Vista laptop acting very strange

u140acro3xs7dm

I have a friends laptop which is giving her trouble. it is a dell vostro 1320 running vista. when you turn it on it loads up and seems fine. But i cant open windows explorer, i can open most programmes but cant get into MBAM when i try open it it comes up with an error "file system error (-1073741701) " when i try and open My Computer, My Documents etc. nothing happens at all, i ran chkdsk /f in command prompt but it wont restart or turn off. When i try to restart or turn it off it just logs me out, the only way to turn it off is by holding the power button. i cant use any tools on it.

any help????

ps. i also tried starting it up in safe mode but same story there

RogerThis

You could try doing a system restore. If you can access it.

It sounds like a spyware problem. I find the quickest way is to do a fresh install. You could spend hours trying to fix it. And that way you know that it's definitely cleaned.

u140acro3xs7dm

I can access system restore but the pc wont reboot so system restore cancels itself.

Fysh

Boot from the original media, go to "repair my computer", select "Command prompt", and try to run chkdsk from there.

That being said, it does sound like a potential spyware issue. I'd suggest trying the F-Secure Rescue CD and see if it finds anything.

u140acro3xs7dm

i tried to repair my computer and it said it could not find any errors, i also tried to run chkdsk from there but that wouldnt work. i am downloading the rescue disk now. i ran rkill and hijackthis on it ill post the logs in a bit when i connect it to the net, (ive only 1 network cable with me)

i cant open that rescue cd, ive tried opening it with winrar but it says it is unknown format or damaged

Fysh

Reyna Bewildered Cliff wrote: »

i tried to repair my computer and it said it could not find any errors, i also tried to run chkdsk from there but that wouldnt work. i am downloading the rescue disk now. i ran rkill and hijackthis on it ill post the logs in a bit when i connect it to the net, (ive only 1 network cable with me)

i cant open that rescue cd, ive tried opening it with winrar but it says it is unknown format or damaged

It's a 118MB Zip file, inside it there are a couple of bits of documentation and an ISO image you can burn to cd.

u140acro3xs7dm

i have tried getting it a few ways and it just wont work it must be corrupt. I am downloading a different tool now. i am not at home and have no disks or usb keys or anything with me so its very hard.

Fysh

Reyna Bewildered Cliff wrote: »

i have tried getting it a few ways and it just wont work it must be corrupt. I am downloading a different tool now. i am not at home and have no disks or usb keys or anything with me so its very hard.

I've succesfully downloaded the file from the link just now, and have succesfully burned the ISO within the last few days to clean up an infected machine. (Not that this helps if you're having an issue getting the file to download succesfully, though).

If downloading files is an issue, you could try getting the machine online and using Trend's Housecall - that runs within a browser (though I think you need to install a plugin/activeX component for it to work).

u140acro3xs7dm

i think ill just bring it home and try on my machine, seems like i'm pissing into the wind with everything i try here

JonathanAnon

On the face of it I would be thinking either spyware/viruses (though you can usually get in to Safe Mode even if you have either of these) or possibly a hard disk failing..

Did you have a failed attempt at loading a Service Pack?

stevek93

You prob have tried this tho stick a windows vista install disk in it and select repair might do the job or you could run a antivirus from a bootable cd

old_aussie

Has the internet browser been changed from IE8 to another browser?

I think the error number 1073741701 has something to do with the browser

As JonathanAnon said, it could have something to do with a failed service pack update