Windows is corrupted

[Guest]

I've got Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 and my computer for the last
few days has been giving a lot of problems. The Windows Disk Defragmenter
says completed defragmenting after a few minutes of starting it and the
system keeps restarting after a bunch of hours. Now since the last time it
restarted, it hasn't started up. The 'Microsoft Windows XP' splash logo
screen comes and it loads that normally but after that just a black screen
appears and it doesn't proceed further. It starts up in safe mode though.
Also I ran memtest and it showed no errors. And when I run 'sfc /scannow',
within a few seconds the entire bar completes which I've never seen before. I
did have a virus about a week back but it got cleared out. I have Avast! anti
virus and use Trend Micro online scan once in way(used it to clear out the
virus too). Please help.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Have you a System Restore via Safe Mode back to a point when you know your
computer was working properly? Another alternative is to try 'Last Known
Good Configuration' - on the same screen as Safe Mode.

--


Will Denny
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[Guest]

Yes I thought about system restore but wanted to know would I lose my files
if I do a system restore to a point where my computer was working fine? Is
there any way of checking my system files like 'sfc /scannow' but since that
doesn't exactly work I'd need an alternative method.

 

[Guest]

In theory No, but it will be wise to back up just in case things get out of
predictions.
HTH.
nass

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

You shouldn't lose any files using SR, but if possible it would be a good
idea to backup any files you may need later.

LKGC is a good option, but may depend on what the cause of the problem is.

--


Will Denny
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[Guest]

I did 'last known good configuration' and the system booted properly.
However, I would like to know how to repair my system files without losing
any data or system settings. I have a good feeling my system files got
corrupted because of the virus. I'm going to do a spyware scan with Spybot
S&D and an online virus scan with Trend micro first. Thanks for the help.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Try running

sfc /scannow

from a command prompt.

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Shell/User
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[Rock]

I've got Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 and my computer for the
last
few days has been giving a lot of problems. The Windows Disk Defragmenter
says completed defragmenting after a few minutes of starting it and the
system keeps restarting after a bunch of hours. Now since the last time it
restarted, it hasn't started up. The 'Microsoft Windows XP' splash logo
screen comes and it loads that normally but after that just a black screen
appears and it doesn't proceed further. It starts up in safe mode though.
Also I ran memtest and it showed no errors. And when I run 'sfc /scannow',
within a few seconds the entire bar completes which I've never seen
before. I
did have a virus about a week back but it got cleared out. I have Avast!
anti
virus and use Trend Micro online scan once in way(used it to clear out the
virus too). Please help.

If it boots into safe mode have you disabled all the items in msconfig to
see if it is one of those programs that's causing a problem? This is called
clean boot troubleshooting:

Clean Boot Troubleshooting

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=316434

How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310353

You should always have a full and complete backup of important data. In
that case you won't need to worry if data loss happens during a system
restore. If you don't have a complete backup do it, then try from safe mode
to do a system restore to when the system worked.

You mentioned using AVast and Trend Micro online. Did you run the AV scan
in safe mode? Also it's best to check with other virus removal when you
have had a virus infection to make sure the system is clean. And have you
run anti-malware tools that target non viral malware, such as Ad-Aware SE
Personal, SpyBot S&D, HijackThis, etc? Here are some links for dealing with
malware.

Malware Removal
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

THE PARASITE FIGHT
Finding, Removing & Protecting Yourself From Scumware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Richard Harper’s Guide to Cleaning Pests
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm

I suggests you go through all the steps in the first link I gave you for
malware removal, including running

 

[Guest]

I did that but what happens is, it finishes scanning in few seconds without
any errors. My guess is that it is not scanning properly. Also disk
defragmenter completes defgramenting in a few minutes. Any other ways ?

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

What happens when you run

sfc /scannow

from Start/Run?

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Will Denny
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[Guest]

sfc /scannow checks if all my system files are intact right? so basically
when I run this it completes the scan within 30 - 50 seconds which 'I' do not
think is possible. before when I used to do the sfc /scannow it used to take
about 10 - 20 minutes scanning and always used to ask for the Windows XP Home
Edition cd to repair/replace the files. now it doesn't happen.