OK, so a few weeks ago I got a disk read error when I booted up.

The computer was a month old.

I sent it to a pc repair shop and he said that he didn't think it was the harddrive and did a scan and said the computer was full of bugs (which I didn't understand as I'd barely used it or downloaded anything, in fact the few things I do download get downloaded to a slave harddrive, I'd also done a spyware and virus test before it went potty as I noticed it was working slowly). He said some of the files needed to run windows were not there and that he'd repaired them. He didn't do a clean install of windows.

He chared me £80. He was originally going to charge me the cost of the harddrive plus £15 for putting it in for me (I would have done it myself but my computer is a bit fiddly).

Today...it happened again...it's now working normal again but I can't understand what's going on.

I've done a virus test on both drives and it hasn't picked anything up.

Could my slave drive (drive e) be infecting my primary drive?
Would it be worth while doing a clean install of windows?

Thanks.

Definatley Daniel, A clean install will get rid of any possible errors in programs / applications and settings wise

If it does keep happening after that, It could be down to the wiring from the Motherboard to the Disk Drive

Finally, will I need to download drivers and that?

Or will Windows recognise them?

For Graphics Cards etc, Your best downloading the drivers

I would also get the manufacturers name of your Motherboard, Visit their website and download the Motherboard Files from there too, Just to be on the safe side

Everything else should be recognised by Windows
Unless you have a Printer or Scanner, But that should have Driver Disks with it

Best of luck, Gimme a shout by PM if you need any more help / advice

Hmmm...

First time I did it, it got all the way through and did everything it said a system file was missing. I also got a Unmountable Boot Volume error before.

Second time I did it and it said it could not format the drive as it was damaged.

Third time....

But the PC repair guy says it's not damaged when I last took it in...

Sounds to me Daniel like a potential dodgy connection between the drive and your motherboard! An XP Re-Install should just go through no errors or anything

How long did you say you had the PC?

I've had it roughly a few months. About 2 and a half.

One thing that has sprung to mind: I have my old hard-drive installed into my new comp as a slave drive.

It is connected via a IDE cable where the other is connected via Sata.

Could the secondary harddrive not be connected properly and causing issues.

I am also still going through the third attempt. The formatting stage is at 79% so I will let you know what happens when it's finished.

Finally done, all seems to be working but I don't know how long it will last for.

Sigh...it's done it again. It's only doing it 50% of the time though.

On start up when it does do it, I've noticed it says Sata harddrive disabled. Do I am assuming it is to do with my primary drive.

Yup, I was going to suggest that, It might have been an issue!
If you can access that second disk at all, I'd reccomend buying an External Hard Disk, Copy the files over to that disk then your back where u were, Take the other disk out the PC and you have a working External Hard Disk!

You can get an external HD now for £40-£80 depending on size of disk you choose

It wasn't the slave drive, it was the primary drive after all. So I bought a new one, connected it up inside, reinstalled windows then it suddenly worked.

Thankgod.

And thanks for your help.

Excellent news Daniel!
and no problems

How old was the original Primary Drive? Fairly old, Or was it brand new with the machine? Because surely thats covered by a warranty of some description, If its new of course??

The primary harddrive was meant to be brand new with the machine, I got the computer off ebay.