Windows XP Home Edition wont run

[Dave]

My grandson has recently encountered some sort of malware that has stopped
our windows XP home edition from starting. I have tried running it in safe
mode and it wont even run that. Ive tried restoring a last know good set up
and it wont run. When I try to boot windows in debugging mode it runs 1 .exe
file ntos something.exe and 3 .dll files then tries to do something with page
file sys but then just hangs.
Unfortunately the PC came with windows already installed so I cant do a
re-install.... can anyone give me any advice on how to fix this.... by the
way mygrandson will now be banned from using the PC, if and when I get it
fixed.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

My grandson has recently encountered some sort of malware that has stopped
our windows XP home edition from starting. I have tried running it in safe
mode and it wont even run that. Ive tried restoring a last know good set
up
and it wont run. When I try to boot windows in debugging mode it runs 1
.exe
file ntos something.exe and 3 .dll files then tries to do something with
page
file sys but then just hangs.
Unfortunately the PC came with windows already installed so I cant do a
re-install.... can anyone give me any advice on how to fix this.... by the
way mygrandson will now be banned from using the PC, if and when I get it
fixed.

Companies selling PCs with Windows are required to do one of
three things:
- They must supply a Windows installation CD.
- They must supply a "recovery CD" that lets the buyer restore
Windows to factory condition.
- They must include a recovery partition on the hard disk that lets
the buyer restore Windows.

You should now read the documentation that came with your
PC to see which of the above applies.

 

[Dave]

Ok thanks. I don't remember getting a CD with windows on or a recovery CD.
Therefore it must be on a partition. How do I get to it without windows
running?

 

[mcp6453]

Many recovery partitions are accessed by pressing F11 as soon as the
computer attempts to boot. Keep in mind that most recovery partitions
will cause you to lose ALL of the data on the drive. (That statement is
not universally true; it depends on the brand of the computer.)

If you need to recover data before doing a reinstall, remove the hard
drive from your computer, install it as a slave drive in another
computer (substituting it for the CD/DVD drive is the easiest way since
you should not have to set any jumpers), and copy the data to another drive.

If you really want to see what's on the drive, download a utility such
as BootIt Next Generation from http://www.terabyteunlimited.com. (Run
MakeDisk.exe to create a bootable floppy. Boot to the floppy. As soon as
the program starts, hit Cancel to go into the Maintenance mode. Click on
Partition Work. Look at the available partitions. Do NOT do anything
else with the program unless you are experienced in partitions.)

 

[Bob I]

Pegasus' last sentence was

"You should now read the documentation that came with your PC to see
which of the above applies."

 

[Ray Shafranski]

My grandson has recently encountered some sort of malware that has stopped
our windows XP home edition from starting. I have tried running it in safe
mode and it wont even run that. Ive tried restoring a last know good set
up
and it wont run. When I try to boot windows in debugging mode it runs 1
.exe
file ntos something.exe and 3 .dll files then tries to do something with
page
file sys but then just hangs.
Unfortunately the PC came with windows already installed so I cant do a
re-install.... can anyone give me any advice on how to fix this.... by the
way mygrandson will now be banned from using the PC, if and when I get it
fixed.

Re-install from the recovery partition on the hard drive.