Boot sector error

I'm using an older Compaq Presario 1200 laptop with Win98SE, Athlon K6 475M, 128M RAM. When I try to shut down from the start menu, with <shut down> selected, the system reboots. I used a utility (I forget which one) that told me that it detected a "boot sector error". The system seems to run normally except for that.

As it stands, if I wish to completely shut down the computer I have to use the on/off switch, which causes 'ScanDisk' to run the next time I use the machine. Any way to fix this, short of re-installing Windows?

 

How old is the hard drive?

 

You may wish to read this ....

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/win/restarts.htm

readnoreeveryday

 

Thanks for the responses.

The hard drive is the original one with this machine, purchased new in 2001.

Also, as to disabling the 'fast shutdown' option in the registry, I still find occaisionally that I need to shut down manually if the system hangs or something like that; fortunately this isn't a frequent occurrance, but I'm hesitant to disable it.

Thanks
Max