i normally run spy sweeper like once every 2-3 weeks to check for adware/trojan horses and whatnot. yesterday seemed no different it finished and let me select my quarantined adware and quarantine it, so i did, and then clicked restart for it to take affect. then the problem occurred. my computer booted up just fine went through its process, but before i can even get to the welcome profile, it doesn't move. the screen just stays at the hills and cloudy sky part right before i get to log in to my computer. so i shut it down because i cant even get on to turn it off. then it tells me my computer didn't start successfully and whatnot, i chose every option, safe mode, last safe configuration, normal, etc, and the same result. except when i choose normal this came up: missing: devicehardwarevolume1/windows/system32/wnspoem i do not know what that means at all. nor does my computer even give me an oppurtonity to fix it. does anyone have any clues as to what happened or how to fix it? thanks.
anytime you have an "unnatural" shutdown of windows, there is a risk that some of the system files might have got corrupted. When windows boot's up and tells you it is missing system files that's a symptom that the missing file might be corrupted. You can run a chkdsk c: /f and that will fix most system file corruption. If that doesn't work maybe spyweeper actually deleted or quaranntined that file you need (unlikely but can happen). I think spyweeper and most antispyware programs has the option to unquarantine your last task. Maybe that is your next step after chkdsk.
how do i run a chkdsk c: /f if i cannot long onto the computer and access the taskbar or any programs though?
The best way is to use a barpe bootcd. If you have your windows xp installation cd you can make one in 10 minutes. It will bootup your computer and you can run a chkdsk from the command line. You can also use the windows installation cd and use the dos window command line. Another way is to remove the drive install it on an external usb enclosure and run a scandisk (with boxes to fix errors checked) from another computer. Theres also the free "testdisk" a linux bootcd that can fix hard drive corruption, but that is only if you can't do a chkdsk or scandisk done. A chkdsk or scandisk is the first repair you want to try before doing anything else. It has always fix my non-booting computer that was corrupted.
thanks for giving me alot of options. unfortunately i just moved and cannot find any of my windows installation discs, can you purchase them anywhere like a best buy?
If you can get to the safe mode selection screen you can run chkdsk from there you have two options go directly to safe mode & run it from there,it'll most probably say "blah at next boot" clik yes,or use the command line option which is the 2nd or 3rd option below safe,the interface is not the same as safe,you should see C: this is what should be on your scren when you've finished typing C:chkdsk/r hit ENTER r will check file & empty space,f only files,best leave it as i've written above,it pays do a disk check regularly Once check is finished & while it's doing it's thing it will show any errors it picked up,to restart type exit then hit enter then use the shutdown button
OK i could be wrong but it appears winpoem is a virus or a trojan,it's possible spy sweeper removing it has corrupted other files & registry entries,by rights this will not affect your recovery partition if you have one,F1 or F10 should get you there,do a non destructive repair,it will replace all OS files but keep data intact,tho you'll need to re-install all 3rd party apps,personally i'd do a non destructive recovery first to get my data i wanted then i'd go back & do a full destructive re-format,you should be able to retrieve any data you need from another comp also
F1 and F10 get me to options but none of them are to be able to go to C: and type anything its just boot configurations
The only other option if available apart from removing your hdd & putting it in another comp or external housing is download ubuntu iso,burn it to rom & then proceed to install it,however you'll need to select manual partitioning so you can put it in empty space after C,once installed you should be able to access the data on c & save it OK here's the basics of installation Once cd is detected,hit ENTER for ENGLISH Install should now be highlighted Before Hitting enter again hit the F4 key & select SAFE MODE Hit ENTER TWICE,it will begin to load,ignore any errors as it goes thru the motions follow on screen prompts they're fairly straight forward Once at the install mode or partitioning tick MANUAL create say 8-15 gb ext3 partition after c resize as necessary create say 2gb swap There's more to it than all that but that'll get you started
so after i download the iso. the one i found is 698 mb. should i burn the program to a blank cd or dvd because i have both just this computer doesn't have a dvd burner but i have one in my messed up computer. and after i put it on a cd i just put it in my messed up computer and do the steps you told me?
Use a cd then place finished cd in the stuffed comp & reboot,however this won't fix windows it will let you get any data you need as well as give you an OS that will work,untill you get a xp disk It would most probably pay to run it as a live cd first,this will give the the ubuntu desktop but no data written to hdd,if all goes well & you get it up & running, it's a sure fire way of telling what's working & what isn't,then you can use the "install"icon on the desktop to proceed with installation,When you get the Ubuntu screen just after booting the comp with the cd in the drive & you selected language,hit "try with no change to comp",if your internet is on you can have a play around on line,then when ready hit the install icon,may need to cliks,whatever you do when it comes to partitioning DO NOT select use entire disk. After hitting install icon twice 1-Select Language 2-Select Location 3-Select keyboard layout,usually USA 4-Partitioner-there's two options to use the first is Guided-resize (0,0,0),& use freed space,this will do it automatically,you can see the colored bars of before & after & it should already be dotted,if you only have one partition on your hdd then this would be the best method,the other method is manual partitioning Edit: link to another thread that 2old has given a link on how to use the live cd to recover files,it'll save messing about installing another OS unless you want to give linux a try,tho if you reinstall windows it will overwrite the linux grub & ubuntu won't boot until the grub is reinstalled http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/751463#4554599
@scorpNZ and all, Here’s another good link for using ubuntu: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/
