I just got hit with a very nasty ransomware virus that pretty much rendered my computer inoperable. I was wondering if anyone has any advice as to how i can get my computer back.

I have a Gateway laptop running Windows 7. I looked around google for answers but most (if not all) solutions there recommend either running windows in safe mode, or using a recovery disc. I cannot do either of these, so i came to the solution that i need to reformat my drive and reinstall windows. Can anyone tell me how to do that?

Is there anyway you can reset to factory setting but rebooting with a disk it came with ?

Unfortunately i dont have any disc like that, and even if i did, my disc drive refuses to read any discs i put in there.

I just need to know if its possible to format my drive without the use of the disc drive. If it is, i need to know how.

dayum

well you could use a flash drive that can re/install windows, if your comp can read it
that usually works in cases like this, but if not then I suggest paying to get it fixed, or using malwarebytes

Yeah i need to reinstall windows. Malwarebytes actually isnt working for me now, it keeps hanging when it starts to scan the temporary internet files. I know common sense would tell one to delete these files before scanning, but it appears i cannot do that either. The computer hangs when i try to delete them, and theres tens of thousands of files in there (likely the primary reason).

At this point i dont think theres any hope of a successful scan, so formatting the drive and reinstalling windows looks to be my only hope.

I would have tried Geek Squad but they will likely charge me hundreds of dollars to fix it, that kind of money would be better spent on a new laptop imo. Though i really dont want windows 8.

1. try combofix (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/combofix/)

if combofix fails (unlikely):

2. get any free OS on a usb (try ubuntu), burn the OS to the usb and boot from it via BIOS

then get a portable hard drive and put all your stuff that you want to keep on it

then reformat your drive install windows etc

Oh I have my files backed up already. Im gonna try the second method anyway as im pretty sure formatting+reinstalling will definitely solve the problem.

Thanks everyone for your replies, i really appreciate it.

Im going to keep this thread open a while longer in case i need some more help soon. Thanks again.