need help troubleshooting

**wildsrv** · 09-02-08, 09:40 PM

Well i came back from being away for over a month. My computer was running fine when I left and I return home and it almost doesn't want to boot. I have a dual boot system and after 20 minutes of loading one of my OS's says that there is a file missing or jacked up. I try to boot the other os and I let it load at the windows load screen for about 40 minutes when I decided to turn it off. The whole system is running SLOW!!!!!!!! Even at the BIOS boot screen when it does its checks it is taking FOREVER. I am able to go in to the bios settings with out too much trouble but I don't see any problems. The bios screen shows that it is using the correct amount of ram (2gig) and that the Dual core CPU is running at 2.4ghz... I checked the FSB settings and a few other things but I'm at a lost. And if I recall correctly the time is still correct as well so I don't think that its the CMOS battery. Please give me your ideas so I can get backing to gaming!!!! thanks!

**SapiensErus** · 09-03-08, 08:06 AM

Is there antivirus software or something similar that is loading at startup? (even then, a 2.4 should not take that long).

Malware of some sort or another?

Usually when a system gets bogged down like that it is too much stuff running on startup or malware.

But that would not explain the missing file...well, malware/viruses would...

Check out these utilities from sysinternals
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...84cb9e2f5.aspx
especially process explorer.  Find out what is running...

Here the other utilities from sysinternals, you might find any of them useful.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...s/default.aspx

Kids messin' with your computer while you were gone? Perhaps surfin' something they should not be? That is the common source of Malware.

**DJ Ms. White** · 09-03-08, 08:18 AM

Maybe try and see what's sucking up your resources with Process explorer?

**WileECyte** · 09-03-08, 08:38 AM

It sounds to me like a failing hard drive. When a drive starts to fail, a machine can run EXTREMELY slow. Open up your case and listen when you first start the system up. Is there a clicking/clanking sound coming from the drive? Does the drive appear correctly in the BIOS? Sometimes you'll see "Unknown Device" where it normally would say 250GB Drive or whatever.

**SapiensErus** · 09-03-08, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by WileECyte

It sounds to me like a failing hard drive. When a drive starts to fail, a machine can run EXTREMELY slow. Open up your case and listen when you first start the system up. Is there a clicking/clanking sound coming from the drive? Does the drive appear correctly in the BIOS? Sometimes you'll see "Unknown Device" where it normally would say 250GB Drive or whatever.

Very good point, that would explain the missing files also.

**wildsrv** · 09-03-08, 04:30 PM

Well I have looked in to a few different things. At this point (at such a low level of the operating system BIOS) I don't believe it could be malware of sorte but I do agree that it could be one of my hard drives going bad. I do hear them shutting down while its in the boot up process. Currently it is decting the RAID 0 array that I had set up but then it said there was an error. Also at one point and time it was going to try to delete the array because it couldn't find it. WTF.... I'm still checking on the hard drives trying to disconnect a few all the way down to the only one with the os on it but I'll let ya know what I find out. Thanks for the tips every one.

**wildsrv** · 09-03-08, 05:10 PM

I had a good few hours to sit and play with it and it seems that after a good CMOS reset as well as changing some other settings after I reset it its up and running ok now. I haven't yet to boot my other OS but my computer speed is back to normal and I'm sure I could handle the software part of it. At worse having to reinstall the OS. I don't plain on doing a whole lot with it as its just going to be stitting here for about a year with almost no use besides my wife using it to do photoshop on it about once a month if not less. Thanks for your help every one.