Re: Ongoing HD problem:

what you might try
instead of formatting
and re-installation is
to use the fdisk first.

with the fdisk command
you can obliterate the
partitions and data in
them.

then with the fdisk you
can recreate new one(s)
and set the size(s) too

afterwards you can
format and install the
o.s.

in fact, you can try the
fdisk at this time and
simply view your disks.



--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces

"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"Navyguy" <magineeer@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:df5aec3b-a221-4ee0-a22d-2367c0419ff5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP SP3, 160G hard drive with DSL
connection. I have
Windows Firewall(set to notify), Avira Antivirus, Spybot, Windows
Defender and Hive Cleanup.

I recently had some serious issues with my computer; this started when
MSN Live Msgr stopped signing on automatically, then my login
procedure was changed via remote assistance; and was told my MFT was
corrupted. I also became infected with a Trojan Horse virus which I
deleted but still resides on its host program.

With all these considerations it was felt that the best course of
action was to reinstall XP. I successfully did this using the recovery
CD provided by Dell by first deleting the (C:) partition and created a
new partition, formatted it, and reinstalled XP, then uploaded 30+
updates from Microsoft, including SP2 and SP3, and IE7 and MSN Live
Mail.Then created a System Restore point.

Even though the system has returned to somewhat normal operation I
decided to run a chkdsk to make sure. It found file problems and
suggested running a chkdsk /f which I've done several times but it
doesn't complete and hangs in step 2 of 3 (verifying indexes). I now
realize that I needed to format my HD to remove the Trojan Horse virus
and then reinstall XP. However there are some considerations.

I have a Seagate Baracuda 3.5 PATA/100 ST3160815A HD and intially I
started to check the HD using the CD from Seagate. I started to
download diagnostics from the CD when Avira caught a malware from the
CD! It says it contains HEUR/Malware Suspicious code so I cancelled
the process.

So my question is this; if I format my HD do I need this CD to install
any drivers? If so, then obviously I can't use this CD because of the
suspicious malware code and will probably require a new HD. If not,
can I install XP using the recovery disk or do I need a stock copy of
XP? If I need a stock copy is there a way to get it? Another point,
even if I did purchase a new HD I would still need to install XP
somehow.

I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.


Thanks,

Robert


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