
  7. Make sure the first partition is selected, then press enter.
  8. Select NTFS (Quick) in the next screen. This step lets you choose what filesystem you would like to use for that partition. NTFS is the filesystem used for modern operating systems. A full format (usually labeled just "NTFS") is more comprehensive but not necessary.

The computer will then proceed to reformat the partition. A quick reformat can take up to 30 minutes, while a full reformat may take 2 hours, depending on you hard drive size and speed. After your hard drive is reformatted, Windows should automatically continue the setup process.

III. Install the Operating System

Windows Setup does most of the work autonomously, but it will occasionally prompt you for information. Below are some of the prompts you might receive if reinstalling Windows XP, in the typical order they show up. Windows installation for Windows 2000 and Windows Vista are similar.

  • Regional and Language Options — select U.S. English.
  • Personalize your Software — enter at least your first name.
  • Your Product Key — if prompted for a product key here, enter the 25-digit product key.
  • Computer Name and Administrator Password — enter a unique computer name, and a complex administrator password. Setting up an administrator password may be optional in Windows, but it is required for connecting to ResNet. If you do not set an administrator password, your computer stands a high chance of getting hacked or infected with a virus again.
  • Date and Time Settings — this is typically not far off, but may need adjustment. Confirm that the time zone is correct and make sure to select "Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes"
  • Networking Settings — select "Typical Settings" and click "Next".
  • Workgroup or Computer Domain — this prompt will come up for installations of Windows XP Professional. Select the first (workgroup) radio button and enter any workgroup name.

After these options are set, Windows Setup may take an additional 30 minutes to install. After this is done, you will see a "Welcome to Microsoft Windows" screen.

  • Click "Next".
  • If prompted to configure automatic updates, choose "Help protect my PC by turning on Automatic Updates now".
  • If prompted to select your network configuration, choose "Yes, this computer will connect through a local area network or home network"
  • If prompted to activate Windows, skip the step. Your network connection should still be unplugged, and your network port might not work until you install the drivers in the next step. You can activate Windows later.
  • When prompted to setup users, enter at least one account name as you want it to appear on the login screen.

Windows Setup is completed and you should be brought to the desktop you are familiar with.

IV. Install Drivers

After Windows is setup, you should install critical drivers for hardware that you will need, such as your Ethernet port driver. If you have your computer manufacturer's drivers CD, insert it now and follow the installation instructions.

If you do not have your drivers CD, you will have to download your hardware drivers on another computer. Please visit your computer manufacturer's website (www.hp.com, www.dell.com, www.toshiba.com, www.ibm.com, etc.) and visit their support/software downloads section. Download all the drivers you will need and save them to a removable device, such as a USB pen drive, external hard drive, CD-R/DVD-R, etc. and transfer them to your computer. The most important drivers that you may need to download are:

  • Your video card driver
  • Your Ethernet card driver
  • You wireless card driver
  • Your sound card driver

Note: sometimes, your network, sound card, and video drivers are bundled together into a "chipset driver".

After installing your video drivers, you should be able to increase the resolution of your screen to the native resolution. If some of your hardware is still not working after installing drivers, you may be able to find out what type of driver is still missing by going to the Device Manager. In Windows XP:

  1. Click on the "Start" button
  2. Right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties"
  3. Select the "Hardware" tab
  4. Click the "Device Manager" button

Installation of certain drivers might require you to restart your computer before the hardware starts working. Any hardware that is still missing drivers will have a yellow triangle with an exclamation point on the icon.

Installation of drivers for other peripherals should wait until after Windows is updated and patched, because your computer is vulnerable while it is unpatched.

V. Update Windows

You need to update your computer with the latest security patches from Microsoft. You will need to have an Internet connection to do this, so at this point, you can plug in your Ethernet cable. If you do not have access to the Internet while you are on campus, there are UpdateCDs available from the ACS Helpdesk or your Residential Life office in your college. Please bring your UCSD ID with you.

To update your computer with the UpdateCD, simply insert the CD in your computer and let the autorun start. The prompts will guide you through the process.

To update your computer from the Internet, follow these steps for Windows XP:

  1. Go to the Microsoft Windows Update website by going to Start » All Programs » Windows Update or http://www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
  2. Click on the Express button.
  3. Download and install any updates that are available.
  4. Restart your computer.
  5. Go back to the Microsoft Windows Update website.
  6. Click on the Express button and download and install any updates that are available.
  7. This process needs to be repeated multiple times to make sure you install all available updates. This is necessary is because some updates are prerequisites to other updates.

If you are running Windows Vista, go to Start » All Programs » Windows Update. Click "Check for Updates" on the left panel. After Windows is done checking updates, install all updates it finds.

VI. Reinstall Applications

After the drivers for your computer hardware are all installed and your computer is completely patched and secured, you can finish by installing all of your software and transferring your settings. It may be prudent to install your anti-virus first.

If you used the File and Settings Transfer Wizard before reformatting, you can restore your personalized settings by running the wizard again. Go to Start » All Programs » Accessories » System Tools » Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. Select "New computer" in the second step. Select the last option, "I don't need the Wizard Disk. I have already collected my files and settings from my old computer." In the next step insert the media where you saved your files and settings the first time you ran the wizard (your USB flash drive, CD/DVD, or external hard drive), select "Floppy drive or other removable media", select the folder where you saved it, and select "Next".

At this point, you may also choose to install the drivers that came with your other peripherals, such as printers, phone/iPod docks, other USB devices, etc. After all your programs are installed and your backup files transferred, you are done with the Windows reinstallation process.

HP

from http://www.pctechbytes.com/hprecovery-vista.htm

How To Start HP Recovery in Vista

  1. When trying to recover an HP machine (in Vista or any other Operating System), always shut down the computer and disconnect any USB devices and remove any CDs, DVDs or floppies. Leave the keyboard and mouse connected.
  2. Next, power up the computer and navigate to Start, All Programs, and then click PC Help and Tools. Click the Recovery Manager.
  3. You will need to proceed through a few Windows before getting to the actual System Recovery option. Click Next, then on the "Software Program Re-installation" screen, click No. Click "No" on the "Hardware Re-installation" screen and then "No" on the "Microsoft Reinstallation Screen."
  4. You will then see the Recovery Manager screen. You will be asked if you want to do a factory system recovery. Click Yes and then Next. The PC will need to reboot itself to run the recovery.
  5. Click through the Microsoft System Restore screen and you will get to the HP System Recovery screen. Click Next to begin. You may be asked if you want to backup any files. The System Recovery to factory defaults will then begin. All data will be lost, as the computer reformats the hard drive, so be sure you have any important data backed-up.
  6. The PC will restart and the Vista HP System Recovery will be complete.
from http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fastFaqLiteDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product= 18703&docname=c00608578

Creating the recovery discs in Windows

Do the following actions to create the set of recovery disks.

  1. Connect PC to the AC power adapter.
  2. Click "Start", click "All Programs", select "System Recovery", and click "Create Recovery Disks". The PC Recovery Disk Creator utility displays a message indicating the type and number of media disks required.
  3. Verify the required number of media disks are available.
  4. Click "Next" to begin the actual copying process. Remove written disk and insert additional disks when prompted.
  5. Label each disk, in sequence it was created, as prompted.
  6. Store the newly created set of recovery disks in a safe place. NOTE: Only one set of recovery disks can be created for a PC.

The set of recovery disks just created can be used to recover the specific computer and cannot be used to recover another computer.


Reinstall the operating system using the default recovery options

Use the following instructions to reinstall Windows using the default recovery options.

  1. Connect PC to the AC power adapter.
  2. Close all programs.
  3. Click "Start", click "All Programs", select "System Recovery" and click "PC Recovery".
  4. When the recovery options are presented, select the option to perform a PC Recovery and click "Next". NOTE: On the first attempt to correct an OS problem, select the option to perform a Microsoft System Restore and click "Next". See Performing the Microsoft System Restore for information on the Microsoft System Restore.
  5. The PC will restart and display a Welcome to PC Recovery message. Click "OK" to continue. NOTE: You may also access HP Recovery Manager at any time by restarting the computer and pressing F11 repeatedly before the Windows Vista load screen appears.
  6. On the System Recovery panel, click "Next". PC Recovery will first back up user data and settings, then recover Windows XP and application files, and then recover user data and settings.
  7. Upon completion, PC recovery will display "The PC Recovery was successfully completed. Click restart to restart your PC or click Turn Off to turn off the PC". Click "Restart".

Dell

from http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?journalid= CE148F9C54E511DC89FF1DB45BA22EB2&docid=181316#1

How Do I Use the Dell PC Restore by Symantec Utility?

Restoring the Operating System

The Dell PC Restore by Symantec program can be used to restore the operating system and the installed programs to the original factory condition. Dell PC Restore by Symantec is available on the following Dell computers:

  • Dell Dimension computers that were shipped on or after July 16, 2004
  • Dell Inspiron computers that were shipped on or after July 16, 2004

To use Dell PC Restore by Symantec to restore the operating system, follow these steps:

  1. Back up personal data files. NOTICE: PC Restore by Symantec erases all the data (files, folders, programs, and drivers) from the hard disk drive. Therefore, all the personal data that is stored on the hard disk drive is removed during the PC Restore process. For more information about how to back up data, see Dell Knowledge Base Article: 118933 - How Do I Back Up, Transfer, Erase, or Recover Data from My Hard Drive?
  2. Disconnect the modem cable or the network cable from the computer if a modem cable or network cable is plugged in.
  3. Turn on the computer.
  4. When the Dell splash screen appears during the computer startup process, press and hold the Ctrl key, and then press the F11 key. Then, release both keys at the same time. NOTE: Press the Ctrl key and the F11 key one time only. If these keys are pressed more than one time, a keyboard error may occur. If this problem occurs, repeat steps 3 and 4. The Dell PC Restore by Symantec window appears.
  5. Click the Restore button. Alternatively, press the Tab key to highlight Restore, and then press the Enter key. A warning message appears, stating that all data will be lost.
  6. Click the Confirm button or press the Tab key to highlight Confirm, and then press the Enter key. The Progress window appears. After the restore process starts, Dell PC Restore by Symantec usually takes only 8 to 10 minutes to finish. When the restore process is complete, the following message appears: "The system recovery process was successful"
  7. Click the Finish button or press the Tab key to highlight Finish, and press the Enter key. The computer restarts.

The software is now installed as it was when the computer was first received.

Toshiba

Depending on your Toshiba laptop you might be able to create Recovery CDs or DVDs.

To create Recovery CDs or DVDs:

  1. Go to Start->All Programs->Recovery Disc Creator.
  2. Select CDs or DVDs to create Recovery media on.
  3. Select the items you want to copy by checking the boxes next to the name. It is recommended that you select all of the boxes.
  4. Click on Burn. Follow the on-screen prompts for completing the copy process.

Most laptops will give you the option of restoring your computer to factory default using the Hard Drive Recovery Partition or The Recovery CDs or DVDs that you created or that came with your purchase.

To restore your Toshiba Laptop to factory default using the Hard Drive Recovery partition.

  1. Turn off your computer (shutdown from windows)
  2. Press and hold the 0 (zero) key on your keyboard while powering on the computer. When the computer powers on, the Toshiba Recovery Wizard screen displays.
  3. Select "Recovery of Factory Default Software" Recover to out-of-box state.
  4. There is a possibly that there will be two options of factory default restore.
    a. Recover to out-of-box state — deletes all partitions and restores them to out of the box. (Recommended if all data has been backed-up from other partitions)
    b. Recover without changing the hard drive partition — formats the C: drive and reinstall windows back to Toshiba factory default.
  5. One completed it will display a message confirmation that the Hard Drive has been restored. Press any key to restart your computer.

Hard drive restore with Recovery media that you might have created earlier or that came with the purchase.

  1. Shutdown your computer.
  2. Turn on your computer. Right when your computer powers on insert the first CD or DVD into your optical drive.
  3. When the initial screen displays, press F12. The boot menu will appear.
  4. Select the CD/DVD option. Press enter.
  5. The Toshiba HDD recovery screen should display.
  6. Select Recovery of Factory Default Software. Click Next.
  7. There is a possibly that there will be two options of factory default restore.
    a. Recover to out-of-box state — deletes all partitions and restores them to out of the box. (Recommended if all data has been backed-up from other partitions)
    b. Recover without changing the hard drive partition — formats the C: drive and reinstall windows back to Toshiba factory default.
  8. One completed it will display a message confirmation that the Hard Drive has been restored. Press any key to restart your computer.

Lenovo

Create Rescue Media or Product Recovery CD

Go to "All Programs" > "ThinkVantage" > "Create Rescue and Recovery Media". Then select your desirable type of rescue media. To create a recovery CD, select "Create a set of Product Recovery Discs now" and then click "OK" to start the creation process.

You will need about 7 CDs or 1 CD and 1 DVD for the product recovery cd. You also need to have a CD-RW or DVD-RW drive.

Order Product Recovery CD from IBM

You can get a ThinkPad product recovery cd from IBM/Lenovo if your computer is in warranty.