How do i restore my computer to its original factory state?

bekayah · 17 Feb 2011

I have recently gotten a huge amount of virus threats detected on my computer and the only way i can get rid of them is to do a complete system restore to its original factory state as to when i bought it. I have no recovery cds or dvds that came with the computer.
I have already tried doing a system restore to its earlier restore point to a week ago and also virus scan to try and fix or remove the detected files but has been no luck in getting rid of them.

If it helps my computer is a Pyron Desktop PC with Windows 7 Home premium 64bit (windows 7 already pre installed when i bought it)

Thanks in advance :)

StalkeR · 17 Feb 2011

System Restore

severedsolo · 17 Feb 2011

Hi bekayah welcome to Seven Forums.

If your PC did not come with Recovery Disks then most likely it has a recovery partition.

I assume that this is an OEM build, although I haven't heard of Pyron, nor can I find any reference to Pyron online which is slightly puzzling. Somewhere in the start menu, there SHOULD be an option to create System Disks. (In fact, on most OEM PC's it's the first thing that comes up when you switch it on.)

Failing that, when you switch the PC on, there should be some sort of message saying "Press F*" for system recovery or similar.

Failing all that, you will probably need to check your documentation for info on how to access the recovery partition.

bekayah · 17 Feb 2011

Sorry my bad spelling. Its a 'Pryon Desktop pc', i bought it at a local Harvey Norman Store, bit over a year ago. Yes its an OEM build.

When I start the computer up it comes up with 'press F3 to start your PC in System restore utility..'
Is it simple to restore to factory settings with steps to follow? Sorry just i havent done this before so im a little scared that ill stuff it up. I have already backed up all the files - photos, documents etc.

severedsolo · 17 Feb 2011

Not having used a Pryon myself I can't say for definite, but it should be a simple step by step instructions. Usually consisting of "Press Next to Continue"

It's not scary, and as long as everything is backed up it should be fine. One thing I would recommend though is to look at getting restore disks, in case the Hard Drive ever goes south.

electrotune1200 · 17 Feb 2011

severedsolo said:

One thing I would recommend though is to look at getting restore disks, in case the Hard Drive ever goes south.

Great advice by severedsolo..

One thing I'd like to add is after you get your system restored to it's out of box state, scan all of your backed up files with an antivirus before you load everything back on. If something is infected you could end up right where you started.

Where are your files backed up to? An external hard drive or discs?

Before inserting the media I also recommend disabling autorun.

bekayah · 17 Feb 2011

Thanks severedsolo, ill see how i go and get back to you.

electrotune1200, thanks for the advice about doing scans on my backup, sounds like a great idea. The files are backed up onto a couple of memory USB drives.

electrotune1200 · 17 Feb 2011

To disable Autorun. Type "Autoplay" into Windows Search and hit enter. At the top of the box under the big blue text, uncheck "Use AutoPlay for all media and devices" and click save at the bottom. That will stop malware set to autorun from the media device as soon as you insert it. (If there is any)

Bare Foot Kid · 17 Feb 2011

Hello bekayah, welcome to Seven Forums!

If you can't get the PC restored to factory, you may find this information below useful and be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.

After you have copied out or made back-ups of the data you need to save to external media; if you can find an exact Windows version that the PC shipped with you can do a clean install using the activation key on the COA sticker attached to the PC though it may require a robo-call to MS to sort the OEM batch-key.

How to Activate Windows 7 by Phone

If you can't find an exact same version, you could use the info in this tutorial to create an "all Versions" installer of any version Windows installer, to install using the same method I posted above.

Windows 7 Universal Installation Disc - Create

After you have made backups of everything you care to save, the best method is to do a complete wipe (secure erase) of the entire Hard Disk Drive first, it over-writes everything, all the old Windows code including all the old drivers/programs, giving you the best possible space to install Windows to.

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

Tarka Dal · 17 Feb 2011

I activated my Windows Vista by Robo call the other day it is so easy!
BTW you can only restore to factory setting if one of 2 things have been achieved:~
1 you have an original Window OEM disk and can do a clean install. OR
2 the system was backed up on or near the day when it was purchased without anything being installed and has not been backed up since.

Thought i'd clear that up!...
Difficult that one.