Slow starting applications and damaged jpg files

[Goerz]

Hi, I have a problem with my pc that I find difficult to solve.
In 2003 I built this system: Win XP Pro, Athlon XP 2500+ (overclocked to
3200+), Abit NF7-S v2, 2 SATA Maxtor HD, 1GB Ram, Radeon 9800Pro. Everything
went fine until a few months ago, when I found out that copying large (>2
Mb) jpg files from one folder to the other would make them deteriorate. In
the last weeks the deteriorating effect started affecting any kind of file,
so I decided to format and reinstall. I reinstalled Win XP Pro and applied
all the available patches, but I have now other issues: some programs take
several *minutes* to start up (e.g. the game "Battlefield 2 - Special
Forces" and a couple of small utilities for cd copy protection detection
require 5-7 minutes after double-clicking for starting up). Other software
starts normally. I checked the hard drives with the utility from Maxtor, I
ran a ram memory test for 12 hours (Memtest86), I ran Prime95 for another
dozen of hours, and I brought the processor to its normal operating speed. I
found no errors during those tests. Do you have any suggestions? Should I
try replacing the ram, even if I found no errors?
Thank you in advance for your replies.
Goerz

 

[adsci]

Hi, I have a problem with my pc that I find difficult to solve.
In 2003 I built this system: Win XP Pro, Athlon XP 2500+ (overclocked to
3200+), Abit NF7-S v2, 2 SATA Maxtor HD, 1GB Ram, Radeon 9800Pro. Everything
went fine until a few months ago, when I found out that copying large (>2
Mb) jpg files from one folder to the other would make them deteriorate. In
the last weeks the deteriorating effect started affecting any kind of file,
so I decided to format and reinstall. I reinstalled Win XP Pro and applied
all the available patches, but I have now other issues: some programs take
several *minutes* to start up (e.g. the game "Battlefield 2 - Special
Forces" and a couple of small utilities for cd copy protection detection
require 5-7 minutes after double-clicking for starting up). Other software
starts normally. I checked the hard drives with the utility from Maxtor, I
ran a ram memory test for 12 hours (Memtest86), I ran Prime95 for another
dozen of hours, and I brought the processor to its normal operating speed. I
found no errors during those tests. Do you have any suggestions? Should I
try replacing the ram, even if I found no errors?
Thank you in advance for your replies.
Goerz

my thoughts:

- virus
- broken harddisk
- buggy drivers/bios of mainboard

if the last (drivers/bios) is not the fault, try:

remove ALL harddisks.
get a used or new harddisk and install it.
install a 100% virus free copy of windows (original cd) on it and find
out whether you'll encounter any more problems.

if you cant find another harddisk boot from a disc and delete all
partitions on your actual one and reformat it before installing. i dont
know whether there isnt a chance of a virus in the mbr to survive this.
but i would give it a try.

 

[Goerz]

my thoughts:

- virus
- broken harddisk
- buggy drivers/bios of mainboard

Thank you for your reply, I don't think it's a virus because I formatted the
harddisk and installed Win Xp from scratch. I also updated the mainboard's
bios, at no avail. I suspect one of the disks is defective, regardless of
what the Maxtor utility says (it keeps congratulating to me on the perfect
health of my hard drives!). I'll follow your advice and buy a new hard disc.
Regards,
Goerz

 

[adsci]

very strange problem.
good luck!

Thank you for your reply, I don't think it's a virus because I formatted the
harddisk and installed Win Xp from scratch. I also updated the mainboard's
bios, at no avail. I suspect one of the disks is defective, regardless of
what the Maxtor utility says (it keeps congratulating to me on the perfect
health of my hard drives!). I'll follow your advice and buy a new hard disc.
Regards,
Goerz

 

[JAD]

stop overclocking