[wizkid]

Hi,

I have been given a mates PC to fix because it has had loads of viurs on it. I decided that the best option would be to format and reinstall windows xp. However eveytime I get passed the formatting part and its copying the filles. The yellow bar gets about halway thorugh and then stops. the computer restarts and goes back into the windows setup again, of formatting the hdd and installing windows again. also everytime this happens the NTLDR missing error flashes up, I have removed all disks and floppys changed the boot order to boot from the cd and hdd. Two things I can only think that it can be is possibily a viurs still in the hard drive somewhere after formatting? Or the hdd is failling or another part? I have also tried antoher XP disk.


Any ideas

Cheers,

Wiz

[muckshifter]

My first thought is, failing/failed HD ... are you doing a proper "delete partition" & format?

Download the latest diagnostic software and utilities from the manufacturer of the hard drive.



EDIT: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287#wdc

[wizkid]

Hi Mucks,

Thanks for your reply.

Tested the HDD and it tested faulty with a bad sector, I asked it to repair it but the same problem happens again. I take it there is no other way to fix it with out replacing the drive?


Cheers,

Wiz

[muckshifter]

You can't repair real bad sectors ... time for a new drive.

[wizkid]

Originally Posted by muckshifter

You can't repair real bad sectors ... time for a new drive.

Ok thanks for your reply.

I asked it to repair the bad sector it found I tested it again and it did not find any bad sectors, could that have been the viurs still in the MBR? I have now got windows installed on it, I run the xp recovery console and run fixmbr and fixboot now it installs windows and boots into windows. Do you reckon that the drive is still on its way out? I reckon that the pc was built back in 2002.

[muckshifter]

It will NOT repair real bad sectors, what it will/may have done is mark them bad, so no data can be written to those sectors.

All drives can facilitate this miraculous smoke & mirrors act.

If it were my PC, I would get a new hard drive ... I would use that HD as a spare, but I wouldn't trust it with important data.


your choice

[wizkid]

Ok thanks Mucks,

I will advise them to buy a new hdd, I also tested the ram yesterday and it tested faulty with errors in copying patterns and saving information so they will need to buy some more ram as well.