Multiple BSOD...

Wertz

Started having some problems last night on my xp machine...random program crashes, crashes when AV scan started, browser crashes, you get the picture.

I'd recently gotten rid of some very nasty spyware that had caused registry changes (using spybot). This is the only thing I've done that's out of the ordinary for a month or more; no new hardware or software installed at all.
So I decided I'd try defragging and see if that helped, since a BSOD informed me the HDD may be almost full. Left it running overnight and everything seemed fine...

...Until I tried using the PC this morning.
Multiple BSOD error messages.
I' tried rebooting last good config, then safe mode, neither of which worked; XP is getting as far as the log-in screen than BSOD :mad:
Lot of precious (unbacked up) stuff on disk so I NEED to get into it.
Decided I'd go buy a 2nd HDD, install xp on it and run it as the primary, so I could access the data on the other HDD.
Spent most of the afternoon doing that, with some problems:
Firstly, windows update doesn't want to work. The installation disk is pre-SP1 so I'm pretty sure that's the problem.
Secondly, when I try to install norton AV (yeah I know it sucks but I had it to hand) it closes at set-up screen and won't let me install
Lastly, even though I can access all my stuff on the older HDD, it won't let me import my files/settings, either by using the wizard or manually. Think it has something to do with them being in my administrator account (which requires pwrod at log-in), since I can access everything on all the other user accounts. Is there a way round this?

So I'd appreciate some advice.
For instance, can I simply copy the whole C: drive to the new one? Or am I right in thinking that that will most likely bring with it the probems that are on the C: drive? Waht would be a better way to go about this. I'm primarily interested in retreiving all my email folders and possibly my favourites and cookies.
Any help you can offer me is much appreciated. Since I have no AV installed, going anywhere on the net right now is a liability especially since there's no service packs installed. All I need now is a f**king virus to top the whole sorry mess off

Thanks in advance.

neokenzo

Its possible you may still have virus on your machine. Try using an online scanner from AVG and Symantec, both to be sure. Thats usually the case when Norton AV cant install. Sorry cant be more help on the BSOD but copying your emails, favourite and cookies shouldnt be a problem. Then format, install them back and then run antivirus.

Wertz

OK huge huge problems here. :mad:

Seems I have something called bloodhound32 on the NEW harddrive. It's stopping AV scan and is continuosly opening IE.
Spybot scan showed 60 odd infections (I'd been online 10min :rolleyes: ).

However here is the biggest problem: I cannot reformat the new drive from inside windows If I could I'd just load everything back up again.

Online virus scanners won't accept connections from firefox :mad: and IE just keeps redirecting to various 1337 hacker sites :rolleyes:

Seriously in need of some help here as I'm all out of ideas, and close to just taking a hammer to the whole PC...
Anyone?

neokenzo

Download Windows XP boot disk to format your hard drive and re-install XP. Make sure you download the same version as your XP, Home or Pro.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310994

Wertz

Wow...what an utter pain in the hole of a weekend.

Finally got everything sorted late this evening, after just giving up on the new install and it's host of viruses, I reformatted again and started from scratch, this time remembering to install norton and firewall BEFORE I went looking for windows updates :rolleyes:
Spent a lot of quality time in the Recovery Console :rolleyes: to no avail (in fact I think I just made the old OS even more unbootable

Thought I was all done at about 6pm when all of a sudden it was BSOD time again. Diagnostic showed I had bad stick of RAM (whcih may have been the root cause of the failure on the old OS) which I pulled, and everything went good from then on.
The last hurdle I overcame about an hour ago, when I managed to find a way to copy my pword protected Documents and Settings file to my new HDD (some guy from Dublin on a US tech support forum to thank for that) and I've finally retrieved all my email and photos.
Strange how the comp seems to be running faster with 60% LESS RAM; just shows I need to reformat a lot more often, and back up just as frequently.


big thanks NeoKenzo for suggestions along the way.
What a way to waste a weekend though. :mad: