[CarlosPerez]

I use Windows 7 on a one-year old laptop and have Norton Internet Securiry and I installed antimalwarebytes

This is what happend, when I start windows sometimes a menu appears asking to start windows 7 or run a memory test. Sometimes windows starts normal but a beep sounds repeatedly. When the desktop appears and I click any icon lots of popups appear asking me confirm icon deletion, making so hard to use the machine.

If I´m writting a text and click any written part it starts to erase. The things I just described sometimes happen sometimes not. When it doesn´t the lap top works correctly.

I already tried some live-help from Norton Symantec but they say no virus found, even when they controlled the machine on remote way.
I already tried to recover windows making the re-installation of the whole system using the recovery discs they recommend me to make when the machine was new. The problem persists.

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Yesterday I ran the "Norton Power Eraser" they say "no problems detected"

[CarlosPerez]

Yesterday I ran the "Norton Power Eraser" they say "no problems detected"

[Ztruker]

Sounds like a hardware problem to me. Test your computer memory.

Download Memtest86+ (you want the 2nd one Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)). Unzip it then create a CD from the iso file using your CD burning software. There is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do this easily.

DO NOT burn the .iso file directly to CD. It must be used as input to a program that knows what to do with it, like the one I mentioned above.

You can do this on any computer that has a working CD Burner.

Boot the CD and run for at least 3 complete passes unless it shows errors sooner than that. An overnight run is even better.

[CarlosPerez]

First of all, thanks for your help.

I guess this is the ISO file that I should not to burn



But this



where the BOOT folder contents the files that are going to do the job. I will make the memory test and feedback.





Regards from Mexico

[Ztruker]

You want exactly what my previous post stated: Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)

Then use the .iso as input to a burning program like ImgBurn to create the bootabel CD.

[CarlosPerez]

For sure I´m making some mistake, because I could not make a bootable disc using ImageBurn to use memtest. Perhaps I´m missing some files to make the disc.

In the "source" window I add the folder unzipped and go on the ImgBurn process, until a window appear "process complete" or something like that. When starting windows a black screen like this appears, the lap starts beep over and over.

I´m making something wrong, the blue screen of memtest does not appear, but always I start windows it asks to make a memory test

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Edited by CarlosPerez, 12 January 2013 - 07:01 PM.

[Ztruker]

You downloaded memtest86+-4.20.iso.zip.
You unzip it to get mt420.iso.
Start ImgBurn, point to mt420.iso (you do not unzip or extract it's contents).
Output is your CD/DVD burner with a CDR or CDRW disc in it.
Click the Write symbol at the bottom..

This is what ImgBurn windows look like to me. They don't match what you show so I'm not sure what you have.




Output will be a CDR or CDRW disc.

Try downloading ImgBurn from here: http://www.majorgeek...faa3374cb1dcd89

[CarlosPerez]

Following the instructions I finally could to make the memory test. Yesterday night I started and today I will make 3 or 7 cycles. ¿Is there any risk for the overnight analysis to produce overheating?

Keep on touch

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[Ztruker]

Overnight should not be a problem so I would suggest doing it. Just turn off the monitor.

[CarlosPerez]

Memtest results gave no errors after nine and half hours of overnight analysis as shown in the attached pictures.
This morning I found 8 cycles finished but no errors. Then restarted windows and the same menu appeared asking for memory diagnostics. Assuming RAM is OK ¿something else could cause all the problems?

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Edited by CarlosPerez, 16 January 2013 - 10:23 AM.

[Ztruker]

I don't know what else could be causing this. Hard drive? File System?

Pretty much has to be a hardware problem since you have already did a recovery to factory new state.

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics

How to run chkdsk from the Recovery Console

• Boot your Vista or Windows 7 installation DVD
• When you see "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD", press Enter
• At the "Install Windows" screen, click on Repair your computer at lower left
• At the System Recovery Options screen, make note of the drive letter assigned to your boot drive (normally C:) and click Next
• At the Chose a Recovery Tool window, click on Command Prompt. You will be sitting at X:\Sources directory
• Run chkdsk
• If you did not note the drive letter of your boot disk, you can enter bcdedit and look at the osdevice line to see what it is.
• For chkdsk, type chkdsk c: /r and press Enter (use the letter from above if not C:).

Let either run to completion undisturbed.

If you don't have a install DVD, you can download a legal copy here:
Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Dell

Make sure you get the same version you have installed: 32 or 64 bit; Home Premium, Pro or Ultimate.

[CarlosPerez]

Checking out the links I will find out what is the manufacturer of my hard disk. But I just wanted to say that the problems are still the same but not so often as they were before the memtest. I could even type a text without the tricky erasing when left-click on it.

I absolutely agree with you regarding a hardware issue since the factory-state was already done. Anyway just for the record, the problems of popups asking files and icon deletion were stronger after typing Ctrl-Alt-Supr to call the task administrator. This is not the case now and I don´t know why. Here you can see the window of the task administrator, some processes with no description are shown just in case some strange things could be noticed.

Thanks again for the support I can not find anywhere else

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[Ztruker]

I'm not sure what else to do. I've asked for other techs here to take a look. Hopefully one or more of them will have some ideas. I'll also keep researching this.

Did the problem occur immediately after doing the recovery to factory or was it after installing updates and programs on top of that action?

[Ztruker]

One suggestion I received:

It would be interesting to burn a copy of Hiren's and boot off it to minXp and see if he has the same problem.

http://www.hirensboo...BootCD.15.2.zip

Download, save and then right click on it and Extract All. Click on BurnToCD.cmd and follow the instructions to burn the CD. Then move the CD to the sick PC and boot off the CD. (You may need to change the boot order so the CD drive comes before the hard drive. See: http://www.hirensboo...-order-in-bios/ )
Boot into MiniXP.

Perhaps run the disk maker's extended test? (The floods in Thailand last year really disrupted production and many disk makers had to scramble for alternate suppliers of components. I wouldn't be surprised to see that quality had suffered.)

Also, try removing 1/2 of the ram and testing. If the problem occurs, swap ram and test again. Even though it tested okay there could still be a problem.

[CarlosPerez]

The problem begun just like that. I used to download the automatic updates for windows, then the popups asked to delete files or icons I never tried to erase. First I though on a virus because when all begun I was trying to copy some music from a pirate CD (usual thing here in Mexico) My windows is original and I paid for my "Norton internet security" so I was confused no problems reported by antivirus. Then I though that a recovery or a windows re-intstallation could fix it.

Yesterday I tried to run chkdsk from windows, it asked to restart, when I did it a black MS-DOS appear chkdsk starts but inmediately is says "the checking is cancelled" or something like that. The hard disk is not Toshiba or Maxtor nor any other recognized trademark, chatting with the people of Gateway they told me the manufacturer but is a rare name I can´t remember, so I´ll try your advice on disk checking by bootable disk. Even now when Í´m writting this text and some letters are next the cursor that letters are erased.

I will try the siren´s thing too, anyway I´m learning something of all this afterall.