windows xppro -profile missing or corrupt

[bagaki]

i just did a fresh install of winxp, installed all of the updates and now when it boots up to the login screen, i get a message telling me that my profile is missing or corrupt. Windows then says it will create a temp profile but then i get a ton of errors like the following:

Windows was unable to save all the data for the file C:\$Mft. The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save this file elsewhere.

if i press OK, i will continue to recieve the same message except it will list a different file. I have tried booting into safe mode, but my system seems to hang.

when boot into the winxp disc, and i go to install it again, the harddrive is detected as EMPTY and with no filesystem.

has anyone seen this before? this is the second time i formatted and recieved this problem.

thanks for any input

-- bagaki

 

[SpeedFreak03]

What filesystem are you using (NTFS or FAT32)? Also, did you run windows update both times? How old is your hard drive, and do you suspect that it could be corrupted? Good luck!

-Josh

 

[bagaki]

NTFS is the filesystem

I did run windows update both times, but the first time i messed with the profiles - i renamed the only one on the computer when i was updating something.

the harddrive is a maxtor 40gb and is about a year to 14 months old. i have suspected that my harddrive is corrupt.

my problems started when i installed a new mobo: msi k7n2 mobo and ddr400 ram and a new proc. i have messed with the various parts trying to make everything work. i have been having problems with my ATI RADEON VIVO 64MB and the nvidia mobo. I have solved that though by booting into safe mode and installing updated nvidia drivers right away.

 

[NogginBoink]

$MFT is the filesystem's MFT (master file table). Kinda like FAT's FAT (file allocation table).

This is major bad news and almost certainly indicates your disk drive is failing.

Check cabling and termination, if this is a SCSI drive.

But my bet is on a bad hard drive.

Do *not* trust this drive with any more data. The MFT is the link to ALL the data on the filesystem. If the MFT goes south, all of the data on this disk is gone.