Windows 10 Reset Partition Virus?

[oldsmoboat]

Cheapo Dell with an i3 and 8 GB RAM. Bought new in 2017.

Grandson has a laptop we bought him that is running VERY slow. IE: make any input like opening a browser and it literally takes a minute or more for the browser to open. Same thing trying to open Settings or Control Panel.

The AV was off when he handed it off to me to check out.
Malware Bytes found nothing and neither did a Trend Mirco online scan.
I downloaded a Dell tool to scan the hardware. It starts to install then just disappears. No messages and nothing installed. Still trying to sort this out.

I ran the Reset tool and told it to delete everything. Same issue. Can a virus survive Reset?

TIA

[Bako88fanjr]

Not if you do a factory reset. If you want and also have the windows key, you may want to re-install the windows by using a USB or CD installation of the windows installer. My recommendation is try the factory reset first. It could also be time for a new PC since those specs. are somewhat outdated.

[MrFancyPants]

Not if you do a factory reset. If you want and also have the windows key, you may want to re-install the windows by using a USB or CD installation of the windows installer. My recommendation is try the factory reset first. It could also be time for a new PC since those specs. are somewhat outdated.

Don't need the windows key anymore for windows 10, the "key" is baked into the bios. I'd also recommend against doing a factory reset from the restore partition because it will also restore all the crap bloatware OP may have removed.

All you need to do is download the free windows USB creation tool from Microsoft, put in a USB stick and run the software and it will create a bootable USB drive from which you can install a clean version of the latest windows 10, which now is 1909.

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[oldsmoboat]

Thank you both, downloading the tool now.

[oldsmoboat]

This has been interesting. It wouldn't install to any of the 5 partitions. There is something called Bitlocker on it. I changed Boot Order in the BIOS to the flash drive first but that didn't help. Now can't get the setting to stay when I switch it back to HDD first.

Said heck with it, opened a Command Prompt and am formatting C. First message that came up is that Bitlocker was disabled but that it can be re-enabled. It looks like it is completing the formatting. I am hoping it removes the partitions.

Once formatted, I'll try the flash drive install again.

[MrFancyPants]

This has been interesting. It wouldn't install to any of the 5 partitions. There is something called Bitlocker on it. I changed Boot Order in the BIOS to the flash drive first but that didn't help. Now can't get the setting to stay when I switch it back to HDD first.

Bitlocker shouldn't prevent you from installing windows, it only prevents you from accessing a drive if you don't know the passcode. When you run the windows installer from the USB drive, select the advanced install option which will list the partitions on the drive, and if you don't care to save any of the data on the drive, delete them all, then proceed to install windows to the empty space. Windows will create the partitions it needs. Hope that makes sense. If you're still having trouble, post screen shots.

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[oldsmoboat]

I couldn't install to any of the partitions with Bitlocker enabled.

Formatting C disabled Bitlocker and I was able to install the OS off the flash drive. Once completed, the partitions were all still there...

Laptop is more responsive but still slow.

Also have an audio issue. Before formatting, the speakers sounded like they were blown. When installing Windows, Cortana was talking and sounded perfect. After the install, the speakers sound blown again.

The AV update was also paused. I didn't pause it.

[the86d]

Bitlocker is why I'll never use bitlocker on a home rig...

[Misterclick]

CCleaner for registry

[MrFancyPants]

I couldn't install to any of the partitions with Bitlocker enabled.

Formatting C disabled Bitlocker and I was able to install the OS off the flash drive. Once completed, the partitions were all still there...

My advice is to completely flatten the drive, delete all the partitions as I stated in my previous post, and start over with a clean, empty drive. You said A/V was paused, but in a clean install of windows there should not be any A/V running. Seems like there might still be data left on the drive. Also regarding your sound issue, make sure you're using the latest driver downloaded directly from the chipset manufacturer website, not the built in windows driver. That might help.

Bitlocker is why I'll never use bitlocker on a home rig...

What sucks is our corporate policy requires bitlocker be configured as whole drive encryption on our user workstations, including IT. I've circumvented that for myself since I'm a top level system admin and I can do that (sshhh don't tell anyone ), but it's still a pain to have to deal with end users for our help desk. I built our SCCM system which includes OS deployments so I have to be involved at least that far to make sure it's enabled and configured as part of the deployment task sequence, but thankfully that's where I can draw the line.

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[Dragunov]

First off, Yes. There are viruses that can infect your reset partition. Some are specifically written for that purpose alone.

Second, You need to use something like Mini Tool Partition Wizard, to "Unallocate" the drive. This needs to be done on a separate computer. What this does, is removes all partitions on the HDD at once. NEVER try to do a fresh install on a computer, without doing this FIRST.

Third, Install Win 10, with a FRESH INSTALL. It will make the same partitions you had before, but they will be clean.

Fourth, DON'T trust Windows Defender. Get another AV. I recommend AVAST! I've had a recent rash of Win10, running Defender only, with viruses.

fifth, Is this a spinning HDD or a SSD? If its a spin drive, replace it with an SSD, get a USB 3.0 external drive case, and "Unallocate", re-allocate, and re-format the spin drive, and use it in the external case, for data backup, and imaging AFTER getting the SSD installed, and the computer is operational. This will prevent 95% of any future issues. An external USB 2.5" case, will run you between $7, and $20 via Ebay. They all work. A new SSD can be acquired off Ebay, depending on capacity, from $20 used, or new (240gb), to $200 (Top of the line, 1tb).

Six, Go IN to the BIOS, and disable "SecureBoot". NOT needed for a home user. Leave it off. This will make it easier to boot from an external drive. If someone else uses your computer, protect your admin acct, with a password. If not, and you can trust people in your house not to muck with the computer, you don't need a password.

Download Macrium Reflect, and once the computer is set up to your satisfaction, Image the new SSD to the old spin drive via USB 3.0.

IF your new SSD is at 960gb, or 1tb, you can use AOMEI One Key recovery to make a re-install partition on your new SSD, but I STILL recommend using Macrium Reflect, to image the entire drive to an external USB 3.0 drive.

I NEVER advocate surfing porn, but if you must, do NOT use your main computer for this! Get an old WalMart special to do all that kind of crap on.

If you DO get ransomware, or a bad virus, re-imaging the computer, will get rid of any ransomware, or 98% of any viruses out there.

I keep a basic image from every make of computer I build (around 200-250 images). That way if a customer winds up getting ransomware, I can get them up, and running within ten minutes. Redundancy rules! In a home computer, there's NO use for BitLocker, unless you're doing something "shady".

Good luck.