Clean Install Windows 7 that was preinstalled on computer.

ten minutes ago i attemted to download the kapersky rescue file. it has made absolutely no progress. no estimated time left, nothing. i went to cnet to download something just to see if this was going to be a problem with all downloads. same thing happened.

By the way, manufacturers are required by Microsoft to provide a clean OS install disk to their customers on demand as part of their OEM contract. I would call Gateway support and ask for one and if they give you any grief, as they are likely to do, demand to speak to a supervisor.

coup d etat said:

ten minutes ago i attemted to download the kapersky rescue file. it has made absolutely no progress. no estimated time left, nothing. i went to cnet to download something just to see if this was going to be a problem with all downloads. same thing happened.

This is characteristic of these infections which have the ability to block the very scanners which can catch them. I have overcome them by rolling System Restore back as far as it will go, then running a boot time scan and Malwarebytes. But I got lucky in those cases.

What needs to happen now is boot the Win7 installer to wipe the HD then clean reinstall. Call your manufacturer to demand a Win7 install DVD as they are required to provide under their agreement to dispense OEM software with MS.

just posting a follow up, to maybe help anyone else who is experiencing this problem.

my computer is 5 months old and despite having an antivirus which is always on, and used to scan my computer 1-3 times a day, i got a virus. this virus corrupted core files in the windows 7 OS, and led to my all in one printer not functioning properly (unable to print or scan), errors with internet explorer(messages that say a program has corrupted default internet browser), errors with windows media player(all media was lost prior to clean install), and small annoying things that i cant recount now, as im overwhelmed with happiness that my computer is running better than ever.
however, while a clean install can help optimize your computer by getting rid of all the bloatware that your computer manufacturer has preinstalled, you can go a step further by doing some other custom configurations, such as disabling all unneeded programs that have written themselves into msconfig>startup (type msconfig startup in start menu search bar). this will give you a lighning fast startup.

ill try to recount as best i can the main points of the clean install, and other things to consider.

first burn a copy of the recovery media from your computer. burning a system repair disk wouldnt hurt either. the recovery disk will allow you to restore your computer to factory default settings. including bloatware. this is good to have if you have a warranty on your hardware, and the manufacturer requires that the machine have all the factory settings. (if needed in the future, i will just create a new partition for the factory reinstall, and order that partition to be booted first in the BIOS menu before shipping out). save any files to cd or flash drive that you dont want to lose, and keep them quarantined there until you can run an AV scan, to ensure that the virus isnt there to infect your new clean install.

the next step is to wipe the hard drive using this tutorial:
SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

now you can clean install following these steps: Clean Install Windows 7
*** if you have an OEM operating system (OS is preinstalled, and you dont have any OS software) you will need to locate and unlock a Windows 7 installer. do this before wiping the harddrive. your product key will activate Windows 7 as long as you do have a valid liscense.

the installer is pretty much driver complete. you will get more drivers that are needed in the first windows update. however i ran into a problem here. i needed a driver for ethernet that was not included in the installer. without this driver i could not get online to download and install windows updates. go to the start menu search bar and type "device manager". carefully expand all tabs and look for yellow exclamation points, these are missing drivers. (i only had two, one of which was the driver needed to get online and i found it under the other devices tab in device manager) youll need a computer connected to the internet for the next step. i had to find the driver from the manufacturers website support page, download it, save to a cd, and put it in the machine that it belongs to, extract all files, and right click on the autorun icon and open as administrator. that did it for me. after installing the driver i was able to get online and get the windows updates.

now you need to immediately install an anti virus program. i had webroot (paid version) but got infected, now im using Microsoft Security Essentials(freeware) which was recommended as it works perfectly with windows firewall.

now that youre protected, download ccleaner, auslogics disk defrag, and auslogics registry defrag, these are all free programs that work great and come highly regarded. run them in the order listed above, and make sure you use default settings. dont check or uncheck any boxes or change any other settings. these programs will clean and order your hard drive, defragment the hard drive, and defragment the registry.

now that you have all the core programs and drivers downloaded type msconfig startup in the start menu search bar. uncheck any programs that arent needed to startup the computer. leave your antivirus checked so it loads on startup. printers, messengers, and any other unneeded programs at start up will just bog your computer down. unchecking the unneeded startup programs will give you a faster startup, and faster processing in general as youre not constantly running a bunch of programs. now those programs will only load up when you open them yourself.

now, save a windows 7 backup image externally so you never have to do all of this again. thats it!

Thanks to everyone who helped me, and i hope that this helps anyone who is experiencing the same problems.

this forum is a great resource, i wouldnt have been able to do all this myself with my limited knowledge of computers, but now im confident that i could help a friend if they run into this problem.

Glad you sorted it out and it sounds like you have a great install.

This is what one has to go through to get the cleanest possible install on today's store-bought computers with their pre-installed sponsored bloatware.

As profit margins got thinner, one-by-one each maker stopped assisting clean reinstalls in order to enforce the factory bloatware which might make up their entire profit margin. Mr. Norton doesn't want to miss the annual Rolls upgrade.

couldnt have done it without your assistance Greg.

thanks for the msconfig troubleshoot link BFK.

You did it bud. Think how much you've learned about your computer. Now you can teach others.