[rshaffer61]

OK there is a problem with the windows installation. Time to go to a Repair Installation
This will keep your data safe and hopefully replace or repair any corrupt system files so that your system will boot correctly.

Repair Installation Instructions

· Insert your Windows XP CD in your CD-ROM and then Restart your computer.
· At the first post screen start tapping the Del key to enter System Bios
· Find the Advance Options or Boot Sequence screen.
· You will need to change the boot sequence so that the CDrom is first and the HD is second.
· Press F10 to Save and Exit and then press Enter to accept.
· The system will now reboot
· When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
· When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER
· To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
· At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is displayed. DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION.

· On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
· Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected and highlighted in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP.
· Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

You can also go HERE
to read a step by step tutorial with screenshots.

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Hey thank you for your reply.
I changed it to CD-ROM/DVD.
I've done this before but the problem is it searches for the boot record, doesnt find it then goes to the IDE device © and just starts windows regularly. Should i disable it to boot from the ide making it so it can only boot from the disc drive and try that or what?

[jnrz2]

Hey thank you for your reply.
I changed it to CD-ROM/DVD.
I've done this before but the problem is it searches for the boot record, doesnt find it then goes to the IDE device © and just starts windows regularly. Should i disable it to boot from the ide making it so it can only boot from the disc drive and try that or what?

[rshaffer61]

If the disk is bootable then when it gets to the bootup it should popup a message saying
push any key to boot to cdrom
If this doesn't happen then I need to find out.
Is this a full XP
Upgrade
OEM or Retail
Burned copy

[jnrz2]

its a full xp burned copy.
its a legit key but on a burt disc

[rshaffer61]

Burned copies seldom work correctly.
Is there anyway to borrow a Genuine XP of the same type?
You can use your legit key but I would strongly suggest a genuine XP cd.

[jnrz2]

hmm, that would kind of be hard. I have done an install on my moms laptop and booted from the CD with the CD i currently am using. So it seems really odd to me it is not working besides the fact that my CD drive cannot read anything windows. DVD's fine but other than that. I also had another question. I have the backup registry files from the original ComboFix.. I can run them with regedit but i'm not sure it would be wise to add them.
So is it possible I could do that? and revert almost? or is that a total miss?

[rshaffer61]

Registry files backup from what Erunt?
Have you tried a system restore?

[123Runner]

Your XP cd can be dirty or scratched.
Your CD drive can be dirty or acting funky with certain cd/dvd brands. I have that problem with older computers and older drives. It will read some brands of cd's but not others.

[jnrz2]

yes i've restored it to the earliest point i can, still the same problem. And the CD is very clean. It might be the dvd drive. i will take it apart and do a thorough clean. But I think its more of a windows problem because it says "D:/SETUP.EXE is not a valid win32 process" but it still reads the CD..

and also not erunt, combofix has the old registry backups.

thanks for the replies

Edited by jnrz2, 17 October 2009 - 06:02 PM.

[rshaffer61]

I only hope there was no type of infection when the registry backup was done as this could reinfect the system.

[123Runner]

I would bet you are having a problem with the CD/DVD drive itself. My company laptop that is about 4 years old has become very finicky as to which CD's it will even read. I have tried about 4 CD/CDRW so I can clone it and none work.

If this is a desktop (can't recall if you told us), I would throw another drive at it.

[jnrz2]

I only hope there was no type of infection when the registry backup was done as this could reinfect the system.

I personally do not think it was infected because it was such a clean install. I think the back up registries could fix this problem if they could work. And if my system would be infected at least i could fix that.. this you cant, lol. Is there a way I could apply those registry settings without immobilizing my system?


and to 123runner I cleaned both the DVD and CD drives, still have the same problem. I would use my plug n play drive but the drivers cant install because of my problem.

[123Runner]

Is there a way I could apply those registry settings without immobilizing my system?

Anytime you muck with the registry you take the chance of immobilizing the system.
The only thing I can think of would be to install ERUNT from a flash drive that you downloaded from another computer. Erunt will make a backup of the registry every time you boot up.
It places a copy in C:\WINDOWS\ERDNT\ with a date. If the unit is somewhat operational, then this might get you back to where you are. It includes a small executable within the backup.

[jnrz2]

i tried to apply the old registry files but they would not apply. I'm not sure what to do I cant get my computer to restore to the beginning. I got a genuine windows cd and it still did not work. My system itself is having the problem, I can watch DVDs and stuff but when i try to do windows executions such as windows genuine check, windows update, any drivers installing or anything like that it gets errors like my system folder is corrupt or something. I dont get it.

[rshaffer61]

What data is on the system that needs to be saved?
At this point the system seems to be corrupted.
I would suggest backing up data files only.
The We need to start completely fresh.
This would meanTaking out the partition
Repartition
Format
Fresh Install.

Then before adding any programs back on do the updates. Make sure all critical updates are done first.
Then we can work on everything else.