Major Hard-drive related errors, unable to boot up

Hey Everyone,

I currently have a Seagate Harddrive. I actually got this one just a year ago to replace another HD that went bad. I'm afraid the same thing is happening to this one, and I don't know what I can do to save it. I just can't believe these things can go bad so fast...although I have had Malware problems and a boot sector virus recentley. I'm not sure if that anything to do with it, but I'm sure constant freezing and forced reboots don't help.


Anyways, Here is a list of recent errors.

1. Windows would freeze on the Windows loading screen or go to black after the Windows loading screen went away.

2. 0x000000ED (Unmountable Boot Volume) I think this was Hard-drive related. I fixed both of these problems by running CHKDSK /R from the Windows Recovery console.

3. 0x0000000A IRQL_Not_Equal_or_Less BSOD

I think I just rebooted to fix the above error, but eventually Windows would just lock up at random while I was browsing the Web (Yahoo Email or Ebay,usually) and sometimes even while just sitting there. I also ran a "CHeck for Errors" thing from Windows, which asked me to restart the PC and then ran the Windows XP bootup CHKDSK. It took several hours, but it seemed to fix quite a few errors.

4. Lastly, I got c0000218 when trying to boot up. I tried to run ChkDsk, but it said the Drive wasn't recognized.

5. Finally the last straw...everytime I boot up, I get the classic "A disk read error has occured, press Ctrl+ALT+DEL to restart. I ran CHKDSK /R again and it started to work, but at 50% it said there were some unrecoverable errors.

I finally ran FIXMBR from the Windows Recovery Console and it gave me a warning, I finally decided to run it, but it's still giving me the Disk read error

 

I would try and do a repair install.

IF that doesn't work it could be the drive is failing or the file system is severely damaged.

Do you get any SMART errors when you start?

 

Will I lose all my files and programs if I do a repair install? That's the one thing I'm a bit worried about. I have a program on there that cost me quite a bit and is vital to me finding a career in animation. Unfortunately, I don't have the CD or CD Key/License to reinstall it at this time.

If it doesn't erase all my files, then I'll be fine. But if it does, or I just need to reinstall or reformat my HD, I hope there is a way to access my HD and make sure all my files are off.

Also, how do you go about doing a repair install?