Can A Virus Destroy Your Hard Drive To The Point Of Having To Replace It?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MR.KAZ

Lurker
I never have.Just curious if maybe anyone here heard of that.
 
panic.gif
 
It can get worse than that. On every motherboard there is a chip containing the BIOS information. If that gets corrupted, say bye bye to the entire computer {unless you know how to replace a motherboard}.
 
MegaDrive20XX said:
Yes. Now run around and panic with your arms waving in the streets.
Click to expand...
Yeah,I think I will.

:hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh :hh
 
ThravRande said:
panic.gif
Click to expand...
ThravRande,I can't tell you how much that animated image means to me.It's a wonderful feeling knowing that I have your help and support readily available when I'm in a crisis.I'm forever in your debt.It's help and support like that that makes forums a truly pleasant place to be a member.

Thanks Buddy!! :D
 
MR.KAZ said:
ThravRande,I can't tell you how much that animated image means to me.It's a wonderful feeling knowing that I have your help and support readily available when I'm in a crisis.I'm forever in your debt.It's help and support like that that makes forums a truly pleasant place to be a member.

Thanks Buddy!! :D
Click to expand...
been waiting to use one of my Monsterous sized smileys. ^_^
 
Kaz the anwser is no worse comes to worse there are ways you can wipe a drive completely clean granted you lose all your files and it's a real pain but you can reinstall. X2 is right I would worry more bios virus that's what could turn your computer into a glorified paper wieght and it's also one of the oldest types of viruses.
 
redneckgamer 213 said:
Kaz the anwser is no worse comes to worse there are ways you can wipe a drive completely clean granted you lose all your files and it's a real pain but you can reinstall. X2 is right I would worry more bios virus that's what could turn your computer into a glorified paper wieght and it's also one of the oldest types of viruses.
Click to expand...

I must admit,I smoked cigarettes in the area around the tower.Could that be a thing that destroys your tower as well?
 
Well, not directly, but all that dust build up inside the tower can cause overheating which could kill some parts. Best thing is to open it up every few months and give it a good dust off using an air can.
 
x2 said:
Well, not directly, but all that dust build up inside the tower can cause overheating which could kill some parts. Best thing is to open it up every few months and give it a good dust off using an air can.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip x2 I'll do just that.I wasn't aware of that method of upkeep. :)
 
Several months ago, I was looking for computer mods; various heatsinks, cooling strategies, cable management, etc., and my antivirus (my actual program, not a doppleganger spyware program) popped up a warning message. I immedately cleared my internet cache and temporary files folders, then ran antivirus and antispyware programs.

Unfortunately, the next time I attmpted to boot my computer, it would restart before loading my OS; the drive had been corrupted.

However, maybe once a month, I create a backup image of my boot drive on a spare internal hard drive, then physically remove that drive after the image has been updated. I simply had to plug in my backup drive, boot from the backup, then reimage the normal boot drive. After about two hours, I was back to where my computer was before the virus.

So, in short, yes, Kaz, a virus can damage a hard drive. If my computer either did not have great cooling or was left to constantly reboot, it could have fried my drives, my power supply, and/or the motherboard.

And yes, smoking near a computer causes a thick buildup. It is more difficult to remove than dust. It can cause heating problems in a computer.
 
Grindspine said:
Several months ago, I was looking for computer mods; various heatsinks, cooling strategies, cable management, etc., and my antivirus (my actual program, not a doppleganger spyware program) popped up a warning message. I immedately cleared my internet cache and temporary files folders, then ran antivirus and antispyware programs.

Unfortunately, the next time I attmpted to boot my computer, it would restart before loading my OS; the drive had been corrupted.

However, maybe once a month, I create a backup image of my boot drive on a spare internal hard drive, then physically remove that drive after the image has been updated. I simply had to plug in my backup drive, boot from the backup, then reimage the normal boot drive. After about two hours, I was back to where my computer was before the virus.

So, in short, yes, Kaz, a virus can damage a hard drive. If my computer either did not have great cooling or was left to constantly reboot, it could have fried my drives, my power supply, and/or the motherboard.

And yes, smoking near a computer causes a thick buildup. It is more difficult to remove than dust. It can cause heating problems in a computer.
Click to expand...
I'm certainly going to start smoking in another room or outside from now on.
 
I once fixed a computer for someone. The second I opened it I could tell they smoked around it. The fans were all bound up, not to mention that crap is a trap for dust which just adds to the problem. There was a nice layer of it on everything exposed. If allowed to get thick enough it could be a real heat concern as well.

As for a virus physically destroying your hard drive, it's possible but not probable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top