Is there any hope?

[Debra]

Windows xp pro, I went the disk defragment tool and I
noticed that I had 2 very large red areas on the disk and
in one day I have used 30gb. I ran chkdisk and no problem.
I called dell tech support to see if my hard drive is dying
and now I can't get back to my desk top. Been at the
recovery console and still no way back. Tech says it is
not my hard drive but a virus. I checked for viruses last
night and there were none and my defintions are up to date.
Is there any way for me to get back to my desktop? If I
try to go to my desktop the machine will just reboot and
reboot. Virus or bad hard drive?

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Debra,

On what basis did the tech diagnose this as a virus?
What happens when you try to boot the system?
How far does it get?

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Guest]

Because someone called him in India who had a virus he
claims this is a unknown virus. I think he messed up and
he could not get me back to my desktop. What I need to
know is how do I get 3 files in the same folder that I was
working on when all this happened, they may not exist
anymore the drive looks pretty wiped out to me. I can see
some files from the recovery console. Also is there a way
I can run full test on the drive to find out if it is bad.
Thank You

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Debra,

You can expand files from the CD to the system folders in the Recovery
Console to replace missing ones if you know what you are missing. Type
"expand /?" to get the parameters. Unfortunately for you, it sounds like the
tech person was guessing with regards to diagnosing this as a virus. It
doesn't sound like it is one. To check the state of the drive, you should
download and run a diagnostic tool from the drive manufacturer. These are
usually free and run from a bootable floppy. Be careful which tests you run,
as some may wipe the contents of the drive.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone