Hello,
I'm sorry this is long, but please help. I also apologize if this is the wrong place, it's my first post!

My dell laptop has been crashing recently and giving me the bod. I'm not terribly tech savvy so I wrote down the error code, googled it (I don't have it here with me but from what I gathered it wasn't a typical one and the most likely causes listed were a virus or a faulty memory stick), and called dell. They had me run the diagnostic, which showed no hardware issues, so since I'd backed up my hard drive when the trouble first started, they recommended I reinstall. I was hesitant because I'd had some issues with the external hard drive, mainly the accompanying software seemed to miss a lot, and I wasn't sure that my simply clicking and dragging the folders had covered everything (it also wouldn't allow me to safely remove the device because it kept saying it was in use even though everything had finished copying).

Fast forward to last week and my computer gave me the error message and I again turned it off w/out shutting down. This time when I went to restart it, I got the system32 error, telling me to insert the xp disk and push r to repair. I didn't feel comfortable doing it alone, so I called dell to have the tech walk me through. She directed me to boot from the xp disk and choose the install option. I asked her if we were attempting to repair and not reinstall and she assured me we were. She told me to delete the 1st partition and even though I was really hesitant, I did. When she told me to delete the 2nd partition, which was clearly my c drive, I refused and asked again if we were repairing. She said the reinstall was how you repair it. I told her that that wasn't what I asked, and that I didn't appreciate her directing me this way without asking me if I had backed up my files, or warning me of data loss, as the last dell tech told me they had to do. She told me to turn it off, and that would cancel the process. I asked about the partition 1 files I deleted and she said that the cancellation meant nothing was deleted. When I turned it back on, I had a different system 32 error, it didn't offer me the repair option, and the diagnostic only runs part of the way through because it says the files are missing and I need the drivers cd. She told me we hadn't deleted anything and that the change was because my hard drive is failing. She then put me on hold and I was "disconnected". The next tech I got, had me run the diagnostic, and he said that even though it hadn't run all the way through, it had passed the tests on memory and my hard drive. He still thinks I should wipe it, and we're supposed to do it tonight. Do you guys think that I should? My computer is under warranty so they have to replace any failing hardware. I'm sorry again it's so long.