Re-loading Win XP SP3: Cannot find files that are there.

[Michael Jennings]

When I try to re-load Windows XP after booting from a Windows XP SP3 OEM CD,
it says it cannot find files that are there. There are maybe 100 files it
says it can't find. There is no problem reading the files with the same
hardware and the same CD when booted from XP and accessing the files directly.

I've had no problems re-loading Windows XP on other computers, so possibly
this particular computer is infected with malware.

The computer on which I have been having problems re-loading works well.
However, I am worried that it is infected.

Could this be a problem with file permissions or ownership? Registry entry
permissions?

 

[Mark Adams]

When I try to re-load Windows XP after booting from a Windows XP SP3 OEM CD,
it says it cannot find files that are there. There are maybe 100 files it
says it can't find. There is no problem reading the files with the same
hardware and the same CD when booted from XP and accessing the files directly.

I've had no problems re-loading Windows XP on other computers, so possibly
this particular computer is infected with malware.

The computer on which I have been having problems re-loading works well.
However, I am worried that it is infected.

Could this be a problem with file permissions or ownership? Registry entry
permissions?

Did you use the disk to delete the existing partitions, then create a new
one, then format to NTFS the partition you just created? Sounds like you are
trying to reinstall on top of an existing install without formatting the
drive. Make sure that all your data is copied somewhere. If you haven't done
that, you've probably already lost it.