Extremely high CPU usage - HijackThis log

Sorry.... but it looks like you need to replace your hard drive as soon as possible...

HAL.DLL can be replaced but I need to know whether this is a single or dual core processor and whether this computer is ACPI compliant or not. There are eight different versions of HAL.DLL, each tuned for a specific configuration. Also, you'll need a Windows disc, and it must be from the same flavour (Home/Professional) as your currently installed version of Windows.

Furthermore, please be aware it may not be possible to get your computer working again. The hard drive is so badly damaged that ANY file can start disappearing at ANY time now.

In the mean time you can do some work related things e.g. text processing from the Linux cd we made, however please try to use the computer as little as possible, and buy a new hard disk as soon as possible.

i have a single core 3.4 ghz intel pentium 4, i have no idea if it's acpi compiant, i have a windows cd.

theres no way i can, at the very least, reformat?

I don't think you understand the issue. Your hard disk has physical damage - like scratches on a CD-ROM - and therefore cannot be relied on any more! If ANY data gets written to a scratched place OR if a new scratch occurs, it is GONE. And we already know new scratching occured, because critical boot files like NTLDR and HAL.DLL don't go missing by themselves!

So you must replace your hard drive, and it must be done as soon as possible to maximize chances of salvaging data.

Okay - to check whether the computer is ACPI compliant do the following:

1. Boot from the Recovery CD we made (the one that had the windows desktop)
2. Use Windows Explorer to go to this folder: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32
3. Right click this file: ntoskrnl.exe and choose Properties
4. On the second tab, look for Original Name. Click it and tell me what the original name is.

System32 does not show up under the windows directory.

Listen it's been a month and I think I've gotten all the "help" that I can from you. Just tell me, if I buy another hard drive, say an external one, and boot xp from that drive will I able to transfer files directly from the old one to the new one? Or will it just be all unreadable because of your combofix experiment?

I do appreciate your time, but you did put me in quite a precarious position.

Listen it's been a month and I think I've gotten all the "help" that I can from you. Just tell me, if I buy another hard drive, say an external one, and boot xp from that drive will I able to transfer files directly from the old one to the new one? Or will it just be all unreadable because of your combofix experiment?

Sorry, you can't boot Windows from an external drive. Will give you a nice blue screen stating "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME". If you really need to run something off an external HDD, use Linux. I recommend Mandriva - in my opinion that distro comes closest to replacing a full operating system.

I'm sorry, but the only option is to buy a new internal hard drive like the one you're using right now.

Right now you must stop using the drive. When the new drive comes in, put the new drive in your computer as master and the old one as slave. Boot from the Linux disc and mount them both. If the new drive has no partitions yet, you can use GParted which comes with the Linux disc to make an NTFS partition. If the faulty drive won't mount, rerun chkdsk from the recovery disc. By the way - that recovery disc will time out a month after it has been burned.

I do appreciate your time, but you did put me in quite a precarious position.

These issues are hardware related, running combofix can't cause any physical damage to hard drive. I understand that this situation is frustrating but it is no one's fault, things just happen.

I'm really sorry, and I completely understand your feelings (been there myself), but there is nothing else that can be done.

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