Dell Inspiron 6000
Windows XP SP2
About 3 days before the error, I made a huge mistake. I attempted to install an executable downloaded from a file sharing program. For two days the computer obviously had a virus. I attempted to use System Restore, and it could not restore my computer to any of the three restore points I attempted. I tried ridding the computer of the virus with McAfee, SpyDoctor (got rid of VUNDO virus for me about 6 months ago), and Ad-Aware…all to no avail. I was working on a paper and running an online virus scan from pc-housecall when the computer froze. I assumed it was just the virus overworking my processor and since my work was saved, I attempted to reboot. Upon reboot I got a missing file error, and had to reboot again. Then it was “Internal hard disk not found” “Internal HDD Hard error” “press F1 to continue or F3 to enter setup”. F1 gives me the same error message. Drive is not recognized in BIOS, Diagnostic fails only for DST Short Test with error message “No drive connected”. If I attempt to use the XP system disk, it can’t find a drive on which to install or repair. I’m typing this from the same laptop…just installed a different hard drive, so it isn’t the laptop, it’s gotta be the drive. Can I do anything to get important files back from the drive? Is this just from the virus (repairable?), or do I have a physical error of some kind?
