I have probably formatted my computer 30 times in the last week believe it or not and yet the same problems manage to find their way inside my computer.Now I am 15 and the whole family uses the computer so when I have to do all the nerdy stuff to fix it,I get blamed and now I am really teed off about it.I want to permanently fix this computer somehow. The main problems are: -sometimes explorer.exe won't load at startup and I have to do it manually and this is really annoying for everyone else plus if the task manager doesn't work sometimes then I am really screwed. -I can't open some things in the control panel such as System,Add hardware and Add/Remove Hardware. -sometimes the task manager doesn't work -some programs don't work sometimes -java fails to install -many more but I can name them later when the show up Now my only theory is that something is wrong with the hard drive or my xp installation cd is screwed,but I still need advice so any will be appreciated. Thanks.
Hi NRL619 Do the problems happen immediately after you reinstall Windows, or do you install some software, then it happens? Best Regards
Task manager not working is a symptom of a win32 malware variant.. These will survive formatting unless you take steps to physically wipe them out.
To both of you,thanks very much for replying. To cdavfrew yes the problems most of the time always occur after I install the programs and to varnull I used to use PC Tools Spyware Doctor for spyware,but I am not sure it eliminates them entirely and I don't know if it removes malware. Also i never install antivirus software as everytime I do,system files get deleted and I am forced to format.Well If I should have to format again(most likely as I am currently having the explorer.exe problem and have to activate it manually)what antivirus software should I install straight away to prevent the system files beig infected?As that is my theory as to what is happening to them. Also for the explorer.exe problem,it came up suddenly and I don't know what I did do trigger it.Can anyone think up solutions to fixing it? Thanks very much again.
This does sounds like a virus/trojan/spyware problem. I'd start from scratch and this time... 1) Do a low-level format: http://hddguru.com/content/en/software/2006.04.12-HDD-Low-Level-Format-Tool/ 2) Delete & recreate partition(s) 3) Re-install OS 4) Create an image of your C: drive before installing any software: http://www.majorgeeks.com/DriveImage_XML_d4919.html 5) Create a restore point before every software installation. 6) Install Anti-Virus (AntiVir Personal is my favorite) 7) Install necessary software 1 by 1 & create restore point before each. Reboot after each install and make sure everything is working properly. 8) Continue installing software and reboot & test PC each time making sure everything works fine. 9) Good luck!
Thanks for the advice 1Adonis4u.I'll be sure to follow your instructions next time I need to format.Also a question if I may,can I use that image thing right now? I mean if something does go wrong,I can restore my pc with it or something?I'm not sure so can you give me the clear picture please? Thanks again.
Hi there friend, This imaging software is similar to that of Norton Ghost; I'm sure you are familiar with it. The neat thing is that it actually runs on your PC, meaning that you don't have to boot into DOS to run it. Since your PC is having problems right now I would not recommend imaging your drive since whatever problem you got will be carried over with that image. Let us know how it goes.
I understand what you mean when you say not to image i as the problem will be carried over to it,but I don't understand how to image. When my computer is in a perfect condition,then I will image it,but I don't know how to.CAn anyone give me some help please? Thanks.
Alright the end all solution...your HDD is failing...thats why everytime you reinstall you have problems...replace your Hard drive...problem solved..
I agree with SRH22, sounds like HDD trouble Here's a link to HDD test tools I use....the DOS version I burned to a disc and the boot the HDD off it.....works great for me and solved many problems. http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools/ Oh, SRH22 - there is a lot of stuff about task manager not working due to malware - here's just 1 link thru google search http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic47776.html
Before giving up on your harddrive I'd try one more time. Try this first: Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBan) will nuke everything and I mean everything from your drive so that it is pristine clean. No remnants of anything. Now reinstall your OS and follow the steps to reinstall your programs safely as described in the well-outlined previous posts. If this method fails then it would be safe to assume that you have a hardware problem (likely the harddrive). Also, if you're going to invest in software to create an image of your drive, I recommend Acronis True Image 11 now updated for 2009. Norton Ghost will only create an image of your system files. Acronis will do system files OR your entire computer including personal folders and installed programs. When you are certain that your machine is clean and functioning properly use Acronis to backup your entire computer to an external harddrive (cheap nowdays). An entire restore then takes only minutes. You never have to reformat or reinstall anything ever again. But first safely and methodically reinstall your programs. http://www.dban.org/ppc.html http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...11189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B000VLZCEW http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/?ClickID=dwxyr0tms0hwyyyhwyrzz2xtrh0mrt0sbxo
