External harddrive virused

Hello,

I just recently reformatted my computer, due to a virus, and installed vista. The virus is , which i didnt know this until just a minute ago, is on my external harddrive. When I copied things over that I wanted o keep before reformatting, I apparently moved the virus right over with the stuff. I hate to lose everything, so is there anyway i can clear the virus and save some things? If not, how do I wipe the external harddrive so I can use it again? When I plugged it into my laptop the anti virus software caught it. It's some sort of a Trojan, it was labeled Recyclers.

Thanks for any help....

B