[Simultaneously Attacking]

I have completed the series of tasks with autoruns, TFC and the defragging, but the problem persists. Please le t me know if there is a next step or if there are any reports you would need to see. Thank you for hanging in there with me!

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OK one issue we have not touched on yet is the possibility of a infection.
Let me ask a few questions here to see if we can find a reason for all this.
Before this started to happen was there any new hardware added to the system?
Any updates done from Microsoft or software updates?
Anything downloaded from the internet prior to the issue starting?
What is the make and model of your system?
Do you have a Genuine Microsoft XP installation disk or is it a Recovery disk?


Now that I have the questions presented to you try the following.

Go to
Start and then to Run
Type in Chkdsk /r Note the space between k and /
Click Enter ...It will probably ask if you want to do this on the next reboot...click Y
If the window doesn't shutdown on its own then reboot the system manually. On reboot the system will start the chkdsk operation
This one will take longer then chkdsk /f

Note... there are 5 stages...
It may appear to hang at a certain percent for a hour or more or even back up and go over the same area...this is normal...
DO NOT SHUT YOUR COMPUTER DOWN WHILE CHKDSK IS RUNNING OR YOU CAN HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS
This can take several hours to complete.
When completed it will boot the system back into windows.

Let me know if this fixes the problem
If this will not run due to the issue then let me know and we can try a alternative way of doing it.

[rshaffer61]

OK one issue we have not touched on yet is the possibility of a infection.
Let me ask a few questions here to see if we can find a reason for all this.
Before this started to happen was there any new hardware added to the system?
Any updates done from Microsoft or software updates?
Anything downloaded from the internet prior to the issue starting?
What is the make and model of your system?
Do you have a Genuine Microsoft XP installation disk or is it a Recovery disk?


Now that I have the questions presented to you try the following.

Go to
Start and then to Run
Type in Chkdsk /r Note the space between k and /
Click Enter ...It will probably ask if you want to do this on the next reboot...click Y
If the window doesn't shutdown on its own then reboot the system manually. On reboot the system will start the chkdsk operation
This one will take longer then chkdsk /f

Note... there are 5 stages...
It may appear to hang at a certain percent for a hour or more or even back up and go over the same area...this is normal...
DO NOT SHUT YOUR COMPUTER DOWN WHILE CHKDSK IS RUNNING OR YOU CAN HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS
This can take several hours to complete.
When completed it will boot the system back into windows.

Let me know if this fixes the problem
If this will not run due to the issue then let me know and we can try a alternative way of doing it.

[rshaffer61]

Reason for edit:
Duplicate instructions

[Simultaneously Attacking]

Before this started to happen was there any new hardware added to the system? No
Any updates done from Microsoft or software updates? Probably
Anything downloaded from the internet prior to the issue starting? It's possible.
What is the make and model of your system? Dell Dimension 8300
Processor Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Processor Speed 2.92 GHz
Memory (RAM) 2048 MB
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Operating System Version 5.1.2600

Do you have a Genuine Microsoft XP installation disk or is it a Recovery disk? Genuine

I'll have to do the Check Disk later as I have some work I have to get done. Thanks for all of your help!

[rshaffer61]

No problem and if chkkdsk /r doesn't help then we will try a sfc /scannow but it will require the XP disk.

[Simultaneously Attacking]

Check Disk finished almost immediately on restart and said no problem, but the problem persists. I have the XP disk loaded and ready to go.

[rshaffer61]

Go Start and then to Run ("Start Search" in Vista),
Type in: sfc /scannow
Click OK (Enter in Vista).
Have Windows CD/DVD handy.
If System File Checker (sfc) finds any errors, it may ask you for the CD/DVD.
If sfc does not find any errors in Windows XP, it will simply quit, without any message.
In Vista you will receive the following message: "Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violations".

For Vista users ONLY: Navigate to C:\Windows\Logs\CBS folder. You'll see CBS.log file.
Usually, it's pretty big file, so upload it to Flyupload, and post download link.


If you don't have Windows CD....
This applies mostly to Windows XP, since Vista rarely requires use of its DVD while running "sfc"
Note This method will not necessarily work as well, as when using Windows CD, because not always ALL system files are backed up on your hard drive. Also, backed up files may be corrupted as well.

Go Start and then Run
type in regedit and click OK


Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

You will see various entries Values on the right hand side.

The one we want is called: SourcePath

It probably has an entry pointing to your CD-ROM drive, usually D and that is why it is asking for the XP CD.
All we need to do is change it to: C:
Now, double click the SourcePatch setting and a new box will pop up.
Change the drive letter from your CD drive to your root drive, usually C:
Close Registry Editor.

Now restart your computer and try sfc /scannow again!


Thanks to Broni for the instructions

[Simultaneously Attacking]

The SFC quit without any message.

[rshaffer61]

Then file system seems to be good then. Now the cd you are using is a full version XP correct?
We have two choices at this time.
Repair installation or a Parallel installation.
Repair will attempt to fix and problems with the OS itself while keeping your data intact.
Parallel will install a second OS on your HD and work alongside with your existing to see if the problem is the OS as a whole. If so then you can move data over but all drivers and programs will need to be reinstalled.
The choice is yours but I do need to know if this is a name brand system or a custom built.

[Simultaneously Attacking]

The Dell was a name brand, but we added memory and a clone/backup drive were installed subsequently. I had a server connection until early 2008 as well. I've attached a screen shot of "My Computer"

Thanks for all you've done.

Attached Files

•  My_Computer.doc   125.5KB   5 downloads

[rshaffer61]

OK if what you are saying is that the system is a Dell then the Recovery disk won't work with the Repair Option I'm sure.
Parallel Installation I'm not sure if it will work with that disk.
If this is a Genuine Microsoft Xp disk then we can still continue with the two options above. I will wait for your reply to see what direction we take from here.

[Simultaneously Attacking]

Where do we go from here?

[rshaffer61]

Can you borrow a XP installation disk that matches the type you have on your system?
IE:Home, Media or Pro
We can then continue using that.
I would suggest we try a parallel installation and then we can move your data over and be able to save it. The programs would have to be reinstalled and all updates done but that would tell us then the problem is a corrupt OS system.

[Simultaneously Attacking]

I have an XP disk, but the software came loaded on the computer. Can we use that?

Will I be able to work during the process, or am I going to have a lot of down time?

[rshaffer61]

The software you are stating is what?
The downtime is minimal depending on the speed of your system.
The one issue is how much free space do you have left on your system? Working with the system during this will be on hold because you are realistically installing the OS from scratch.
Now the other option is to backup your data, format and reinstall. This would fix the problem for sure. I know the issue prevents you from doing much inside windows but you could use a linux live cd to backup your data. This boots from the cd and does not use the windows OS at all therefor bypassing the issue completely.
Let me know how you would like to proceed.
I will say doing the last option would also speed your system back up to the way it was when you first bought it since all the extra files and programs will not be there to take up the memory.