Reformat?
 

I have a Sony Viao laptop that no longer picks up internet. Its been like that for nearly a year and I can't remember exactly what the cause was, but I think I need to reformat it and start from scratch.

Does any one know of a place with steps I can follow? My knowledge of hardware is minimal. I have recovery disks, but am pretty dumb otherwise.

Or is there anything I should check before reformatting the whole thing?

Wireless internet , you mean?

Because there are a lot of reasons that would no longer be working.

Specifics would be helpful.

all internet access. wireless, plugged in to my house, plugged in to work. i get nothing.

pay the net bill? :-) sorry i was in the mood for a lame joke hehe

likely a software reinstall is required...maybe update Windows or something. I accidentally deleted a required .DLL when trying to eliminate a virus and didn't get any Internet (wireless or otherwise) after that.

You could try reinstalling drivers for you ethernet/wireless/modem. The process for doing this depends on your OS. As for what you need to do when it comes to formatting your hard drive, it depends on what OS you are using as well, since some of the older ones have different procedures than some of the newer ones. Just be sure to back up any files you want to keep before you do the format, you will not be able to recover them.

But if you have your heart set on re-formating your hard drive (which will erase everything on it, but will also clear out the crud that has accumulated over the years) simply put disk 1 of your recovery disks in the optical drive and re-boot. follow the instructions.