Guest Dave Candi Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 Hi I wonder if anyone can help? Everytime I start my computer it runs checkdisk, when it gets to 35% it hangs and stays there? I've run checkdisk from the command line and the same story. The only way round this is to skip disk checking on start up. I'm seriously worried about my hard disk as it seems its on its way out. This is the second western digital hard drive thats given me problems, the other was on my laptop. Can anyone recommend a solution to this problem? Maybe some freeware disk checking and fixing software? Should I buy a new drive incase this one goes completely? Thanks in advance Dave
Guest Malke Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 Re: checkdisk Problem? Dave Candi wrote: > Hi I wonder if anyone can help? Everytime I start my computer it runs > checkdisk, when it gets to 35% it hangs and stays there? I've run checkdisk > from the command line and the same story. The only way round this is to skip > disk checking on start up. I'm seriously worried about my hard disk as it > seems its on its way out. This is the second western digital hard drive thats > given me problems, the other was on my laptop. Can anyone recommend a > solution to this problem? Maybe some freeware disk checking and fixing > software? Should I buy a new drive incase this one goes completely? Thanks in > advance Dave Go to Western Digital's website and download their hard drive diagnostic utility. You will make a bootable CD or floppy with the file you download. Then boot with the media you created and do a thorough test. If the test fails any physical tests (or won't finish), replace the hard drive. Certainly you should back up your data now and be prepared to replace the drive. If you do the diagnostic now, you'll know whether you need to buy a new drive or not. Malke -- Elephant Boy Computers http://www.elephantboycomputers.com "Don't Panic!" MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Guest Plato Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 Re: checkdisk Problem? =?Utf-8?B?RGF2ZSBDYW5kaQ==?= wrote: > > Hi I wonder if anyone can help? Everytime I start my computer it runs > checkdisk, when it gets to 35% it hangs and stays there? I've run checkdisk > from the command line and the same story. The only way round this is to skip > disk checking on start up. I'm seriously worried about my hard disk as it > seems its on its way out. This is the second western digital hard drive thats > given me problems, the other was on my laptop. Can anyone recommend a > solution to this problem? Maybe some freeware disk checking and fixing > software? Should I buy a new drive incase this one goes completely? Thanks in > advance Dave Your hard drive may be failing, or has some bad sectors that have not been marked bad yet. See: http://www.bootdisk.com/dostools.htm HARDDRIVES Western Digital -- http://www.bootdisk.com/
Guest Dave Candi Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 Re: checkdisk Problem? Hi I ran the WD diagnostics and it found nothing wrong with the drive? I can't defrag until chkdsk completes and chkdsk wont complete. I've tried all manor of switchs /r/f/c/i? I think theres a corruption in the registry probably caused by a virus. Can anyone recommend a good registry cleaner that fixes errors, removes bad entries? Would it be wise after a backup to use a router in future giving me NAT which would hide my ip address? Is anyone out there using a router with this and having less virus/trojan detection? Im using one care which was recommended by a reliable source but it seems my pc is getting hit just as much as without any protection. I'm contempleting a router with NAT and maybe even AVG/ Zone alarm next time around? Any thought? "
Guest Malke Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 Re: checkdisk Problem? Dave Candi wrote: > Hi I ran the WD diagnostics and it found nothing wrong with the drive? I > can't defrag until chkdsk completes and chkdsk wont complete. I've tried all > manor of switchs /r/f/c/i? I think theres a corruption in the registry > probably caused by a virus. Can anyone recommend a good registry cleaner that > fixes errors, removes bad entries? Would it be wise after a backup to use a > router in future giving me NAT which would hide my ip address? Is anyone out > there using a router with this and having less virus/trojan detection? Im > using one care which was recommended by a reliable source but it seems my pc > is getting hit just as much as without any protection. I'm contempleting a > router with NAT and maybe even AVG/ Zone alarm next time around? Any thought? > > " If the WD diagnostic shows nothing physically wrong with the drive, then your file system has been damaged. Now that you've mentioned that you had a virus (but of course we don't know which one), that could be the reason. Many viruses and malware will damage the operating system. 1. Back up your data and do a Repair Install. Before you do the Repair Install, make very sure that your computer is in fact completely virus/malware-free: http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware Once you know the computer is clean: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm 2. If the Repair Install doesn't work, do a Clean Install: http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What you will need on-hand As for your other questions, it is a good idea to use a router with a broadband connection even if you only have one computer. It will not, however, protect you from viruses or malware. The OneCare antivirus is one of the worst in the industry. Recommended antivirus programs are NOD32, Kaspersky, and Avast if you want free. The built-in Windows Firewall is adequate for most people but Zone Alarm is often used. The most important part of staying safe is practicing "Safe Hex". This is entirely up to you because if you don't adhere to safe practices, no antivirus/firewall will protect you. Safe Hex: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971 - So How Did I Get Infected Anyway? http://www.getsafeonline.org/ http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2006/02/05/82584.aspx - MVP Harry Waldron - The Family PC - How to stay safe on the Internet http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - Eric Howes on Rogue Antispyware Programs Malke -- Elephant Boy Computers http://www.elephantboycomputers.com "Don't Panic!" MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Guest cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user) Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 Re: checkdisk Problem? On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:38:02 -0700, Dave Candi >Hi I ran the WD diagnostics and it found nothing wrong with the drive? Folks usually recommend HD vendor diagnostics, but they tend to wait until the HD is dead, cold, and half buried before saying "hey, maybe this HD isn't OK after all". I've seen SMART showing multiple sectors that have already failed to be "corrected", yet each attribute line was still "OK" and the summary was also "OK". Folks often just do the "quick tes", which simply gives the feel-good SMART summary and does no surface test at all. >I can't defrag Defrag involves reading and writing potentially every part of every file on the HD. Does that sound like a good idea if the file system and/or hard drive integrity is in doubt? >until chkdsk completes and chkdsk wont complete. I've tried all >manor of switchs /r/f/c/i? ChkDsk is not a safe tool, and is certainly not a data recovery tool. It's an OK tool after you've backed up everything and have nothing to lose, and want to see how well it can "fix" things for giggles. >I think theres a corruption in the registry probably caused by a virus. What virus? Have you detected one, or are you speculating that malware may be a factor here (as it well may)? >Can anyone recommend a good registry cleaner that >fixes errors, removes bad entries? Folks will wave such things around, but really, you should rather know what you're doing (or hire someone who does) than trusting these auto-fixers. Else you just make it impossible to really fix things, because all the sharp corners that could have pointed to the problem have been rounded off. >Would it be wise after a backup to use a router in future giving me >NAT which would hide my ip address? Yes. An always-on direct connection to the Internet is a Bad Idea. Unlike most of what you've suggested so far, dropping in a NAT router should NOT wait until you've done a backup ;-) >Is anyone out there using a router with this and having less virus/trojan detection? Im >using one care which was recommended by a reliable source but it seems my pc >is getting hit just as much as without any protection. I'm contempleting a >router with NAT and maybe even AVG/ Zone alarm next time around? NOTHING will make you so bullet-proof (or even bullet-resistant) that you can forget about learning how to avoid risk. >-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - - Running Windows-based av to kill active malware is like striking a match to see if what you are standing in is water or petrol. >-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
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