HELP! I am actually writing from another computer because I cannot get into the problem computer at all.

Here is the problem.

I was having problems with my internet and all .exe files when I was in Normal mode. I tried to scan for viruses and found one, but the software stopped working and I could not remove it. I thought perhaps if I could get into safe mode I could get rid of the problem. However I could not remember that the F8 key would help me boot into safe mode, so I ran msconfig and checked the /Safeboot option under the BOOT.INI tab.

When I rebooted it took me to the Safe Mode log in screen, but would not accept my username and password. I do not remember the Admin username and password as I have had this computer for many years, and never used it. The computer will not let me try to log on in Normal mode because of selecting the /Safeboot option as stated above.

Any help?

Hello Melissa P, and welcome to Geeks to Go!

My name is Olrik and I will get you on your way here at Geeks to Go. If you stick with your topics there is a big chance your PC will recover.

I will help you with removing the /Safeboot option, but after that I will have to send you to the malware forum so that they can assist you with your malware problem.

Please Boot to the XP installation cd.

At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press R to start Recovery Console. Choose the installation to be repaired by number (usually 1) and press "Enter".

When you are asked for the Administrator password, leave it blank and press "Enter".

At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list and press "Enter" to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file. At this point you may get a message telling you that the boot.ini file does not exist. The next step will correct this error.

Type bootcfg /rebuild and press "Enter" to repair it. This will scan your hard dives for installations of Windows XP, 2000 or NT and display the results. Follow the on-screen instructions to add your Windows installations to the boot.ini file. Those step will be:

1. Total Identified Windows Installs: 1
   (1) C:\Windows
   Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)...type Y and press "Enter".
2. At the "Enter Load Identifier" prompt, type the name of your operating system...Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
   or Microsoft Windows XP Professional and press "Enter".
3. At the "Enter OS Load options" prompt, type /fastdetect, and then press "Enter".

Note: The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.

Take out the cd, type exit, and press "Enter". The machine should try to boot to the Windows installation you chose.

Regards,
Olrik

I cannot find the installation CD. Is there any other way?

Yes there is, Follow the instructions below:
Download RC.iso and burn it to a cd as an ISO image. You may need a burning tool like ISO Recorder to do this...be sure to get the version for the operating system you'll be creating the disk on.

Then follow the instructions as if RC.ISO is a windows installation disk.

Regards,
Olrik