[xppc]

acer aspire 5102 wlmi
amd uron 64x2
1.6ghz 512kb l2 cache
1ti radeon xpress 1100
102gb 4200 rpm pata hdd
dvd supermulti double layer
1gb ddr2
win xp media center edition 2005

after allowing an automatic update to occur (4 weeks ago) i had problems with my web cam not working so i did s restore to a previous restore point and all worked well that night and the next morning. the webcam quit working so i went back another restore point and it still did not work. a friend put something call "xp tools" on my pc and said if anything weird happens to run all the tools and delete what ever is checked. i had run it a couple time just clearing cache and missing file links before with no problem. i think in the process of running all the xptool applications that i deleted some necessary xp boot files.

after this the pc would just boot and i could see the windows xp screen then next was the aspire screen but it froze there. i tried an xp boot disk the same friend gave me.
1) i tried to do a repair but it keep asking for a password (even when i pressed enter it said invalid password)

2) i tried to reinstall xp from the boot disk and go as far is my pc asking for a second disk (service pack 2). i did make a service pack 2 cd that i downloaded using another pc. but the only pc that will recognize this disk is the computer is was created on. the sick pc does not recognize it when it is in the cd drive.

3) using the boot disk again, i tried the repair option and this time when it asks for a password i just hit enter and it will let me access the "c:\\windows" ok

the "d" drive is the erecovery drive that acer for repair or complete factory restore

if never was asked to enter the product key
should i try making the "service pack 2" cd on another computer?
is there a way i can use that file from my usb?
it there still a chance that i can recover my data?

i can ultimately do a factory restore to get the sick pc working again but would prefer not.

any thoughts?

thanks in advance

i am borrowing a netbook from a friend currently.

i looked online and say xptools with 19 different options. the version a friend installed just had 5 or 6. from memory there was a defrag, error check, cache clearing, registry files check option. i think there may have been one or two more.

prior to partially installing xp again.. safe mode would just come to a black screen and the words safe mode would appear in the bottom corners without icons.

also last known good configuration would seem to get stuck at the screen that show "aspire"

currently this is what i can do after the partial install of xp..

it will allow me to uss F2 or F12

when it boots from the hard drive it says it is installing windows but asks for "windows xp pro sp2 cd"

if ii turn it off i have let is do a disk check and that show no errors


changing the boot option to go to cd

it shows windows setup and loads files

F2 ASR available
then the message is

setup windows xp - enter
to repair using recovery console - press "r"
to quit F3

when i start the pc F8 allows

windows advanced option menu. please select an option
safe mode
safe with networking
safe with command prompt

enable boot logging
enable vga mode
last known good configuration
directory services restore mode (windows domain controllers only)
debugging mode
disable automatic restarting on system restore failure


start windows normally
reboot
return to os choices menu


when trying to go to safe mode now

it freezes on

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partitian(2)\windows\system32\drivers\mup.sys

when using safe mode with networking.. it shuts itself off automatically

i have not tried to make another copy of the win xp sp2 cd yet

thanks again