files corrupted or missing problem

I have a gateway laptop, model W322. It is running windows xp pro and
I have the automatic updates turned on.

The laptop seems to run fine, except for one pain in the *** problem.
Files disappear or become corrupted from time to time.

I am running antivirus software and a firewall.

When a file or directory gets corrupted, I get a message saying to
please run chkdsk.

I run chkdsk /f to have it run when the system reboots, and chkdsk
does
not run during reboot.

Gateway gave me a couple hoops to restore some system files.

If I go through the hoops chkdsk runs properly and I get a
zillion little errors that get fixed and then the system is stable for
a while.
(However, all the files or directories are still gone or corrupted.)

I have talked to gateway many times and their solution is always to
reformat the hard drive. That works for a while until it happens
again.

I was wondering if anybody else has seen this problem or any idea what
it is? My anti virus software is up to date. I have done recent scans.

I have also run gateways harddrive test tool to detect harddrive
errors.
There are no errors when this tool is run.

Thanks,
Mike

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