Vista - crcdisk.sys driver won't load....can't boot into laptop

I've had this problem for a few weeks now and I'm stumped as to what to do.

I'm not sure if the issue started when I was installing an update but basically my laptop(HP dv9000z series, Vista 32-bit) started to run VERY slow one day in August. I did an AVG scan on it which took 24 hours and showed up no issues. I then went away for 3 weeks and when I came back I turned on the laptop only to have it not load into Vista. It tries to boot, but after the Windows logo shows, a blue screen with writing on it appears briefly(too brief to read) and the laptop immediately shuts down and this process then continues to repeat where the OS never actually loads.
Loading into Safe mode showed that it gets to the crcdisk.sys driver and then the same thing happens where it shutdowns and goes into this endless loop of trying to re-boot itself but it never re-boots successfully.
I tried 'startup repair' in safe mode which didn't work the 1st time(it just hung for about 24hrs until I had to shutdown to stop it). Next time I tried this it seemed to work and gave the following log results:

root cause found:
system volume on disk corrupt
repair action: file system repair(chkdsk)
result: completed successfully

After this I was able to boot into Safe mode and normal mode, but it took a long time.

When I managed to boot successfully, I downloaded Malwarebytes and did a malware scan, which showed up 84 infections. These were cleared up and then I rebooted which again took forever, but it did reboot.

I then tried to install two updates but when I rebooted it has gone back to stopping on crcdisk.sys and I can't boot now into Safe or normal mode. Vista was pre-installed onto my laptop when I bought it so I can't boot from a cd.

Also, my main worry is that I have never backed up any of my data. I'm afraid to bring the laptop into a repair shop or send it back to HP for fear my data gets wiped.

Just looking for some advice on what I can do to try to fix this issue without jeopardizing my data or how to get my data off a laptop that I can't boot into?

Thank you very much!

Forgot to say...when I try to do a 'startup repair' now it just runs and runs for days with no sign of stopping.

MQA123 wrote:
Boot with a Linux Live CD like Knoppix and copy your data to an external
hard drive. Then restore to factory condition by pressing the correct
Function Key at computer startup. There will be a message when you first
start up as to which key is the right one. Do a full destructive factory
restore. After the restore is finished (and be patient - it can take quite a
long time to finish an HP restore), uninstall unwanted/obsolete/trial
software. Remove McAfee or Norton and install a better antivirus such as
NOD32 (commercial), Avast or Avira (free versions are available). Update to
Service Pack 2 if necessary and do all subsequent Windows Updates.

Scan your data with your updated antivirus program before copying it back
onto your hard drive.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Thanks for the info Malke,
I'm going to look into Knoppix now.

Just to update...I've just done a Bios harddisk scan and almost immediately received an error saying '#1-07 fail', any idea what this suggests? I've googled it and some sites say it means the hard drive has failed, others don't.

MQA123 wrote:
I don't know what a "Bios harddisk scan [sic]" is. Normally to test hard
drives I use the drive mftr.'s utility or SeaTools for DOS. However if you
have some sort of HP diagnostics and you got that error, I'd say you have a
bad hard drive. Get the data off *now* if its important.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ