Windows HDD Error Check Alternative

[1Kurgan1]

Well a friends been having issues with his comp. He brought it over and we fired it up and it had the option to run a check on windows or start normally. I tried starting it normally and it just sat at the windows logo for a long time and he told me that it would never go past that. He said he always had to use the check, so I restarted it and hit that then the grey loading bar stopped half way, and he said that if it did that it would never start, that it had to go all the way instantly or it wouldn't work. So we restarted it again and it went all the way and got into a windows like screen, he then said we would have to wait about 30 min just for anything to pop up.

At that point I didn't really feel like waiting 30min, so I tossed his HDD in my comp and hit start normally and it fired right up into windows. We then put it back in his comp and it worked....

So my first plan was to error check the HDD with my comp, but everything I run error check it just simply caps out my RAM and then makes zero progress. I am right now posting with all 4GB of my RAM being used up by explorer.exe

Any alternatives to windows Error Checking, because this is ridiculous.

 

[slyfox2151]

if you want to scan the HDDs sectors for bad sectors, you can use HD tune, or HD sentinal for Smart data and a few tools. they wont scan the windows files tho, im not sure what else will. if the HDD scan comes back clean i susgest you format and reinstall.


chances are its virii related or possibly deleted key windows files that are needed.

 

[1Kurgan1]

If it was virus related it wouldn't have worked fine in my comp and not his. I have a feeling either his RAM or Mobo is going, but both are newer and higher end stuff. But just want to error check the drive, defrag it and give that a shot before he has to spend money. Trying the HD Tune Pro trial right now, we'll see what it finds.

 

[slyfox2151]

If it was virus related it wouldn't have worked fine in my comp and not his. I have a feeling either his RAM or Mobo is going, but both are newer and higher end stuff. But just want to error check the drive, defrag it and give that a shot before he has to spend money. Trying the HD Tune Pro trial right now, we'll see what it finds.

dont be so sure, a virus could have corrupted a driver thats failing to load stopping windows booting on PC a but PC b dosnt need that driver.


just an example

 

[robn]

Have you tried plugging it in as a second drive ...i.e. booting from your own disk, with your friend's as just a "data" disk? That should be the easiest way to run diagnostics on it.

 

[1Kurgan1]

dont be so sure, a virus could have corrupted a driver thats failing to load stopping windows booting on PC a but PC b dosnt need that driver.


just an example

That would be interesting, but they are both Phenom II builds, would think they would need the samethings.

Have you tried plugging it in as a second drive ...i.e. booting from your own disk, with your friend's as just a "data" disk? That should be the easiest way to run diagnostics on it.

Yeah, that was the the issue I was running across. I have his HDD plugged into my comp as the 3rd HDD and I was running Windows Error Check and that would just eat up my RAM. But HD Tune Pro is working fine now, still working on it.