Can memory leaks in .NET lead to a corrupted disk? (Error creating window handle)

Question

Related to this question (I too have had this error in an application). "Error creating window handle" due to too many non disposed controls.

Can this lead to Windows crashing and refusing to start, even refusing to be reinstalled, even when reformatting the drive (only quick reformat)? Because that seems to have happened to me.

Edit after answers and comments: I should have mentioned, this has happened to two identical machines (make and age) and another younger of different make. So with the first machines, hard disk failure is not unlikely but with the third, newer, getting the exact same problem has me wondering.

Answer 1

No, disk corruption occurs when a disk is either physically altered or raw disk writes have been performed and did not properly write where they were intended to.

Most modern filesystems have the ability to spot trouble sections and (most of the time repair them).

Additionally, with the .NET vm all your code is sandbox, so that your affect on the computer is limited. Memory leaks (which are a lot less likely on C#) can [by a VERY small chance) overwrite into areas where another program doing raw disk writting is using. Hoewver, the chance that it would be able to corrupt the disk is quite small.

The likelist reason: You have a bad hard drive.

Answer 2

No. It's a temporary memory issue.

Unless the error was caused by your hard disk failing, or some other hardware issue.

But purely from a software level, no, it wont.