Cyclic redundancy check on my hard drive?

I've gotten this error before on scratched discs. Now when I open certain files on my hard drive, I get the "cyclic redundancy check" and I can't open, move, delete or do anything with them.

How is this suddenlu happening now, and how do I fix it? I won't erase my hard drive, I have over 160 GB worth of data I can't get back easily.

 

You have corrupted sectors/blocks/clusters on your hard drive. Visit your drive makers web site (I think Seagate now owns Maxtor) and use their diagnostic tools to test your drive. Use the advanced or extended tests. These diagnostics also usually have an option to repair the problems if any are found. You can also try running chkdsk /r from the recovery console; it's accessible by booting to your XP installation CD. Unfortunately, your hard drive is probably on its way to the PC graveyard, so start backing up anything important to CD/DVD or another hard drive, PRONTO!

Welcome to MajorGeeks :major
:wine and have a Happy New Year! :drink