[RobertDickinson]

My laptop has been crashing a lot recently. Its annoying. When I start the computer up it claims that I have some corrupt files in Windows>system 32. Ive therefore tried to scan it with McAfee and Windows Defender has also attempted to scan, but the computer just crashes again usually half way through. Freezing more than crashing.

Help!

[blues_harp28]

Hi try.
Start>run>type
sfc /scannow

You will need the Xp install Cd
http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html

Does the same happen when you run said scans in safe mode?
Tap F8 at startup.

[RobertDickinson]

Thanks. Its all ok now. The laptop managed to fully crash itself and Intel suggested an anti freeze program which has fixed it.

Thanks for the reply though.
rob

[baladio]

Just for future reference and other readers, since your problem was fixed:
If files are already corrupted, scanning with security software won't necessarily fix them (but it will fix other problems). You either need to scan the drive(s) for errors and have them corrected, and/or replace the corrupted files or parts of them, through various means.
Replacing core Windows files (which would likely be in the System folder) commonly involves using System Restore, or in even direr situations, using the Windows install disc to repair Windows if it won't boot. Some people use a complete backup image of the hard drive in the event of a complete failure, and there is one utility called ERUNT that is very useful for just backing up and restoring parts or all of the Registry.

Actually, let me clarify what I mean by corrupted: One kind of corruption that can happen is when a virus (or other malware) attaches itself to a file. That can be fixed by some security software, as in the virus is detached from the file. But, alas, another kind is when the original file is damaged, and even if there was a virus attached to it that can be removed, the original file is still damaged.