Topic: Possible HardDrive Problem???

[mistybear]

I think there maybe a problem with the HDD, well Michael says that there might be.

Today when I went to turn it off, it went into a memory dump which went on for ages, so Michael turned it off and the last couple of times after leaving messenger it has also asked to delete that memory as well.
I decided to delete programs that I don't use and I turned off the Defence part of Comodo, as it asks for permission to do anything.
I then ran Tuneup Utilities 2007 Disk Cleaner which was fine then Tuneup Disk Doctor which checked  C & D drives, D was fine C needed a restart to fix problems. Restarted and XP went into a Disk check when that finished I restarted and it went into memory dump when that finished I restarted again and it went back to XP Disk check so I let it go again (another hour and three quarters).
Restarted again went into XP Disk check again, so I turned it off and restarted and pressed F8 and selected last good config, or something like that.
And here I am, Michael says that I need to format the HDD, I really don't want to, so I need     

[Sandra]

Ok the first thing to try is to boot off the XP CD and go to the recovery console.
When you get to the DOS type screen you want to type FIXBOOT then press the enter key, say yes if it asks if you are sure.
If that doesnt fix it try the recovery copnsole again and this time type FIXMBR, again say yes if asked.

Hopefully one of those methods will work.

[mistybear]

How do I boot from the CD?

[gmax]

Put you XP CD in then restart your pc When the computer restarts a message will briefly appear on the screen prompting you to press any key to boot from the CD. If this message does not appear,  you need to configure the boot order in the bios to boot from a CD first.

[Sandra]

Sorry that I had to go out before I saw your reply MB.
Hope you have managed to do it now using Gmaxs reply 

[mistybear]

I googled it, and this is the first time I've been able to turn it back on, I knew I should have left it until Michael got home.

I didn't know what to look for and it only gave me two options, repair windows or re-install, so I chose repair.
Then when it said it was re-installing windows, I was worried I'd lose all of my files. I was told today that I won't lose anything but I may have to re-install some applications. 

[gmax]

This is a good "Repair XP" site with screenshots,    http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How%20to%20access%20the%20Recovery%20Console:

[Simon]

Good link, Gmax. 

[mistybear]

Thanks gmax, that's very interesting. I didn't get the black screen after selecting "R". 

[gmax]

You might have to install the Recovery Console, more screen shots here:  http://www.theeldergeek.com/recovery_console.htm

[mistybear]

Another good link, thanks gmax. 

[Reno]

Memory dump is one of those windows applications that runs in the background occasionally. If you try and stop it or remove it it'll tear up your installation. The first time i learned that lesson I had to reinstall. On a healthy machine it'll run and you won't even notice it, but on some of the older machines it'll slow things down to a crawl.

[mistybear]

It wasn't the only thing slowing things down, after uninstalling Kaspersky AV as the computer would take at least five minutes to open a page, certainly a lot faster once it was gone. I ran AVG, AdAware and A-squared 2 and found three Trojans and a couple of Worms. I also deleted any programs I don't use or rarely use and anything I obtained which would be seen as "questionable". 

[gmax]

SO after all this it was only trojans & worms?

[mistybear]

I have absolutely no idea.......