Need serious Windows XP help

[James]

I am not sure and appologize if this is the wrong forum for this but i need
some serious help. I tried looking all over the internet and only found
partial solutions but i cannot do any of them, i will start from the begnning.

I have Windows XP Pro SP2, last week i got a virus (digital protection i
belive). I looked around and finally found my restore disc that came from
the company that built my computer (CyberpowerPC). Prior to going through
the whole CD process i found some solutions to remove the virus online that
involved going into safemode. When i did this i couldnt get into the files
they said to access due to the virus shutting them all down and preventing me
from opening them. At this point i decided to just go with a full blown re
boot from the CD and install windows over again. So i put the disc in ad
followed the directions. Now i am at the point where the disc needed to
restart my computer and when it restarts it says "Windows XP Setup cannot run
under Safemode. Setup will restart now." and when it restarts my computer it
continues to restart in safemode thus creating this loop. Now when i restart
i hit f8 and try to go in and do the start normal but it stil opens in
Safemode. I saw a post on the internet that i need to go into the command
prompt and remove the safeboot. http://windowsxp.mvps.org/safeboot.htm .
But i cannot get past this loop. I tried shutting down my computer,
unplugging it, removing the disc from the CD -Rom in hopes it would just load
up normal but nothing ever happens. I am stuck in this loop and have no idea
how to get out. I am just short of taking it to bestbuy and paying some
outrageous price for them to fix it. If anyone has any suggestions or any
clue please let me know. I am not a computer wiz so all the terms would be
alien to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mark Adams]

I am not sure and appologize if this is the wrong forum for this but i need
some serious help. I tried looking all over the internet and only found
partial solutions but i cannot do any of them, i will start from the begnning.

I have Windows XP Pro SP2, last week i got a virus (digital protection i
belive). I looked around and finally found my restore disc that came from
the company that built my computer (CyberpowerPC). Prior to going through
the whole CD process i found some solutions to remove the virus online that
involved going into safemode. When i did this i couldnt get into the files
they said to access due to the virus shutting them all down and preventing me
from opening them. At this point i decided to just go with a full blown re
boot from the CD and install windows over again. So i put the disc in ad
followed the directions. Now i am at the point where the disc needed to
restart my computer and when it restarts it says "Windows XP Setup cannot run
under Safemode. Setup will restart now." and when it restarts my computer it
continues to restart in safemode thus creating this loop. Now when i restart
i hit f8 and try to go in and do the start normal but it stil opens in
Safemode. I saw a post on the internet that i need to go into the command
prompt and remove the safeboot. http://windowsxp.mvps.org/safeboot.htm .
But i cannot get past this loop. I tried shutting down my computer,
unplugging it, removing the disc from the CD -Rom in hopes it would just load
up normal but nothing ever happens. I am stuck in this loop and have no idea
how to get out. I am just short of taking it to bestbuy and paying some
outrageous price for them to fix it. If anyone has any suggestions or any
clue please let me know. I am not a computer wiz so all the terms would be
alien to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You have to set the BIOS to boot from CD first. See the following:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[sgopus]

James, did you happen to notice if the install disc, is a restore or is it
just an install disc? The difference is that a restore disc formats the
partition prior to install, all issues should be resolved by this format, if
it's just an install disc then more than likely you didn't format the
partition, you may have done a repair install, which keeps the personal data.
Let us know which is which?

From what you posted it appears you just did a repair to the existing
Windows XP install.

 

[James]

Sorry for the late reply, just got back from school. The disc itself
reads:Cyberpower Inc. Recovery CD-Rom. Microsoft XP pro SP2. When it asked
if i wanted to repair or install windows i picked install.

 

[sgopus]

Since you choose install, and you understand it wipes personal data, I would
boot to the restore disc again and this time ensure the partition is
formatted, prior to install. as it appears to me it was not, and previous
settings were retained.

 

[Daave]

Unfortunately, most people here (myself included) are unfamiliar with
this brand and we couldn't tell you for sure exactly what kind of CD
this is. Generally, there are two types:

1. a genuine Windows XP installation CD (this includes branded OEM
versions like Dell)

2. a recovery CD that returns the PC to its original condition, very
often with an obnoxiously large number of "crapware" and trialware
programs

If you have the first type, then this guide will help you:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Out of curiosity, did you see a screen that looked like this:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPpro1setup.jpg

As Mark indicated, if you want to perform a Clean Install (or a Repair
Install for that matter), you need to boot off the CD. And in order to
do this, you need to alter the BIOS to make this possible:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

Unfortunately, Cyberpower is not listed there. I believe the keyboard
key you need to press is the "Delete" key.

I assume you are aware that a Clean Install will totally wipe everything
off your hard drive, so all data will need to be backed up first if this
has not already been done.

 

[Daave]

I am not sure and appologize if this is the wrong forum for this but
i need some serious help. I tried looking all over the internet and
only found partial solutions but i cannot do any of them, i will
start from the begnning.

I have Windows XP Pro SP2, last week i got a virus (digital
protection i belive).

Instead of formatting the hard drive right off the bat, give this a
shot:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-digital-protection

 

[James]

I tried following the instructions and when i hit the break/pause key it
takes me to the screen to either choose either Post or BIOS Setup. When i
hit Del for BiOS setup it just goes right back to restarting my computer and
it cycles through the same message saying it cannot finish the setup in
safemode.

 

[James]

At this point i cannot get out of this cycle. Whenever i restart/power down
or unplug my computer and turn it on i cannot do anything except: go to the
screen from hitting F8 or this new screen from hitting pause/break. Even
when i go to the pause/break screen and hit DEL to run BIOS setup it just
goes right back into the cycle. And if i go to the F8 screen and go to start
in normal it starts right in safe mode. It seems that the Windows is still
trying to finish the setup and thats throwing me into the message that forces
a restart. It does this even with the CD not in the rom.

 

[sgopus]

I suggest you contact Cyberpower Inc, supply them with your customer number
and ask them how this is supposed to go.

 

[James]

CyberpowerPC is just a company that custom makes computers.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

Yes that screenshot is exactly what i did. I did not choose the repair
option.

 

[James]

Yeah i know doing this will wipe my hard drive clean and thats what i want to
do. I dont have anything personal on my desktop, so thats not a problem to
me. I cant do anything outside of the F8 screen and the break/pause button
screen. Sorry i dont know the name of those two screens.

 

[James]

Yeah, i dont think they would help lol. I had the computer for about 3 years
now and they were very much worthless when i was buying the computer.

 

[Lem]

CyberpowerPC is just a company that custom makes computers.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

Yes that screenshot is exactly what i did. I did not choose the repair
option.

What happens if you press R? If you indeed get to the Recovery Console type
bootcfg /rebuild

Follow the directions. When you get to the prompt to "enter OS load
options" type
/fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

When you have finished, type
exit
to close the Recovery Console and reboot.

 

[Lem]

What happens if you press R? If you indeed get to the Recovery Console type
bootcfg /rebuild

Follow the directions. When you get to the prompt to "enter OS load
options" type
/fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

When you have finished, type
exit
to close the Recovery Console and reboot.

Of course, fixing boot.ini *shouldn't* be necessary if you really are
booting from the CD ... but it's worth a try.

 

[James]

At this point it wont even go back to the cd boot. With or without the CD it
goes straight to the box stating it cannot finish the setup in safemode. Is
there something i can do prior to it getting to this point to boot off the
CD?

 

[T Shadow]

When you turn on the computer start tapping the Del key. Nothing else.

 

[dadiOH]

CyberpowerPC is just a company that custom makes computers.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

Yes that screenshot is exactly what i did. I did not choose the
repair option.

As you say, you appear to be locked into a loop because of an incomplete or
faulty install (Windows install has set a marker somewhere). Easiest way to
get out is to format the drive via the Repair Console but since you are
unable to get here, boot from a floppy and format from there; then boot from
your XP CD and try installing again.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

 

[Daave]

Since you want to perform a Clean Install instead of using the method
from the Bleeping Computer page cited below, the "F8" screen is
irrelevant. You will only get that if you are booting off the hard
drive.

You do *not* want to boot off the hard drive!

The manufacturer of your PC should have given you instructions on how to
perform a Clean Install. This includes which keyboard key to press
*immediately* after you power up the PC to access the BIOS so that you
may configure it to boot off the CD rather than the hard drive. From a
Web search, it appears you need to press the Delete key (but I do not
know this from personal experience). In case you missed my other post,
here are the highlights:


If you have the first type, then this guide will help you:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

As Mark indicated, if you want to perform a Clean Install (or a Repair
Install for that matter), you need to boot off the CD. And in order to
do this, you need to alter the BIOS to make this possible:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

Unfortunately, Cyberpower is not listed there. I believe the keyboard
key you need to press is the "Delete" key.

 

[Doum]

I tried following the instructions and when i hit the break/pause key
it takes me to the screen to either choose either Post or BIOS Setup.
When i hit Del for BiOS setup it just goes right back to restarting my
computer and it cycles through the same message saying it cannot
finish the setup in safemode.

I've just visited the Cyberpower site and went to support and Drivers
downloads take you to links to other companies like Intel, Asus, Western
Digital, etc. so they seems to use well known parts for their machines
(which looks like fine machines too).

So the idea is to find out what is the brand and model of the motherboard
that was used in your system, download the manual from that board
manufacturer and find out what is the key to use to enter the BIOS.

When you hit the break/pause key, it stops the boot process at the point
where you hit the key, when you press any other key it resumes that process
from where it was stopped. So if your key to enter the BIOS is Delete and
you hit it while the boot process is paused, hitting Delete will merely
resumes the boot without entering the BIOS. IOW you cannot hit the BIOS key
while the boot process is paused.

So if you want to enter the BIOS, power on the computer and at the instant
something appears on the screen, tap the Delete key once every second until
you see a message like "Entering setup".
(or whatever key it is for the BIOS, could be an "F" key, my Acer laptop
uses F2).

F8 won't help because the F8 menu comes from Windows so the system is
already starting from the hard drive. Some Asus motherboard uses F8 to
choose the drive to boot from if you press it early enough in the process.

And if you use an USB keyboard, the key will be recognize only after the
BIOS has initialized the USB ports, that's why you should tap the key
(Delete?) a few times.

HTH