Still Lost and Forsaken

My computer problems persist, but there seems to be progress. I have been able to get my computer to copy files from the C drive onto CDs again. With that in mind, I am thinking I will try to wipe away the entire hard drive once I am sure all the files I would like to save are on CD. Here is my course of execution, and if there are problems with my line of thinking, PLEASE let me know:

1. I presume I should when I am ready, simply go and reformat the entire hard drive. My understanding is I can do this via:

C: format

If not, some other idea should work that I will have to figure out.

2. I am assuming that once I have reformatted the drive, the damn trojan horse will be gone and that what I will do next is to insert the WindowsXP CD into the drive and download it into the computer.

I hope this is a correct assumption, although it worries me somewhat to think of my hard drive as having no operating system at all after the reformat. How will my computer be able to read the WindowsXP CD?

3. Another worry I have is that my CD is an upgrade CD. I hope that is enough for I do not know where the hell the Windows Me software is... if damnable Dell even sent it to me... it came preloaded.

4. Another worry... if WindowsXP loads, will it have the networking software to be able to get back on-line?

If the above four items work as hoped, I could start off with a fresh machine.

Let us all pray.

Again, advice is greatly appreciated.

PipeTobacco