[IAIN -Y-]

i recently reformatted my computer and everything went fine

i then starting installing updates (automatically) then it said my windows xp was out of date so therefore i started updating it with windows service pack 2. (i downloaded it automatically off their website)

once installed it said that i had to restart my pc and this error came up.

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32\drivers\pci.sys

you can attempt to repair thjis file by starting windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM

select 'r' at the first screen to start repair"

i then tryed this and i dont know my administratory code which i do not know so i just reformatted my computer but have not yet installed SP2.

this is because i dont know how to get my administrator code so i do not want to install SP2 and then have to reformat my computer again.

Can anyone help?

Thanks Iain

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If you didn't set an administrator password when you installed, you leave the password box empty and press enter

The administrator account usually appears when you are using safe mode

[Retired Tech]

If you didn't set an administrator password when you installed, you leave the password box empty and press enter

The administrator account usually appears when you are using safe mode

[IAIN -Y-]

i did not type any administrator in what i can remember.

is there anywhere i can install SP2 which will not have corrupt files? i was supprised at this as it was off the microsoft website

[Retired Tech]

Did you use the default NTFS format, not quick

Have you installed other programmes yet?

[IAIN -Y-]

i reformatted it the slow way.

yes i have installed other programs before as i need to get my computer up and running as soon as posible as its essential for my work.

i havent yet installed SP2 yet as i dont want to have to reformat my computer again.

[Retired Tech]

You would be unlucky to get a corrupt install twice, though, if you format in the future, loading XP, Office if you use it, the firewall, the anti virus, the network connection, updating the firewall and anti virus, running a scan then going to Microsoft Update is probably a good way of ensuring other software does not get in the way

[IAIN -Y-]

when i installed SP2 i only had anti-virus (AVG) ad-aware SE and Microsoft Office

[Retired Tech]

You could install Microsoft Updates, decline SP2, install the others including applicable optionals then look at SP2

[IAIN -Y-]

i installed other microsoft updates before SP2 and that didnt work

[Retired Tech]

There should be updates either side of SP2

[tschrock]

I think it would be pretty safe to say that you are not getting a corrupt download of SP2 multiple times from Microsoft. It would be more likely that there is a problem with your hard drive or your hard drive controller card.

Boot from your original Windows CD and press r to enter the recovery console. Once there, type "chkdsk /p" (note the space and do not include the quotes). This will run a quick scan of your hard drive and tell you if there are any problems. It does not fix them, just scans.

If it comes back with "One or more errors on volume" then you need to type in this command "chkdsk /r" (again, note the space and drop the quotes). This will scan and fix, but it takes a LONG time.

When that one is done, I always like to rune another chkdsk /p to make certain that all of the problems have been corrected. If they have not, then your hard drive is most likely bad and will need to be replaced.

[IAIN -Y-]

this after the administrator password part?