To be brutally honest mate I would get a new drive and if you have image or some form of back up install the OS onto it because it looks to be failing by millimetres.
This can be done with this Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 just make sure you have the correct version and retrieve the data form the old drive you want using a USB / SATA gadget. See pics
I concur. All indications are that the drive is busy failing - it is impossible to tell how soon it will fail permanently. Replace the drive immediately.
Aw, that's a bummer.
One last question though: Could my hard drive failing have anything to do with viruses? I've been running scans consistently and nothing has come up, but just wanted to make sure to not repeat the same mistakes in the future.
Oh also, what is meant by backup? I've backed up the files and pictures already, but does backup mean literally everything about the computer like programs and settings and such?
The failure is due to a physical defect on/in the disk - not malware.
Backup means all your user data - music, photo's etc. etc.
Alright, thank you both so much for your help, don't know what I would have done without you guys
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