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Does fully cleaning the drive remove viruses?

Viruses That Escape Resets
Factory resets don't remove infected files stored on backups: viruses can return to the computer when you restore your old data. The backup storage device should be fully scanned for virus and malware infections before any data is moved back from the drive to the computer.
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What happens if you clean the drive fully?

What Does Clean the Drive Fully Mean? When you select the option of "Fully Clean the Drive" while resetting the PC, it includes a complete format of your computer. The process involves erasing data more deeply, which ensures that the data can never be retrieved again.
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How do I completely remove a virus from my hard drive?

Removing a virus from a PC
  1. Download and install antivirus software. There are two main types of antivirus software that can detect and remove computer viruses and malware: real-time and on-demand. ...
  2. Run a virus scan. ...
  3. Delete or quarantine infected files. ...
  4. Restart your computer.
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Can a virus stay in a hard drive?

Boot-sector viruses can survive a hard-drive reformat because they're stored on a different section of the disk. Boot-sector viruses can be removed by either clearing the boot sector or using a removal tool and rebuilding the boot sector.
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Does formatting hard drive remove all viruses?

Since formatting a hard disk or flash drive will initialize the device and set it up as a new polished one, yes, to some degree, formatting a hard drive deletes all data written on the hard drive, including the virus that may have infected it.
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How to Remove ANY Virus from Windows 10 in ONE STEP in 2021

Can I use PC if I fully clean the drive?

You cannot access the data normally, but the data still exits on the drive actually and you are able to recover the data with certain data recovery software. If you choose “Remove files and clean the drive”, Windows reset will not only erase the saved data but also fully clean the drive/drives.
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What happens if you fully clean the drive Windows 10?

Once you wipe your PC, any installed software will be lost, and if you're upgrading to a new PC, you'll need to reinstall your software on your new device.
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What is the difference between just remove my files and fully clean the drive?

Hi, They both do basically the same, except selecting Clean The Drive will write zeros to the entire drive before reinstalling... Just Remove Files deletes the Files without writing zeros...
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What files should you not delete in Disk Cleanup?

There is one file category you should not delete in Disk Cleanup. It is Windows ESD installation files. Usually, the Windows ESD installation files take up a few gigabytes of disk space on your computer. You may think that deleting these files will release a lot of free space for new data.
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How long does fully clean the drive take Windows 10?

The Just Remove My Files option will take somewhere in the neighborhood of two hours, while the Fully Clean The Drive option can take as long as four hours. Of course, your mileage may vary.
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What files should I not delete from my computer?

Summary:
  1. Program files folder. Program files named folder contains all the programs that are installed in your PC by default. ...
  2. WinSxS folder. It comes under the windows folder that is abbreviated for windows side by side. ...
  3. System32 folder. ...
  4. Windows folder. ...
  5. System volume information folder. ...
  6. Swapfile. ...
  7. Pagefile.
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Is it good to clean drive?

Cleaning up your hard drive will speed things up significantly. This process will delete temporary files, empty the Trash or Recycle Bin, and remove a variety of old files and programs that are no longer needed. Another good reason to clean up your hard drive is to make room for additional software.
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Is Disk Cleanup risky?

Conclusion. For the most part, the items and files in Disk Cleanup are safe to delete. But if your computer isn't running properly, deleting some of them may prevent you from uninstalling updates, rolling back your operating system, and more. so they're handy to keep around if you have the space.
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How long does it take to clean PC drive?

If you're planning to donate, recycle, or sell your PC, use this option and choose to fully clean the drive. This might take an hour or two, but it makes it harder for other people to recover files you've removed.
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Will my PC run faster if I clean it?

Clean up hard disk space.

If you have less than 15% free space, your computer could slow down. Delete old programs and files you don't need or compress some of your files (especially large ones). Note that if your computer is running slowly and storage isn't full, your operating system may be having problems.
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Should I turn off my PC when cleaning it?

Before you start cleaning your PC, you should be sure to power the PC down and unplug it from the power supply. Doing so makes sure that you don't accidentally damage both yourself or the PC while cleaning it.
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How often should you disk clean your computer?

As a best practice, the IT team at CAL Business Solutions recommends that our Dynamics GP, Acumatica and Cavallo SalesPad partners perform a disk cleanup at least once a month. This will delete temporary files, empty the Recycle Bin and remove a variety of files and other items that are no longer needed.
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What is better than Disk Cleanup?

  • 660. BleachBit. Free • Open Source. ...
  • 2657. CCleaner. Freemium • Proprietary. ...
  • 367. Glary Utilities. Freemium • Proprietary. ...
  • SD Maid - System Cleaning Tool. Freemium • Proprietary. System Cleaner. ...
  • Tron Script. Free • Open Source. System Cleaner. ...
  • 123. Clean Master. ...
  • Wise Disk Cleaner. Free • Proprietary. ...
  • 149. AVG PC TuneUp.
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Can I delete Microsoft Defender antivirus in Disk Cleanup?

There's no harm deleting the Windows Defender files on your computer. Deleting this file will not affect any of your applications or software on your computer since they're just temporary files. You can delete it to free up some space on your drive.
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What are the benefits of clean up drive?

A cleanup program can not only reduce pollution, but – by sorting neighborhood trash and recycling as much as possible – can help to teach residents about recycling and about activities that will reduce the neighborhood's carbon footprint.
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Can you recover a cleaned drive?

To recover a wiped hard drive that you don't have a backup of, you'll need to use a data recovery tool. Disk Drill is a specialized data recovery tool that can be used to recover data from your hard drive after your data has been lost or deleted.
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Does resetting PC wipe drive?

By default, the Windows 10 factory reset wipes everything on your drives, but doesn't fully clean them. That means that the old data on them can still be retrieved with the help of specialized data recovery applications.
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What should I delete to make my computer faster?

Delete unnecessary files

Unnecessary applications and files can bog down your computer over time. One of the best ways to improve computer performance is to go through your files and delete anything you don't need. Not only will this free up space on your hard drive, but it can also improve the speed of your device.
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Why is my local disk C full?

If you never cleared the recycle bin, it will take up a certain space on your system C drive, which as a result, your C drive is getting full. So we suggest you empty the recycle bin regularly.
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Are computer files really deleted?

So where do deleted files go? Whenever you delete a file in your computer and empty your Recycle Bin, your data is not entirely wiped out from your computer. Although you can no longer see the file in the location it once was and your operating system no longer has it, a copy of it still exists on your hard drive.
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