Windows XP Recovery Procedure

[Tatterdemalion]

I have a Windows XP laptop that froze last night and will not now boot to the Desktop.

I do not know if the hard drive is too badly damaged for me to be able to get the machine to reinstall the factory settings.

CHKDSK stops at 9% saying "File record 56308 is unreadable
                                              "File record 56309 is unreadable"

When I try Safe Mode I get a page of .sys files - white text on black background in the style :

"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(o)partition(1)\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers

and then nothing further occurs.

Am I likely to be able to proceed with this laptop or is it "dead" ?

If I *can* reinstall the operating system from the special partition on the C: drive (I have no CDs pr DVDs) should I install anti-virus software as soon as the factory settings (from about 2007) are restored - or should I download all the Service Packs and updates that have been issued over the past few years FIRST?

[truenorth]

This should answer your question re the installation of the anti virus software (plus many other aspects).
http://www.wikihow.com/Install-a-New-Operating-System-on-Your-Computer
truenorth

[Tatterdemalion]

Thanks. It says to run all the updates first. That makes sense and I suppose there is nothing you can do about your vulnerability during the hours that that takes.

I'm really wondering whether the CHKDSK output I got means that my hard drive is broken.

I don't know how to tell if I have a HARDWARE problem or a SOFTWARE one.

Could the CHKDSK stalls mean that Windows is corrupt by my drive might be OK ?

[truenorth]

I would 1st just try the process again. Then with appropriate cables you could remove the laptop HDD and slave it to another known working computer (desktop would be easier) and see if it can be accessed. If not then points to a failed HDD.truenorth

[Tatterdemalion]

Do you mean I should try to re-run CHKDSK on multiple occasions? Was I too impatient with it ? Is it supposed to repair the disk ?

My laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 with "ThinkVantage". It let me open a diagnostics program that ran through my hardware (including the drive) and said there was nothing wrong with anything.

I don't know if these unreadable record segments could point to Windows corruption alone.

I think there may be a fuller version of the systems diagnostic. I should probably run that...

[truenorth]

There are many references to when/what/and how to use CHKDSK but i think this is about the best i have seen.There are 2 (maybe more) things that should be remembered when running it. Never interrupt the program while it is running and it does NOT necessarily correct all errors it finds. When you stated that the computer stopped at a couple of error messages did you give the process any time to see if it would move on? Once errors are detected there can be a time delay while the error is corrected if it will be.
http://best-windows.vlaurie.com/chkdsk.html
The interruption of the process can cause irrecoverable discs. By the way what can you do on the computer at this time as well as  in safe mode  if you can get into it? truenorth
P.S. I have just noticed since posting that you have this same issue as a topic in the virus sub forum. It is proper procedure to only run a topic in one forum otherwise you may be not getting the best service that you could. Plus it only adds to the confusion to other members that may seek to help you as the continuity of the subject may be lost.

[Tatterdemalion]

I apologise about posting in two places. I didn't know whether it was COMPLETELY silly to think/imagine a virus could cause a computer to manifest what appear to be hardware problems (so silly that people might not reply). I don't know what hackers DO or what they CAN do if Malware has been placed on your machine. I didn't know if it is possible for someone to FREEZE your system and then muck you about in various ways. I rather assumed they could do ANYTHING.

When my boot-up finger-print reader wouldn't work I wondered if it had been disabled by someone who was trying to use a key-logger to obtain the machine's password. I didn't know if my lack of knowledge was making me OVERLY (and inappropriately) suspicious. I wasn't sure whether the warnings that Avast gave me were false positives or HIGHLY PERTINENT. It's confusing if you are distracted by not knowing when a red herring IS a red herring and what you SHOULD be paying the most attention to.

I have run my ThinkPad's "Rescue and Recovery" diagnostic tool in full now and it said the drive had failed three of four SMART tests. I have taken my confusion to the Lenovo Community Forum as I have no idea how to re-build a system that came with no discs.

I have a nasty feeling I was supposed to create Recovery DVDs while I could still get into Windows and that the option to make them is, ironically, NOT available in the Rescue area - even if the files are still all there and the diagnostics facility allows you to test CDs and DVDs !

[patio]

Your HDD is failing....