Harddrive is Failing..

[eggyhustles]

Everytime i restart i get an error message and only way to get the pc up and running is by installing windows xp again..its beginning to become a hassle and i figured its a hd issue..the computer is extremely old(compaq persario 5000t) i would love to upgrade but im only on a 250 dollar budget so i doubt its possible to build something with that little bit of change..my question is should i buy a new hd and up the ram to 512 or scrap it and save for a new build? here are the specs of the pc..all help and feedback is appreciated..

Duron-900 CPU
128MB of SDRAM, 64KB L2 cache
Windows xp,
40GB hard drive
Compaq NVidia GeForce2 MX graphics card with 32MB of SDRAM,

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Actually for 250 you could maybe, maybe, get 80gb HD, 1gb of ram, an nVidia 6-7 series, decent mobo, decent processor, and case. Wouldn't be much of an upgrade but I think u'd see some change.

 

[eggyhustles]

Actually for 250 you could maybe, maybe, get 80gb HD, 1gb of ram, an nVidia 6-7 series, decent mobo, decent processor, and case. Wouldn't be much of an upgrade but I think u'd see some change.

well..i have a 200gb i could use as a slave drive(its the drive im using now as a master) it works well as a slave drive but its terrible as a master drive since i always get a xp error..if we would to swap out the 80 gig for lets say a 40..could a build be possible?

 

[A True Folder]

Everytime i restart i get an error message ........

What is the error message?

 

[eggyhustles]

What is the error message?

Windows could not start because the below file is missing or corrupt:

the file is Ntoskrnl.exe

 

[A True Folder]

As to your original question I think saving for a new build would be the best course of action tbh,

The error could be caused by several things apparently, I've not had to deal with this one before but several sites state it could be caused by a keyboard error, namely a short in the cable somewhere, can you try a different keyboard?

Also hdd corruption is cited as a cause, have you run check disk?

Other possible causes are listed as:

Corrupt boot.ini file.
Missing boot.ini file.
Missing or corrupt ntoskrnl.exe file (well duh, that's pretty much a gimme ffs LOL )

With you reinstalling each time i doubt it is the boot.ini as you would rewrite it each time you reinstalled.

 

[eggyhustles]

As to your original question I think saving for a new build would be the best course of action tbh,

The error could be caused by several things apparently, I've not had to deal with this one before but several sites state it could be caused by a keyboard error, namely a short in the cable somewhere, can you try a different keyboard?

Also hdd corruption is cited as a cause, have you run check disk?

Other possible causes are listed as:

Corrupt boot.ini file.
Missing boot.ini file.
Missing or corrupt ntoskrnl.exe file (well duh, that's pretty much a gimme ffs LOL )

With you reinstalling each time i doubt it is the boot.ini as you would rewrite it each time you reinstalled.

i've swapped the keyboard..same error..rewrote the boot ini too...all the same thing...i would love to save for a new build but i dont work

 

[A True Folder]

You could start your new pc off by purchasing a new hdd that you could put in this pc but transfer to a new one when you build it (assuming the HDD is the cause of the problem)

Have you run check disk? did it show any errors?

 

[eggyhustles]

You could start your new pc off by purchasing a new hdd that you could put in this pc but transfer to a new one when you build it (assuming the HDD is the cause of the problem)

Have you run check disk? did it show any errors?

yes i ran it..no errors..
can you recommend me a hdd? doesn't have to be big since i use my master drive now as a slave

 

[Le 3eme oeil]

I actually have 2 computer part lists put together for about $200 (if you dont want to save up more for a nicer build). Ones an Intel build and ones an AMD build. I'll post in a second.

Edit:
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813153073
CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103199
RAM-2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134115
Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147074
PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163017
HDD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822210003
Disk Drive- http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827135147
I think thats about $206...


Only thing is I don't know how decent of a computer it would be, plus on your budget you can actually afford to make that $50 better so..I'm just throwing that out there.