Look in bios for "OS install mode" and try to disable it.
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Reinstall Windows XP Pro on Dell Computer
Hello,
A friend of mine must have got a virus and/or trojan on her computer. She tried to get rid of all of the messages that popped up and we also tried to add Malware, run her AVG virus scan, numerous clean up programs but to no avail.
I have taken her computer home now and thought I would try to work with it here in my free time but have had numerous problems.
When I turned it on here, I do get the Windows XP screen but each time it comes up it wants me to open it in any of the Safe Mode options but no matter what I hit it always comes back to the same screen.
She did give me permission to reformat the computer and gave me her original Windows Pro CD but I'm not having any luck with that in the drive.
I first went into setup and changed it to boot from the CD. It came up with this error message:
INF file txtset.sif is corrupt or missing. status 256. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.
Does anyone have or know where I can get some good information on this problem and how to reformat this computer?
It is an old Dell Optiplex GX110. Do you think it is worth it? She is a senior citizen and only used this computer for games, internet and email.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
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Answers
I agree with alanhardisty above.... also.... test the hardware. When you boot, at the Dell logo screen, press F11 to access the Dell Diagnostics... run all of them.
If it were me... I would re-install from scratch after verifying that the hardware is good. It might take several hours as noted above but it will only take a couple of "real hours" from your time.... you just need to walk by it to press enter every once it a while to allow the updates..
read
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/
and try to switch the ram memory
if that does not work, try with another drive to see if it enters the setup eventually
As already other commented I do agree with them - mostly.
Dell Optiplex GX110 is a Pentium III based computer and is far older than 4 years.
Performance of the PC is good enough of her, because she is a really light user. (With games you mean playing cards), but people are throwing away far better PCs and you could get one of them for free - in working conditions.
Is it worth to repare it? - NO, but I think that the person is also emotionaly connected to it.
You do not need to do HW tests. If you get that type of error you have 3 options. First one is as I already said. The other two are bad CD ROM unit or bad installation CD.
Wow, thank you all for your help. I cleaned up the CD and put it back into the machine and it worked. I am now updating the Windows program and hopefuly all will go well with the reformat.
I was shocked that it worked so well, I was expecting to just dump the computer because it is old but so is the owner and will be happy to have her old standby back again.
Thank you for all the excellent help.
Jeanne
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by: alanhardistyPosted on 2009-11-05 at 10:26:24ID: 25752341
Visit http://support.dell.com and check the date it was shipped. If the machine is years old (over 4), then you need to question the speed / performance.
As the user is only using it for light work and probably doesn't need a turbo-charged PC, it should probably be okay, but a rebuild of a new PC will take about an hour to install and then several hours to download / update depending on the speed of the PC and the speed of your internet.
I would personally work out if the time spent (about 4 hours+) is worthwhile, and also the cost of a new PC vs the affordability of a senior citizen's purse!
Re the problems with the CD - is the CD scratched?