[SpardaSon21]

For some reason, ever since I installed my current HDD about a year ago every 4-5 months I have to format my HDD and reinstall Windows due to Windows corrupting somehow and deciding to bluescreen on me at the drop of a hat. Right now I can't even start up a program without Windows giving me a KERNEL_INPAGE_ERROR with some .sys file crapping out.  I'm hoping I somehow won't have to reinstall this time by running Chkdsk and fixing any issues that way, but Chkdsk has now frozen after Index Verification (says Index Verification completed right after a huge list of unreadable file record segments) and been that way for the past day with my HDD fruitlessly spinning.  I don't know what effect a forced shutdown will have on my completely locked-up PC in this state, but it won't be good.  Should I just say "**** it" and reinstall Windows and everything else?  I'm seriously hoping I can avoid a re-installation of everything since it looks like I lost the driver disks for my wireless ethernet card and the stuff on the Intel mobo like the soundcard.

And for the curious, I'm using my old crappy Compaq laptop right now, and calling it a poor replacement for my desktop would be complimenting it.

[Grizzly]

You might want to check out HDD health (look below) as well, since the data corruption might just be a HD issue...

Your computer is standing completely still? No vibrations? No accidental elbowing it? That too can cause HDD read/write problems.

[SpardaSon21]

My comp has been standing completely still for the past 24 hours while Chkdsk picks its nose and the HD in-use light stays constant.

[Flipside]

Sounds like your HDD may be faulty to me, is it still under any kind of warranty?

[SpardaSon21]

Faulty HDD.  Great, just what I need.  I was hoping that wasn't the case as it is a nice 750 GB one my friend bought for me.  I'm not sure about warranty, and I threw out all the paperwork a long time ago in any case.  Yeah, stupid me.

[Topgun]

Is the new drive use the same interface (IDE, SATA) as the old one?

[SpardaSon21]

This drive isn't exactly new.  It is newer than my old one, but it has been in my PC for at least a year now.  Last HDD was SATA as well, and it didn't have any issues.

[Davros]

it could be the controller. intell has just recalled boards over a defective sata controller
does your board have more than 1 sata controller (controller not port)
you could try it on a different controller

[SpardaSon21]

When did Intel release those Sandy Bridge mobos?

[Astronomiya]

This month.  Assuming you've done nothing else to your computer since putting the HDD in, the SATA controller is a bit far down on the list of potential problems I'd be looking for.  If the problem is only on the HDD, it's likely that it's bad.  Could also be bad RAM, though I would expect the crashes to pop up far more frequently.

Which version of Windows do you currently use?

[SpardaSon21]

XP Home SP2.  My mobo certainly doesn't have the SATA issues since it certainly isn't a Sandy Bridge.

As to any upgrades, I installed the HDD along with a new mobo, CPU, and RAM, so it could be anything.

When Windows bluescreens on me, it says one of two errors: 1. "KERNEL_INPAGE_ERROR" or 2. "A necessary thread or process has suddenly stopped running."  It is almost like the integrity of Windows degrades over time for no good reason.

To be honest, I've resigned myself to the fact I need to reformat and reinstall Windows this time around.  I'm just trying to figure out how to prevent it from happening next time.

[Admiral LSD]

Also, the Sandy Bridge issue is one that develops over an extended period, it shouldn't be happening in any currently in use right now. It's caused by an improper bias on a transistor (that shouldn't really be there in the first place) result in to high a leakage current which, given time and under the right circumstances, can increase resulting in the problem. Even then, CRC checks performed by the drive/controller mean you'll notice the gradual slowdown long before it results in actual bit errors. In all likelihood most people won't even see it at all. Intel are only projecting a 5% failure rate over 3 years and the fact you need to overvolt the PCH in higher than average temperatures over an extended period of time to even be at risk (Intel only discovered the fault through extended testing at higher voltages within a heat chamber) means most people are free and clear. Notebooks are probably the most at risk because they run pretty toasty internally (due to limited space for decent cooling), but they're also the easiest to fix as most only have 2 drives meaning all that's needed is some relatively minor internal requiring to use the 6Gbps ports instead of the 3Gbps ones.

Getting back on topic, it definitely sounds like the hard drive is failing. It could be something as simple as a faulty cable, but I'm be willing to bet that it's a faulty HDD, particularly if it's PATA. I don't think anyone has made new PATA drives in 2-3 years so they're all getting on a bit in years now which increases the chances of them failing even if you only bought it new a year ago.

[Davros]

I wasnt suggesting that the op had the sandy bridge problem, just that he could have an unrelated sata controller problem.
hence my suggestion to try another controller (my board has 3, intel, jmicron and silicon image)

[Ravenholme]

Agh, I've got computer issues - namely AVG 2011 deciding to self-destruct and start attacking everything on my computer. Anyone recommend any better and free AV software?

[BloodEagle]

Shutting the computer down in that state shouldn't damage anything.  And if it did it would probably only affect your normal Windows boot parameters, which would leave safe-mode the Hell alone.

If your HDD is from Seagate, they have a (free) bootable OS available that checks for HDD errors.  I imagine that the other same-tier companies would as well.

And hard drives are pretty cheap, nowadays.

--

Agh, I've got computer issues - namely AVG 2011 deciding to self-destruct and start attacking everything on my computer. Anyone recommend any better and free AV software?

Epic threadjack is epic. 

[Ravenholme]

Agh, I've got computer issues - namely AVG 2011 deciding to self-destruct and start attacking everything on my computer. Anyone recommend any better and free AV software?

Epic threadjack is epic. 

Beats creating yet another thread on the same issue.

Besides, you guys have all pointed out what the error for Sparda seems to be (Faulty Hard drive), any statement of mine to that effect would be redundant. Plus, this was the only thread I had open when AVG decided to go nuts

[Flipside]

I use Avira, some people knock it, but I've found it's pretty thorough, and I've never had any problems with stability. It does tend to need to be shut down when playing games though, I think it may be a little hungry compared to others, but that's no real chore.

[666maslo666]

Avast! Home Edition + Comodo Firewall. Or even Comodo Antivirus + Firewall combo, I heard its pretty good.

[Jeff Vader]

Avast! Home Edition + Comodo Firewall.

[Topgun]

Microsoft security essentials