[globaljoe]

Hello, my neighbor has brought to me his Dell Precision 390 desktop which is failing to boot properly.

For a start, non of the usb ports are working (front or rear), so no mouse,  I connected a PS2 keyboard which is not moving the cursor either!.

The desktop has loaded with a pop-up massage titled, avgui.exe- unable to locate component `This application has failed to start because mfc110u.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.

 

I have checked up on this and found a reply from AVG support in response to someone in the same situation, the advice given was: completely remove your AVG products using AVG removal tool and re-install it, and a link to re-install.

 

In my case that is going to be pretty awkward with no working mouse or keyboard!.

 

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank You. 

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Hello globaljoe,

 

The computer has four diagnostic lights on the front 1-2-3-4 can you tell us how they light up when the power is turned on.

 

BTW, is this the same Dell Precision 390 as in your thread from way back here

[phillpower2]

Hello globaljoe,

 

The computer has four diagnostic lights on the front 1-2-3-4 can you tell us how they light up when the power is turned on.

 

BTW, is this the same Dell Precision 390 as in your thread from way back here

[globaljoe]

Hi phillpower2, and thank you for your response, the computer is not the same one as in that previous post, and as for the light sequence, they change pretty quickly but the sequence goes something like this: 1-4, 3-4, 1-2-3, 3-4, 1-4, 2-3-4, 1-4, 1-2-3, also, the situation has changed somewhat, the desktop is no longer loading, just this message:   "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \Windows\system32\config\system

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD-ROM. (I do have a Windows XP disc, but it is not the original!).

[phillpower2]

Hello globaljoe,

 

Do the LEDS at any time stay permanently lit, example. 1 and 4 blank - 2 and 3 green or 1 blank and 2, 3 and 4 green, changing LED patterns are of no help Im afraid 

 

Is it a proper XP disk or a burned copy.

 

Are you able to access the BIOS or Dell Set Up using the wired keyboard.

 

NB: be sure to remove any USB keyboard or mouse when trying a wired keyboard.

 

the computer is not the same one as in that previous post,

 

 

Was just curious btw.

[globaljoe]

Hi Phillpower2,

 

To answer your questions: the LEDs have settled down and 1  2 and 3 are permanently lit. The XP disc is one I bought off the net some time ago, it's a Windows XP Professional disc labeled: (for refurbished PCs only) and not a proper Dell disc. I can access the Dell setup screen by pressing the F2 key on startup!.

[phillpower2]

Hello globaljoe,

 

Dell explanation for that code is Another failure has occurred and their suggestion is Ensure that the cables are properly connected to the system board from the hard drive,

CD drive, and DVD drive.

 

Please put the above suggestion on hold for now though.

 

As long as the XP disk is a legitimate MS product you can use it to repair the present OS, if that is what is required here.

 

Good that you can access the BIOS using the wired keyboard 

 

Have you tried booting into Safe Mode by continually tapping the F8 key after powering up the computer and right up to the point that you get the  "Windows could not start" message, if yes but with no success, see below;

 

Two things for you to do to begin with;

 

Power up the computer and access the BIOS set-up by pressing F2 when you see the Dell logo.

Scroll down to Maintenance

Choose Load Defaults

Press Escape, save the changes, exit and test.

 

If no joy with the above;

 

Restart the computer and access the BIOS set-up by pressing F2 when you see the Dell logo.

Check and change if necessary the boot order to CD/DVD drive first and the HDD second.

Press Escape, save the changes and exit.

Place the XP disk in the drive tray and restart the computer to see if the optical drive reads the disk, if it does, follow the steps below that I have copy/paste courtesy of Microsoft;

 

To perform a repair installation of Windows XP

 

Insert your Windows XP CD into your computer.

 

Restart your computer. If prompted, press a key to start from the CD-ROM.

 

When the Welcome to Setup page appears, press Enter on your keyboard.

 

On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement page, read the licensing agreement. Press the Page Down key to scroll to the bottom of the agreement. Then, press F8.

 

When prompted, press R to have Windows XP attempt to repair Windows by reinstalling important Windows components.

 

The repair and reinstallation process might take more than an hour. Eventually, Setup prompts you to answer questions just as if you were installing Windows XP for the first time.

 

 

Performing a repair installation of Windows XP can fix many serious startup problems. While you should not lose any of your important documents, you might lose settings, and you will need to reinstall many updates.

 

Before performing a repair installation of Windows XP, you should have both your Windows XP CD and your product key available.

 

 

[globaljoe]

Hi again phillpower2, I have just done a  quick check on the internal cabling: everything seems to be connected correctly and securely, although there is an awful lot of dust in there.

I then tapped F8 continually to get into safe mode and now get the "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" choice, but as before I get the "Windows could not start" message.

I then powered up and accessed the BIOS by pressing F2 after the Dell Logo, I scrolled down to maintenance then chose "Load Defaults", I pressed the right arrow to highlight "Continue", to restore factory defaults, now get the message "Factory default acknowledgement OK, then pressed "escape to save changes" exit, and then get the same message "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt": \Windows\system32\config\system. "So no change there"!.

 

Now I restarted the computer and accessed the BIOS set-up by pressing F2 and tried to change the boot order. I pressed enter on boot sequence, the choices were 

1. Onboard or USB floppy drive

2.Onboard Sata hard drive

3. Onboard Pata hard drive   (not present)

4.Onboard or USB CD-Rom drive

 

Actually for all the system says onboard Pata hard drive (not present) there is a conventional parallel hard drive on the system as well as the 160Gb Seagate Baraccuda sata drive.

 

Anyway; I tried booting into safe mode by tapping the F8 key after powering up and to the point where you get the "Windows could not start" message, no success with that, and I'm afraid no success with anything else, I've exhausted my patience, so I'm going to give up the ghost with this one, I've spent too much time on it already, however thank you for your time and effort phillpower2. 

[phillpower2]

Not a problem but can I ask why you did not try the following that I also suggested;

 

Restart the computer and access the BIOS set-up by pressing F2 when you see the Dell logo.

Check and change if necessary the boot order to CD/DVD drive first and the HDD second.

Press Escape, save the changes and exit.

Place the XP disk in the drive tray and restart the computer to see if the optical drive reads the disk