[Barnys]

Hi

 

We have Norton Internet Security on a Vista Ultimate x32  desktop with 4GB ram.

 

We have trying to resolve some issues with our computer.  For the complete history please see the  thread "I think we have an infection (or two)"   http://www.geekstogo...fection-or-two/

 

The hardworking person helping us (Biscuithd) has suggested that the Hard Drive is failing and/or there is a problem with the Windows installation.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion, I am not sure what else to write here, please ask for any information I have omitted.

 

 

Regards.

Edited by Barnys, 26 March 2015 - 12:03 AM.

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Hi Barnys

I can help you check if your hard drive is failing or not. Simply follow the instructions below.

GSmartControl
Follow the instructions below to test your hard drive health with GSmartControl:

• Download GSmartControl and save it on your Desktop;
• Extract the content of the GSmartControl .zip archive and execute gsmartcontrol.exe;
• Identify your drive in the list, and double-click on it to bring up it's window (usually you'll find your drive by it's size or it's brand name);
• Go in the Perform Tests tab, then select Extended Self-test in the Test type drop-down list and click on Execute (this test can take a few hours to complete);
• Once the test is over, the results will be displayed at the bottom of the window. Please copy and paste these results in your next reply;
• Also, go in the Attributes tab and if you have any entries highlighted in red or pink, copy and paste their name in your next reply (or take a screenshot of the GSmartControl window and attach it in your next reply);
  

If you want to take a screenshot of the program after:

How to take a screenshot using the Snipping Tool
Follow the instructions below to take a screenshot using Windows' Snipping Tool:

• Press on the Win Key + R to open the Run box;
• Enter SnippingTool and press on Enter;
• The Snipping Tool will open, asking you to choose the area to take in the screenshot;
• Left click on the area where you want to start the screenshot, keep it, and drag the cursor across the screen;
• Once done, release the left button to take the screenshot;
• In the editing window, click on the File menu then Save As;
• Save the screenshot in a folder that you can access easily;
• Once done, attach that screenshot to your next reply;

[Aura]

Hi Barnys

I can help you check if your hard drive is failing or not. Simply follow the instructions below.

GSmartControl
Follow the instructions below to test your hard drive health with GSmartControl:

• Download GSmartControl and save it on your Desktop;
• Extract the content of the GSmartControl .zip archive and execute gsmartcontrol.exe;
• Identify your drive in the list, and double-click on it to bring up it's window (usually you'll find your drive by it's size or it's brand name);
• Go in the Perform Tests tab, then select Extended Self-test in the Test type drop-down list and click on Execute (this test can take a few hours to complete);
• Once the test is over, the results will be displayed at the bottom of the window. Please copy and paste these results in your next reply;
• Also, go in the Attributes tab and if you have any entries highlighted in red or pink, copy and paste their name in your next reply (or take a screenshot of the GSmartControl window and attach it in your next reply);
  

If you want to take a screenshot of the program after:

How to take a screenshot using the Snipping Tool
Follow the instructions below to take a screenshot using Windows' Snipping Tool:

• Press on the Win Key + R to open the Run box;
• Enter SnippingTool and press on Enter;
• The Snipping Tool will open, asking you to choose the area to take in the screenshot;
• Left click on the area where you want to start the screenshot, keep it, and drag the cursor across the screen;
• Once done, release the left button to take the screenshot;
• In the editing window, click on the File menu then Save As;
• Save the screenshot in a folder that you can access easily;
• Once done, attach that screenshot to your next reply;

[Barnys]

Hi

The prescan found 5 drives, is that normal?

 

Ths scan result was    Test Result: Completed without error.

 

 

Windows couldn't find the Snipping Tool and copy didnt work :-(  so I manually copied the one Pink row.

 

 

 

Name                                    Failed    Norm-ed value       Worst    Threshold     Rwa Value        Type            Updated        Flag

Reallocated Sector Count     Never           100                  100            36                  2           pre-failure      continously     0x033

 

 

Is there anything else needed/of use from the scan?

 

Regards.

Edited by Barnys, 27 March 2015 - 07:29 AM.

[Aura]

If you have a value of more than 0 in the Reallocated Sector Count, it can be a sign of hard drive failure. It's not critical, but your hard drive can now fail at any moment. So these two sectors could be the cause of your issues, it's a probability that we have to take into account.

[Barnys]

Hmmmm

Perhaps it is time for an upgrade..  Time to have a chat with the System Building And Upgrading people.

 

Would this Hard Drive error (hopefully) explain why we are steadily losíng C drive capacity? 

Over the last week or two we have lost many GBs of capacity to the extent we now only have 3.5Gbs of free space.

I have started tracking the loss as best as I can and we have (somehow) lost 3.5-4Gbs since Tuesday the 24th.

 

 

Regards.

[Aura]

Not really. It could be explaining by temp files being created or some program(s) creating a lot of temp files in their own folders or even log files like I've seen happening in the past with some security products.

[Barnys]

Ok, thanks for your time and effort Aura.

 

I think it is time for s new machine and spend some time to solve the "case of the diminishing C drive" before I transfer our files to it :-)

 

Much appreciated...

 

 

Regards

[Aura]

I can help you with that if you want. Use WinDirStat to see where most of your space is taken:

https://windirstat.info/

It should give us a start.

[Barnys]

Sorry Aura I didnt see your last post.

I thought it was an infection so I headed back to spyware, malware forum and have been dealing with it there.

 

http://www.geekstogo...ng-our-c-drive/

 

Thank you for your assistance, it is appreciated.  The people on this forum have been a real help.

 

Regards.

[Aura]

All good Barnys. I'll check your other thread to see what comes out in it