Rebuilding a PC

The ugly task of rebuilding a PC is not for the technically challenged or the 'wing it' birds. Completing this effort takes time and knowledge. Here is the simplified steps that I took last night to rebuild the PC:

1. Disconnected the internet from my firewall/switch/router to isolate my network from the 'dangerous world of the web'.
2. Connected my virus filled PC to my local network and copied select data type files that I wanted to keep. It is best to run virus protection on these files to make sure you are not unknowingly spreading the virus.
3. Re-partitioned and re-formatted the hard drives on the virus filled PC. I maybe wrong, but it is my understanding that no virus can survive this step.
4. Installed Windows, virus software, internet security, and then plugged in the internet cable back into my firewall/switch/router. Note that my protection software is installed before I connect to the internet. Don't take chances.
5. Install the correct drivers and updated my Windows with the latest patches from Microsoft.
6. Installed other productivity software as needed. No games... yet.

The version of Windows that I have is 2000 Professional SP2. This effort took about 6 hours to complete. If you do not care about keeping any data, you can trim off 1.5 hours of searching and copying. The end result is nice and worth the pain... the computer is running much faster and it is virus free.

Tonight I have a meeting to attend so I will not get much computer repair time... there are some small issues that still need to be addressed before the PC is 'kid' ready. They are waiting... I am sure you can hear them if you listen: 'Dad, when is it going to be ready?'