Need Help! - explorer.exe error

[Unregistered]

A couple of days ago I started having a problem with my PC. The first sign of trouble was that the login screen (windows XP) changed. Initially the login screen would go to the select user screen where I had two accounts set up for my wife and I. Now it is a popup login screen that comes up when windows loads.

When I log into any of the accounts (mine, administrator or my wife's) I get an error pop up saying explorer.exe - application failed to initialize properly (0x0150002). Clicking ok, the desktop background will load but nothing else. The system won't respond to anything and I cannot access the task manager to manually load any applications.

Logging into Safe Mode as Administrator has the same results and still no access to the task manager. I attempted to log into Safe Mode - Command Prompt Only and can get to there but trying to run the system restore fails. System Restore dialog box will open but it is completely blank.

At this point I am unsure what to try next and I have an additional dillema...

I can no longer find my XP cd's. I already ordered a new copy of XP but this was going to go into a new system I am building. I would hate to use the copy of XP to do a system restore here if it would lock the registration code and I wouldn't be able to use it on the new PC.

I tried loading Windows 2000 (found those cds) onto the second harddrive and other than having lots of driver issues the hardware seems to be ok which means this is most likely a software/malware issue.

If at all possible I would like to get this PC back up and running again but if all else fails I could always buy a hard drive enclosure to get the data I need off the two harddrives in this box.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

System specs as best I can remember:

AMD, Athlon XP 2500+, 333MHZ, 'Barton'
ECS, L7S7A2 Mobo
1 GB DDR-400 (2x512)
PowerColor Radeon 9600 Pro
Thermaltake 420W powersupply
Generic Mid Tower ATX case
80 GB main drive (Maxtor or Seagate can't rememer)
60 GB second drive
Windows XP Pro



Edit: I also already tried the "last known good config" option from the boot menu.

[glc]

If the version of XP you ordered is IDENTICAL (i.e. OEM, retail, or retail upgrade - Pro or Home) to the one you have on there and you can find your CD key, you can use the new one to do a repair using the old CD key. If there's ANY way to get it into Windows you can use Magical Jellybean to read out the key.

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.html

[Unregistered]

Do you know if that key finder would work from the safe mode command prompt? I could always try running it from a floppy.

[glc]

I believe it requires a GUI.