ThinkVantage System Update Problem - or is it Windows Vista?

[baertracks]

I recently ran ThinkVantage System Update. The process included a BIOS update and a number of other features that I don't recall at the moment.

Upon rebooting I have been unable to successfully launch Windows Vista Home Business edition. I get to the desktop, but the applications do not load completely. When I try to click on Start or any Quicklauch application I get the "hourglass" (spinning sphere) that never quits. The program simply stalls.

I am able to successfully boot into Safe Mode with Networking, and
most functions seem to work OK, but not all. Some programs startup with a splash screen and then disappear (like there isn't enough memory) For example, I'm unable to run "Thinkvantage Systems Update."

I've rebooted from the vista DVD and run every repair function that I can find. No memory problem was found by the program. I was told that their was a startup configuration problem that was "corrected", however, upon rebooting the problem persists.

One strange element is that I now have a number of new folders that have been created in the root of of C: called "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", and "F". All those folders are empty, except folder "B" seems to be a mounted volume that duplicates drive "C" Does that make any sense to anyone?

I've run a hard drive check several times. This process seems to be
finding errors, but completed OK. The second time I ran it it got "hung up" when it is 40% completed.

I've tried to do a "Restore" function, but it says that it can't find any previous restores. I don't understand that since I've made a number of backups in the past couple of months.

I've tried to run "PC Doctor", but it won't run in Safe Mode and I can't get to it in regular mode.

I have all the files backed up from the hard drive, but I really don't want to have to reinstall all my programs again (unless I really have to).

Any suggestions?

Can I, for example, reinstall windows from the DVD without compromising my already installed programs?

Are there other diagnostic programs around (Thinkpad hardware or Windows Vista) that I can run from Safe Mode or from a CD?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
FRANK

[baertracks]

I've decided that this must be a hard drive problem (perhaps not entirely, but mostly).

I ran a repair program (SpinRite) through the night and after ten hours of nibbling away at the hard drive bit by bit this program managed to recover enough data in damaged sectors to boot successfully into Windows Vista.

Now, I can now run other Diagnostic software (PC Doctor 5) to work on the problem (and recreate the missing restore points).

Regards,
FRANK

[pae77]

It won't help you now but for the future when dealing with problems like this, it is very convenient and imo, worthwhile to regularly maintain a clone of your entire hard drive on a second laptop hard drive (either in a USB enclosure or in the ultrabay serial hard drive adapter).

Then when you have problems with your primary drive, you can just physically swap hard drives and you are immediately back up and running again. Then you can try to re-format the drive with problems and re-clone the backup drive over to the messed up drive and if the messed up drive is then OK, . . . , problem solved and you can swap drives again if you want.