XP Machine won't reboot after installing upgrades

[Guest]

While working on my parents' HP laptop running XP I decided to check for any
security upgrades. Since they had automatic upgrades shut off, the MS website
indicated that there were 58 critical upgrades, so I initiated the
download/installation process.

That was the last time the computer worked correctly. After the upgrades
were installed, the computer was restarted; it has been continuously
rebooting since. It makes it no further than the XP splash screen before it
powers down and starts all over again.

I tried to run it in Safe Mode, same thing. I tried start it in Last Good
Configuration, same thing.

I tried to boot it from an XP setup disk, and the following message appeared
before it shut itself down: INF file txtsetup.sif is corrupted or missing,
status 32768.

I have tried to search for information regarding that line, but haven't
found anything that I can do, since the computer won't run enough to work on
it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[philo]

While working on my parents' HP laptop running XP I decided to check for any
security upgrades. Since they had automatic upgrades shut off, the MS website
indicated that there were 58 critical upgrades, so I initiated the
download/installation process.

That was the last time the computer worked correctly. After the upgrades
were installed, the computer was restarted; it has been continuously
rebooting since. It makes it no further than the XP splash screen before it
powers down and starts all over again.

I tried to run it in Safe Mode, same thing. I tried start it in Last Good
Configuration, same thing.

I tried to boot it from an XP setup disk, and the following message appeared
before it shut itself down: INF file txtsetup.sif is corrupted or missing,
status 32768.

I have tried to search for information regarding that line, but haven't
found anything that I can do, since the computer won't run enough to work on
it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Have a look at the CD it might be cracked or dirty???

 

[Guest]

Have a look at the CD it might be cracked or dirty???


Thanks, but it's in mint condition.

 

[philo]

Well the txtsetup.sif should only be needed for a customized or automated
instsall...
perhpas you have an OEM cd...

Your CD rom *might* be bad but it could also be a RAM problem...

kind of a long shot really...but running a memory test such as memtest86
would certainly not hurt anything

 

[Guest]

Well the txtsetup.sif should only be needed for a customized or automated
instsall...
perhpas you have an OEM cd...

Your CD rom *might* be bad but it could also be a RAM problem...

kind of a long shot really...but running a memory test such as memtest86
would certainly not hurt anything

The problem, however, is that I cannot get the machine to run anything! It
just gets into a boot cycle, even if I try to run it in a protected mode, it
still just continually reboots.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

While working on my parents' HP laptop running XP I decided to check for
any
security upgrades. Since they had automatic upgrades shut off, the MS
website
indicated that there were 58 critical upgrades, so I initiated the
download/installation process.

That was the last time the computer worked correctly. After the upgrades
were installed, the computer was restarted; it has been continuously
rebooting since. It makes it no further than the XP splash screen before
it
powers down and starts all over again.

I tried to run it in Safe Mode, same thing. I tried start it in Last Good
Configuration, same thing.

I tried to boot it from an XP setup disk, and the following message
appeared
before it shut itself down: INF file txtsetup.sif is corrupted or missing,
status 32768.

I have tried to search for information regarding that line, but haven't
found anything that I can do, since the computer won't run enough to work
on
it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This basically indicates a hardware problem, or a set of them. The CD
isn't being read properly (dirty or misaligned drive), or is being corrupted
(failing memory). Being a laptop, it's not so easy to just swap in another
CD drive.

I will suggest that your main task at the moment is to protect any data that
they might be wanting to keep, because this system may need some service.
To do that, you'll need to remove the drive from the laptop, and back it up
to another XP system, using a USB2 laptop drive case with the special
3-headed cable - hard drives draw too much power for a single USB port.

Once it's connected to another system, use whatever method you like to
identify and back up the data. My personal favourite is to first clean out
the largest temporary files - the one or two huge files in the root,
pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys - and the contents of the content.ie5 folders,
and then use Acronis TrueImage to make a full image of the drive. Takes
under an hour, and is complete. There's a 14-day free trial.

While you have the hard drive out, you can verify the CD drive condition by
trying to boot from the CD. (yes, you may get an error message asking you
for permission to proceed, when the system notices the drive's not plugged
in). If the hard disk isn't installed, there is *no* way the XP install
will have anything to do with how well the system can or can't boot from the
CD.

If the boot fails this way, you can be sure it's got nothing to do with the
hard disk or XP, and that either the CD drive or something on the
motherboard, including memory. And you should start considering an
estimate from a service center or replacement.

HTH
-pk

 

[philo]

The problem, however, is that I cannot get the machine to run anything! It
just gets into a boot cycle, even if I try to run it in a protected mode, it
still just continually reboots.

You can run memtest from a bootable cd ...or...
If your machine has a floppy drive you can run memtest from a floppy