Okay, I'm going to explain my problem to the best of my ability... I made a huge mistake. First, I opened up an email account and a subsequent email that I thought I could trust. An email account that I never give out to anyone. W/out going into my excuses - I opened up an email w/ a virus attached to it. Stupid, stupid, STUPID. I am hitting myself for doing it. It was the backdoor.breplibot.t trojan virus. I ran AVG, and the second time it couldn't get rid of it because it was in my system32 portion (not computer lingo savvy) -- so, I thought about looking for a patch of some sort... well, I was told to download this random patch from the AVG site and then open it up in safe mode. Didn't work. I think b/c the virus was in my system32 section, safe mode didn't even start. Black screen. End of story. So, I said screw it. I'll just reinstall my entire operating system. I don't care. I've done it once before. I like clean starts anyhow. Well, I tried to do it from the operating system CD -- from the "repair existing" - so that I would just have to set it up again but I would still have my files. Well, it keeps on going into safe mode, but it cannot finish the process through safe mode, so the computer restarts thinking it can get out of safe mode, but it can't, and I don't know how to access my settings now that I've done all that I have. All I get is "Windows XP Setup cannot run under Safemode. Setup will restart now." But I keep on getting safemode because that was the last setting I had, I suppose? I need help. Someone...anyone??? Does anyone know how to solve this problem. I would be eternally grateful, and I promise... no more dumb moves with emails.... Thanks so much.hah:
Okay let's forget the installation CD for the time being. Can you log on to Windows in your computer's current state? What happens when you boot the computer without the Windows CD?
Okay, I let it restart w/out the cd - and it gave me the same black screen saying "safe mode" and the same message about having to restart in a different mode.
I am assuming the first thing you see on the screen when you bootup your computer is the manufacturer's logo? You need to press F8 just as this logo fades out, and before Windows starts to load. Pressing F8 will bring up a bootloader menu. You should select 'normal' and press enter.
Hmm... I did that, and still, I'm getting the exact same screen. I have to go to class, but I'll try something else tonight. thanks for your help so far
If that doesn't work, you will need to reinstall a fresh copy of Windows XP. Boot your computer with the CD-ROM inside, and install a new copy (no repair). Have a look at my XP Security Guide for future protection: http://www.hardwareforums.com/windows-xp-security-guide-9738/
Okay, I will try that. Actually, that was the first thing I tried to do. However, when I started the first install wasn't deleted and it said something about how it's not safe to run double (makes sense). Should I go ahead and do a clean install or attempt to get the old one off? I tried to get the old one off, but again... I'm pretty much stuck w/out too many options.
Performing a clean install should remove your old installation automatically. What kind of Windows CD do you have? Is it branded with your computer manufacturer's logo, or is it an original Microsoft OEM CD?
