Completely reinstalling windows 7 because of viruses

Callsign Zulu

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Sep 13, 2015
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So my sister's computer is an older HP Pavilion and she has been using it for ages. It is a solid laptop but it is plagued with god knows what. I looked in the task manager and it was amazing what the thing was doing on idle. Anyways I need to just reinstall windows but I am not to sure how. I mean I know the whole process but where would i get my hand on a key or is there a way to figure out the key for this machine and then download and iso from somewhere on the net?
 

Callsign Zulu

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Sep 13, 2015
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The thing is that she may have root kits in it and virus protection software rarly picks that stuff up unless you choose like a $60 disinfection plan for 1 time use. There is nothing sensitive on there and she wants a fresh start since I am finally off the PC now that I have my own.
 
When a computer has a lot of malware on it, I think a clean reinstall is always best. What I do is clone the OS drive to a spare HDD, and do that every few months. That way I can get back to a good clean installation of the OS and all of my programs with little effort.

But not everyone has a bunch of HDDs lying around.
 

Callsign Zulu

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Yeah and that keeps windows from being bogged down by accumulating files
 

ccqueen

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Ohh okay, yeah then that would be the better route to take.