Are there computer problems that CAN'T be corrected

I'm writing for my brother, whose computer has been so corrupted that he can't keep it running more than five minutes before it crashes. Because of this, his network is ALSO down, so he can't use his wife's laptop to access the TC site for help EITHER! So, the simple question is: Are there some infections so challenging that all you can do is re-format and re-install? This is the advice from the technician that worked on his computer. If he must do that, can he safely back-up the photos and music currently installed on his computer to re-install them once the hard drive is clean and operating again? If re-formatting is sometimes the ONLY recourse you can do, somebody give a a quick yes (which I will tell my brother) and he can go ahead with the tech's advice. However, if you can ALWAYS (or nearly always) fix without re-formatting OR if he must lose his photos in order to clean his computer, then I'll take this to a new post for explicit instructions. TIA for your time and shared knowledge! Moon

Hi,
The direct answer is Yes.
Further advice on infections can be found on the following site:
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?showforum=27

Having said that whilst formatting the drive and reinstalling windows is often a quicker method of getting a badly corrupted system up and running than trying individual fixes it is also a fairly drastic step and can be tricky for someone doing it for the first time.
On the question of backing up music and photos this is usually safe, but it must be realised that some infections can masquerade as legitimate files so it would be best to take advice from the experts over on the forum linked to above
Regards
paws

Hi paws wish i could type as quick

thanks all. Will head over to the forum and see about fixing the problems with me as intermediary. Appreciate the quick reply, even if Pacman does type slow… Moon