BSOD while using Firefox, some kernel error, need computer for exam

Hi all,

I have been having some hard drive issues with my Acer and I'm not sure if they are serious or not. I am not computer savvy and am planning to take the bar exam to get licensed as an attorney in a few weeks and really need my computer for the exam. I am hoping someone can advise me as to whether my problem is serious enough that I need to get another computer to use for the bar exam.

Here is basic information about my computer:
Acer Aspire 4743
Processor: Intel Pentium P6200 2.13 GHz
RAM: 4GB
System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Brief history of computer before most recent BSOD problem:
I bought this computer in fall of 2011 to use for school. This is strictly a for school computer so the only programs I have installed are basic ones like Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Office, VLC, Adobe Reader, etc. A few months ago, in May 2012, it froze one night when I left it on overnight. It kept freezing and there were lots of issues with hang time. But it worked in safe mode. I reset it to factory settings but it did not fix the hang time issue. I called Acer since I am still under warranty and they told me that they had special recovery disks I needed to use to restore my computer to factory settings but they would cost 20 dollars. I explained I had already reset it (both with the factory reset option in the system and with recovery DVDs I had made the first day I got the computer) but somehow these discs would be better? I wasn't really clear why and since the 20 dollars wasn't refundable if it didn't fix the problem, I didn't want to do it. After some talking, they agreed to let me send in my computer. I received it back with the invoice telling me that my hard drive had been replaced. This was around June 10th.

Today I was using Firefox, had 3 tabs open, and my computer froze and then gave me a BSOD. I didn't catch all of the error message, just saw the word kernel. I ran a disk check which told me that I had 2 bad clusters added to the Bad Clusters File and 8 KB in bad sectors. Then I did a scannow, which reported that some corrupt files were found and successfully repaired. A 2nd scan showed that nothing was wrong.

I have attached the required dump files in a zip. My question is, is this a serious problem that indicates my hard drive is failing and I should not feel safe taking my exam on this computer (and risking it failing mid-exam) or does it seem like the bad cluster/bad sector issue is minor? I did some searching on this forum and found a similar thread where I read conflicting opinions. Some people thought a bad sector was no big deal, others said it was a sure sign the hard drive will fail within the next 6 months to a year.

Apologies in advance if I am missing any information needed in this post. I understand that it's impossible to say with certainty whether or not the hard drive is beyond repair or in good condition. I am just hoping and would be extremely grateful for a more expert opinion of what exactly happened since I have no idea what any of the disk check or scannow messages mean. Did the disk check fix the problem? Does the bad sector issue mean I need to use a different computer to take my exam in 3 weeks?

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much for your help, Frederik. I didn't realize that my computer wasn't set up to record the files. I have changed that and will do as you have asked the next time a BSOD comes up.

Many thanks!