[DragonflyLilly]

OKay I believe I downloaded the correct program called "Data Diganostics for Windows"?

I ran a Quick Test and here's the results

Test Option: QUICK TEST
Model Number: WDC WD300AB-60BVA0
Serial Number: WD-WMA7H2873081
Firmware Number: 120.H112
Drive Type: IDE
Capacity: 30.02 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: PASS
Test Time: 18:38:41, July 22, 2005

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Ok I'm going to My Computer, right clicking C:/ drive and hitting properties... from there I go to Tools and select Check Now (This is check disk I assume?)...

It's telling this exactly:

"The check disk could not be performed because the disk check utilty needs exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can only be accessed by restarting windows. Do you want to sceduale this disk check to start the next time you restart your computer?"

I click yes, reboot, and the disk check pops up but stops saying it can't access the files..? Now whether this matters or not.... earlier I was reading through the threads and read the XP Tweaks thread... I followed the thread for turning of indexing.. would this have anything to do with it?

[DragonflyLilly]

Ok I'm going to My Computer, right clicking C:/ drive and hitting properties... from there I go to Tools and select Check Now (This is check disk I assume?)...

It's telling this exactly:

"The check disk could not be performed because the disk check utilty needs exclusive access to some Windows files on the disk. These files can only be accessed by restarting windows. Do you want to sceduale this disk check to start the next time you restart your computer?"

I click yes, reboot, and the disk check pops up but stops saying it can't access the files..? Now whether this matters or not.... earlier I was reading through the threads and read the XP Tweaks thread... I followed the thread for turning of indexing.. would this have anything to do with it?

[Murray S.]

Where did you get your XP cd from??

Have you tried using a lense cleaner in your cd-rom??

Have you gone into BIOS and made sure the on-board (BIOS) anti-virus program is disabled??

Murray

[DragonflyLilly]

I got it from my mom when she purchased her computer.. it was unopened and she went to pro..

I don't know how to do the whole BIOS thing or even what you're talking about.

My husband is going tomorrow to purchase a cleaner for my CD-Rom Drives....

Edited by DragonflyLilly, 22 July 2005 - 06:14 PM.

[Murray S.]

If you watch the screen as it boots up, you will see something like "Press <delete> to enter setup".. That's BIOS..

Your computer manual should give you all that information as well as where everything is loceted in BIOS..

Murray

[edmundlg]

Its good to run a diagnostic test for your hard drive but the chance that the drive is dying is not great, you can download the diagnostic from http://support.wdc.com select download and choose the data lifeguard diagnostic for windows, learn how to use it if you don't from the website knowledge database, run the extended test.
However to eliminate all these possibilities, I would suggest you to do a reinstall of the system, choose during install format the drive using NTFS file system, just reinstall windows SP1 and other necessary programs, don't need any extra firewall program first, no need to do any updates as for home use, it is not a serious matter, just run the computer normally and be happy, try this first and see if you can keep a stable system, then run the hard disk diagnostic if problem still exist.
Remember to keep everything simple, test it for stability and install things one by one, record everything you did before something comes up.
Good luck.

[edmundlg]

BIOS antivirus program will not affect the operation, the chance that the lens will be so dirty and contaminated to affect normal reading of a disk is also very low.
Secondly when you do the diagnostic, run the extended test to check the whole disk surface. As I said there is no point wasting time on all these, doing a fresh reinstall and format the hard drive starting from the beginning is the most time saving method. Boot from your winxp CD using your CD writer (it reads better than a CDROM drive) and reinstall just windows SP1, test it first for stability and then step by step intall other programs. Temporarily don't run any updates from microsoft.

[Unforgiven]

I have read your post and all the replies with great interest. I do have a question though. I noticed that you said that you upgraded from ME to XP, and have you just reinstalled over the existing partition everytime that you did the reinstallation? If so, that could be part of your problem. The regular reformatting procedure doesn't actually overwrite or change your MBR, and that could be part of the problem, as upgrade to XP from ME is know to cause all sorts of problems. A clean install would be a better option, in my opinion.

I noticed that you had downloaded and ran the WD hard drive diagnostics utility, and that was a good thing. WD also has a utility to do a low level format of your hard drive, in that it will write 0's to all the sectors of your hard drive, which will take care of any problems that your MBR could have. The hard drive will then be in a factory fresh condition minus the wear.

If you have the full version of XP ( not Compaq restore disks ) then you should be good to go. If you have a SP1 CD that is even better, as it seems that your computer could be having problems with SP2. Before downloading and applying SP2, check Compaq's website to see if they list any patches/upgrades necessary for your computer before installing it. I have ran into this on a few systems. Hope this helps!

[GeneralAres]

1. Run the extended test on the drive
2. Update the BIOS to the latest version: 03/28/2002 A (Compaq Presario 5123SR).
3. Update your CDROMs Firmware: v2.01A (Compaq CRD-8484B CD ROM Drive)
4. Finally do a clean install, delete all partitions and format with NTFS do not perform an upgrade. Just boot off the XP CD, during the install it will ask for the ME CD, put this in when it does and continue.

[DragonflyLilly]

Wow! You guys are so awesome. Thank you SO much for all the advice and input!

Okay..... to reply to everyone....

When I have reinstalled I follow the prompts from the XP cd.... I delete the partition, create a new one, and than install.
The XP CD I have is a full retail version.
Great advice about the Writer! I've noticed, sometimes my writer does read certian disks better than my CD-Rom. So I will give that a go and perhaps it will be different.
As far as the "Upgrade from ME"...... again I followed all XP CD prompts, deleting, creating a new partition and installing. I have read somewhere too that this can cause conflicts because sometimes ME still has files on the drive? So if this is the case... "HOW" I can completely wipe the drive clean and do a totally fresh install of XP?

That's what I'm doing as of this moment... I have NOT put any updates on my computer at all from Microsoft, and I've only installed the min programs.. an antivirus and firewall beacuse I am on cable access.

Here's a thought....... I probably should have mentioned this previously... I do have a program that I use quite frequently.. it's the basis of my income... Poser 5 ( www.curiouslabs.com )... now I know this program takes up A TON of RAM when rendering any images... however.... would it also cause my computer to run hot? Perhaps overheat? Does that make sense? I haven't reinstalled that yet.... I'm going to today and see perhaps if THAT just might be the problem. When I installed it in the beginning without ANY Updates it ran beautiful. As soon as I installed updates... the system crashed... perhaps confliction there?

Okay so I should run an extended test with this diganostic program I downloaded?

Again... thank you ALL for putting in your advice and help. It's GREATLY appreciated. I really enjoy learning from you guys.

Edited by DragonflyLilly, 23 July 2005 - 05:09 AM.

[Murray S.]

BIOS antivirus program will not affect the operation, the chance that the lens will be so dirty and contaminated to affect normal reading of a disk is also very low.
Secondly when you do the diagnostic, run the extended test to check the whole disk surface.  As I said there is no point wasting time on all these, doing a fresh reinstall and format the hard drive starting from the beginning is the most time saving method. Boot from your winxp CD using your CD writer (it reads better than a CDROM drive) and reinstall just windows SP1, test it first for stability and then step by step intall other programs.  Temporarily don't run any updates from microsoft.

XP writes to the boot sector which is what the on-board av monitors.. So, YES, having it enabled can affect the install !!

As per Aumha.org

"Also, check your BIOS to make sure you do not have BIOS antivirus protection enabled. Other antivirus programs may have similar features that need to be disabled. See your documentation for instructions."

Also, the lense doesn't have to be "that" dirty for it to start causing problems!!

Murray

[edmundlg]

OH may be I didn't make it clear, what I mean antivirus in BIOS will not affect the operation is it won't affect the CHKDSK, and of course when you do a fresh reinstall, disable the antivirus protection from the BIOS. SORRY about that.
When you reinstall xp, during the reinstall, just format the disk again and do a full format to NTFS will do, of course it won't zero all bits in the drive but that is not a problem at all.
So just start everything from the beginning and see whether windows can run stable or not, then add your programs. Forget the SP2 updates, if you are using cable modem for internet and you don't have a router to share the connection between computers at home, I would suggest installing a software firewall as well.

[DragonflyLilly]

Hi yas again!

Okay I don't have any documentation for my Compaq because it was purchased refurbished from a local computer store.. in fact it came "AS is" with a whole bunch of nothing.
Is there perhaps a tutorial on working in BIOS that would help me through with disabling this antivirus you are talking about?

Also... you keep saying I should run an extended test with the recent program I downloaded and have it write all 0's to my drive.... I Just reinstalled 1 day ago.. should I run this test now.. will if affect my install? Or do I have to run than reinstall?

Thanks again!!!!!

[edmundlg]

Hi there,
you said you reinstall it a day ago and that were you just reinstalling only windows SP1 and nothing else and problem still exists ??
We advise you to run the extended test on the whole disc surface which is a non destructive test, if you write all zeros to the disc, everything will be overwritten, you can do it or not, its not important, the most important thing is to test the disc surface, as I said the chance that the surface fails and cause you this problem is not great, of course you prepare for a reinstall again if you write all zeros to the drive. The main idea is to reformat the drive (full format) and do a reinstall with ONLY windows and see if there is a problem and that will eliminate many possibilities.

For entering the BIOS, different machines uses different keys, for compaq machines you may try pressing the F10 key while starting to boot up and you see the red compaq logo, if not try the F12 or F2 keys.

If you are doing a reinstall again, I would suggest you a good practice of NOT using your whole drive for the system, if you just use your computer for a few programs, using 10G space for your system is far enough, when you start the installation, first choose delete your existing partition, then create a new partition using only 10G space, do a full format to NTFS system and reinstall windows and see if it runs properly, after that you can go to computer management within xp and format the other 20G as your D drive for storing your personal files and other things.
I hope I can help you to build a good working computer.

[GeneralAres]

You need to run the extended test, Memtest86+, update the BIOS and CD-ROM Firmware before reinstalling.