Disk Cleanup deleted all xp system files

[Guest]

I did my usual monthly disk cleanup of my c drive and just ticked all the
boxes that had data in them. My computer then started to delete windows
system files and subsequently I coud not stop it and therefore lost all win
system files and could not reboot into windows the error message was system
files missing. Could not even boot into safe most. I tried repairing but it
would not do that. I had to reinstall windows again from scratch then my sp2
disk then update for days from windows web site (as I am on dial up as I live
rural). Why did this happen? I obviously had some virus? Although my
antivirus and firewalls are up to date

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I did my usual monthly disk cleanup of my c drive and just ticked
all the boxes that had data in them. My computer then started to
delete windows system files and subsequently I coud not stop it and
therefore lost all win system files and could not reboot into
windows the error message was system files missing. Could not even
boot into safe most. I tried repairing but it would not do that.
I had to reinstall windows again from scratch then my sp2 disk then
update for days from windows web site (as I am on dial up as I live
rural). Why did this happen? I obviously had some virus? Although
my antivirus and firewalls are up to date

You just said you performed your "... usual monthly disk cleanup ..." of
your c:\ drive. You did not state *what* it was you used to do this and
your explanation of "... just ticked all the boxes that had data in them
...." leaves a lot of questions. Just what does your cleanup consist of?
What exactly are you doing?

 

[Guest]

start>programs>accessories>system tools>disk cleanup>c\ drive

 

[Guest]

I ran Disk CleanUp as well twice and on each occassion only wanted to cleanup
the Content Indexer files. I run McAfee security software. On both
occassions, the removal stopped mid-way and indicated corrupted files. My
files too were deleted and on trying to restart the PC, system32/hal.dll file
was not working. Dell walked me through reinstalling all software. I will
never run the CleanUp again unless all files are backed up. Dell thought
spy-ware may have corrupted files...but could not be sure.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I ran Disk CleanUp as well twice and on each occassion only wanted
to cleanup the Content Indexer files. I run McAfee security
software. On both occassions, the removal stopped mid-way and
indicated corrupted files. My files too were deleted and on trying
to restart the PC, system32/hal.dll file was not working. Dell
walked me through reinstalling all software. I will never run the
CleanUp again unless all files are backed up. Dell thought
spy-ware may have corrupted files...but could not be sure.

*sigh*
I cannot say I have ever seen that before. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen -
but to me - it sounds more like a corrupt hard disk drive than anything.

Since you have a Dell - you can test your hard disk drive pretty easily..
Through the built in Dell Diagnostics.
Turn off the machine.
Turn on the machine.
If any Dell Log appears (before Windows XP) press ESC.
Otherwise, as soon as you turn on ghte machine, slowly do the following
(once a second.)
- Hold down CTRL+ALT
- Tap the "D" key. (Once a second.)

This should start the built in quick test on the Dell for your hard disk
drive.

Depending on the newness of your dell, you could also:

Turn off the machine.
Turn on the machine.
Tap F12 once per second.
This shoudl bring up the boot menu - one option MAY BE "Diagnostics" --> if
it is (or something similar in wording) choose it. It will boot to the Dell
Diagnostics partition and allow you to perform a battery of tests -
including more in-depth hard disk drive tests.

 

[Guest]

Hi I have the same problem, ran disk cleanup, selected all categories, and
the cleanup deleted all files from my hard drive, aonly left the folders. I
then tried it on another disk and that too, all files gone. I did notice the
Catalog files for the Content Indexer showed many gig, and when unticked disk
cleaner almost ran correctly. The only issue I have is the I have lost over
400gb of data with this issue and when you restore it via undelete tools more
often then not it is corrupt. How can you check the clean up tool is looking
for the correct files?

Thanks,

Michael