Originally Answered: Will removing hard drive erase everything? You can remove the hard drive but the memory will still be stored on the hard drive. Does replacing a hard drive erase everything? However, keep in mind if backups of your computer were made that contain a virus, your computer can be re-infected if not protected by an antivirus program. If your computer is infected with a virus, formatting or erasing the hard drive and starting over will often remove any virus. Will wiping my hard drive get rid of viruses? Replacing the drive would certainly get rid of the viruses, but all you really need to do is to repartition and format it using a tool that will overwrite the Master Boot Record.īooting from a Windows installation disk and using it to delete and recreate the partitions should do the trick.