Help!! Computer Failure (linked to geist geld??)

Ok, so I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but I downloaded geist geld (the new cryptocurrency) and my computer failed that very night (2 nights ago). Now, I can't even boot to windows.

Here's what happens. Let's say I start my computer normally. The computer gets to "starting windows" (before prompting me for my user password) and then automatically shuts down and/or resets depending upon what it feels like doing. If I insert the Windows 7 CD, it won't even boot from the disc. It does the same thing...shuts down when trying to start windows (this occurs whether or not I boot from the hard drive or the optical drive).

Now, let's say I unplug the SATA cable from my hard drive. Then, it boots from the optical drive! It then asks me if I want to install windows or repair my computer. At this point, I have to re-plug in my SATA to the harddrive so that I can select where to install it. It however won't let me install it. It says "make sure your disk controller is enabled in BIOS" or something, but I can't find anything about this in BIOS.

I used a SATA/USB cable to transfer essential data (wallet.dat, etc.) to a laptop. I then reformatted the hard drive in an attempt to start fresh. But this doesn't work either. It still tells me I can't write to that disk because I need to "make sure my disk controller is enabled in BIOS." Now that the hard drive is formatted, I tried restarting the computer normally with both SATAs plugged in (to hard drive and optical drive). The computer still decides to shut down while trying to boot windows from the CD. It only boots from the CD when the SATA to the hard drive is unplugged. Also, I should mention that I received a message at some point telling me that there was some kind of error while trying to boot windows (prior to formatting the drive).

Does anyone know what the hell is up with this? Is my hard drive done for? Can hard drives spontaneously just crash out and cause some kind of interference from other processes starting up (e.g. prohibiting windows from booting from the optical drive even though there's no longer any data on the hard drive)? Can viruses do something like this? I ask this last question due to the fact that I downloaded geistgeld the same night that this happened.

Any help would be immensely appreciated!

Edit: Keep in mind, I was able to transfer data from my hard drive to my laptop successfully.