windows 7 C:\windows\prefetch is corrupt

[shakes53]

basically, my win 7 desktop has been running slowly and has been giving me *corrupt file errors. I tried running sfc /scannow in an attempt to resolve some of the issues and i even tried to initiate a system restore, but that gave an error as well.
plugging in a new device resulted in a corrupt file error in an attempt to install the device drivers.

boot times and everything about this system feels very sluggish and system is throwing *corrupt file errors at me.

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it would be great if you guys could help me figure this out

 

[Tanyac]

As a starting point you could try these

1. Do as the error says - Run a CHKDSK C: /F from a command prompt. It should ask you to reboot
2. Disconnect the device you plugged in and uninstall the drives from control panel/Device manager. (I assume its a removable device). Do not reboot yet
3. Run disk clean up (Start, accessories, system tools). This will take several minutes
4. Run a defrag c: if the boot drive is NOT an SSD. This may take a long time if Windows has not been running defrag (Its usually scheduled for 1:00am on a Wednesday by default)
5. Empty your c:\users\<yourname>appdata\local\temp folder (If you can't see the appdata folder it is because you are not showing hidden files)

You could delete the contents of your prefetch folder. This is typically not recommended. Windows will cache up to 128 last used programs in this folder and cleans itself out automatically, but I have seen people suggest deleting the contents in situations such as this. However, until commonly used programs are cached again you may see a slow down in starting programs.

You could also delete your paging file. I have seen various discussions on forums that this sometimes helps. Though I am skeptical as to just how useful this really is. But since it is harmless, and windows will recreate it at boot time, you could try it.

After completing the above reboot the computer.

Let us know how you go.

EDIT: Sometimes unresponsive systems could be a symptom is a failing disk drive. You could download the Seagate or Western Digital diagnostic programs (depending on which drive you are using) and run some tests to see if there are problems with the drive... But I'd try the other stuff first.

 

[shakes53]

-snip-

THANK YOU so much, Tanyac. I'll keep you posted