Win XP SYSTEM ERRORS

[scj6771]

I am working on a fellow employee's desktop, it's a Dell 4600 running Win XP, first let me start by saying that this machine seems to load up fine, but once your in the madness starts, if you enter the control panel about half of the icons are missing and anything you click on will take some time to open up, the Ctrl + Alt + Del does nothing and if I try to run ANY application I get the following error "The application has failed to start reinstalling this application may fix the problem" if I try to start in safe mode I get the following error "Stop: c0000135 unable to locate component this application has failed to start because WINSRV was not found. Reinstalling this application may fix the problem”, I was planning on running some spyware programs but I can't even get those installed. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[bailey]

sounds like you have a real problem, try booting into safe mode and run the spybot and addaware and avg softwhare.
other wise you may be forced to do a complete reinstall,

[glc]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885523

Google it, don't wing it, bailey.

[scj6771]

Ok I have learned more about the recovery option in Windows XP than I care to, but I still have one major roadblock, when it prompts me for an administrator password I have no idea and neither does the owner of the machine, I have tried to just hit enter and still nothing, I have tried changing the password by getting into the system using a great program called ERD Boot Disk Commander, this program has always worked for me in the past when I needed to change the local admin password, yet when I change it and reboot to the XP cd-rom and go into the recovery option still I get the "invalid password" thrown back at me, I have read the followin articles http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885523 and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308402/EN-US/ and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654 and http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;305478 which no doubt have helped me but still I need to figure out this password issue or find another option, as it stands now the machine comes up with the blue screen of death telling me that "winsrv" could not be found. HELP!!!!!. Thanks.

[Panama Red]

Resetting the cmos either with the jumper or by removing the battery for approximately 15 minutes, should remove the Admin password. Or try this link.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290109

[scj6771]

Here is an update, I somehow got the desktop to load but not without taking around 10 minutes to get to the desktop, and then still everything is real slow, I ran Adware and CWShredder along with Spybot, removed some junk but still this is getting real painfull to actually try and get anything done, I removed Service Pack 2. Any suggestions on what is taking this thing so long to load and what might be causing it to lag severely??????

[glc]

Have you tried running the Dell diagnostics to make sure you don't have a hardware issue? I've seen it where a failing hard drive can bring a machine to a crawl.

[scj6771]

Ok I told him that his machine was all jacked up and I needed to formt and re-install XP, I would have gone that route to begin with but I am always a bit cautious when it comes to a "customers" machine, you know how these "store bought" machines come loaded down with everything under the sun and not one bit of it will ever get used, seems like I spend more time trying to explain why I need to format and re-install than doing the actuall work. Anyway, thanks for all your responses. Any good XP install tips or tricks? Thanks again.