The Gang of Five

Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => Hobbies and Recreation => Computer and Electronics => Topic started by: pokeplayer984 on November 09, 2008, 03:34:19 PM

Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: pokeplayer984 on November 09, 2008, 03:34:19 PM
Well, my computer has been reformated.  The reason is because it had a serious corruption problem.  How serious?  Let me give you the lowdown.

First off, the "No Disk" Error Message was far more serious than any of us expected.  I had gotten a rather well disguised bug that just kept growing until it caused a real serious problem.  The problem started with certain programs not working right, causing constant System Restores and hard Reboots.  It soon got to the point where I couldn't do a System Restore at all.  That's right.  Whatever bug it was prevented me from doing a System Restore.

On top of that, the bug grew to a point where it took up ALL the memory in my 1 TB Hard Drive.  This made it impossible for Spybot Search&Destroy to work properly.  In fact, the bug was making it hard for Spybot to work in the first place, causing the No Disk Error to pop-up constantly.  It would be able to check everything if I was will to go through 4+ hours of punishment and causing a very hurt hand to come forth, but is it really worth it?

I knew there was a serious problem when the "Out of Memory" error showed and research found there to be over 90% of free space left.  I knew then that I had a serious problem that couldn't be fixed with any program out there.

So with that, I began the reformating process.  I tell ya that it's tough because reformating a 1 TB drive takes 4 hours just to get XP installed. (That part I started last night, after backing up of course, so I could get to work on the rest first thing.) I'm busy putting all my programs back on.  With stuff like AVG, VLC, Goldwave, Open Office and others, it's definitely going to take time to get it done.

Just giving you all a heads up, so if you don't see me for the next few days, this is why.

See ya later! :)
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: Kor on November 09, 2008, 04:11:32 PM
I'm glad you got it working again.  If you have a lot of programs to install maybe you can classify them by importance and do a few every day.  That way it may not seem like so much of a chore.
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: DarkHououmon on November 09, 2008, 04:22:24 PM
How did you find out what was wrong?
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: Petrie. on November 09, 2008, 04:27:43 PM
What did you download or open?  That's usually how you get the stuff like this that leeches your machine resources.
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: pokeplayer984 on November 09, 2008, 04:52:40 PM
To be honest, it's hard to tell what made it happen in the first place.  That problem was there for a while, well before I got certain items that were more than likely to have it. (Torrents mainly.) To be honest, it could've been anything.

At least the programs are working properly now.  AVG, Goldwave, Spybot, Open Office, VLC, RegCure... yep!  They all work.  So really, I have no complaints right now.

The only program I can't get right now, at least for free, is Photoshop CS3.  LBTlover has a copy ready for me, but it's on his server, which is down. -_-

Oh, and I'm giving my Desktop a little rest right now and am doing stuff on my laptop.  So I'll be around for the time being.

See ya later! :)
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: Petrie. on November 09, 2008, 04:54:35 PM
Ahh..you got burned by torrent hosters.  That explains a lot.
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: landbeforetimelover on November 09, 2008, 09:48:38 PM
Pokeplayer, let's talk about keeping you safe with torrent downloading.  This is just absurd. <_< Oh and I hope you used XP Lite.  I am glad you could format by yourself.  I'll get you that copy of Photoshop CS3 Extended Lite Edition as soon as my server is back up.  I'm living with terrible speeds using my neighbors WIFI right now so there's no way I can transfer a 50mb file to you right now.
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: pokeplayer984 on November 10, 2008, 03:24:57 AM
Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Nov 9 2008 on  06:48 PM
Oh and I hope you used XP Lite.  I am glad you could format by yourself.
I did use the copy of XP Lite you gave me when I first reformated.  Unless something better comes up, there's nothing else I'm going to be using. :) Besides, reformating is easy.  Especially for those who have an extra computer near and know how to look it up on the net. :P:

Quote
Pokeplayer, let's talk about keeping you safe with torrent downloading. This is just absurd.

First off, I'm not sure if it was a torrent that caused this problem.  There are several factors you need to understand where it may've not been my fault at all.

The main one being that this isn't exactly my personal computer.  My brother uses it too.  There are a number of things he downloads ranging from mp3 music files to online games.  Could've been something he downloaded.

Also, I know how to keep myself safe from torrent downloading, but if you insist on talking about it, let's go right ahead.  What would you like to start with?

Plus, the "No Disk" Error I was constantly getting despite numerous System Restores and AVG/Spybot scans I suspect may've been connected somehow.  My 1 TB Hard Drive may've been corrupted from the start for all I know.

To be honest, it could've been anything.  There's too many factors that it makes it difficult to figure out what really caused it.  I'm just glad it's gone and I hope this problem doesn't happen again.

Quote
I'll get you that copy of Photoshop CS3 Extended Lite Edition as soon as my server is back up. I'm living with terrible speeds using my neighbors WIFI right now so there's no way I can transfer a 50mb file to you right now.

I'll be patient.  I'm in no real hurry to get it right now. :)

Well, I'll see ya later!
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: landbeforetimelover on November 10, 2008, 04:45:20 AM
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Also, I know how to keep myself safe from torrent downloading, but if you insist on talking about it, let's go right ahead. What would you like to start with?

I'll send you a PM about it.  I'm sure torrent downloading is a topic that the admins would like to keep off the board. :angel
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: pokeplayer984 on November 10, 2008, 09:37:43 AM
Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Nov 10 2008 on  01:45 AM
Quote
Also, I know how to keep myself safe from torrent downloading, but if you insist on talking about it, let's go right ahead. What would you like to start with?

I'll send you a PM about it.  I'm sure torrent downloading is a topic that the admins would like to keep off the board. :angel
I'm not sure on that.  It could benefit quite a few of us.  However, if you're ever unsure, you can always check.  It doesn't hurt to ask them.
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: landbeforetimelover on November 10, 2008, 10:22:04 AM
Quote
I'm not sure on that. It could benefit quite a few of us. However, if you're ever unsure, you can always check. It doesn't hurt to ask them.

Well you can post the PM on here if you like, but do so at your own risk.  I really don't think the admins would like discussions about downloading things illegally on GOF.  No matter what's said, downloading torrent is ILLEGAL even if the content you're downloading is legal because they really can't regulate what you download and 99% of the stuff out there is illegal.  It's stupid and all but hey, I don't make the rules.  I just try to follow them.
Title: Thank God for Reformating!
Post by: Petrie. on November 11, 2008, 07:58:03 PM
I already know all I need to know about torrents and I think the PM was for your own benefit anyway. ;)  As long as you learned something from it.