MVP
10-06-2007, 01:47 PM
Dell Inspiron 6000
OS: Windows XP Professional
1.25 GB RAM
1.3 GHz Intel Celeron Processor
I received a stop error on Thursday, so I rebotted my PC. Then Windows could not boot because there was a system32 file that was corrupt or missing. I was at work at the time, so my boss and I took a look at it. We couldn't boot into safe mode. I had to go to class, so I left my PC with my boss who was trying to boot from an XP CD. When I got back I had another stop error and she told me that my hard drive was probably dead.
Now when I turn it on it automatically goes to an XP Installation page. I put the Windows XP Reinstallation CD I got from Dell, and during the setup process a window pops up saying:
An error has been encountered that prevents Setup from continuing.
Setup failed to install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log files should contain more information.
I told to do this in the command screen:
C:\WINDOWS\system32>rename CATROOT2 catold
But all I got was an access denied message.
I ran a Pre-Boot System Assessment Diagostic which tested the hardware and it looked like everything passed until the assessment stopped and all I could see was a blank blue screen.
I also tried to boot up from an Automatic System Recovery file I burned to a CD, but I was just brought to the XP Installation screen. It seems the computer is stuck automatically trying to install Windows.
It seems like I've done everything short of reformatting I need to know if any of this sounds familair to anyone and if there's anything I can do about it, or if my hard drive is totally dead and I need to replace it.
OS: Windows XP Professional
1.25 GB RAM
1.3 GHz Intel Celeron Processor
I received a stop error on Thursday, so I rebotted my PC. Then Windows could not boot because there was a system32 file that was corrupt or missing. I was at work at the time, so my boss and I took a look at it. We couldn't boot into safe mode. I had to go to class, so I left my PC with my boss who was trying to boot from an XP CD. When I got back I had another stop error and she told me that my hard drive was probably dead.
Now when I turn it on it automatically goes to an XP Installation page. I put the Windows XP Reinstallation CD I got from Dell, and during the setup process a window pops up saying:
An error has been encountered that prevents Setup from continuing.
Setup failed to install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log files should contain more information.
I told to do this in the command screen:
C:\WINDOWS\system32>rename CATROOT2 catold
But all I got was an access denied message.
I ran a Pre-Boot System Assessment Diagostic which tested the hardware and it looked like everything passed until the assessment stopped and all I could see was a blank blue screen.
I also tried to boot up from an Automatic System Recovery file I burned to a CD, but I was just brought to the XP Installation screen. It seems the computer is stuck automatically trying to install Windows.
It seems like I've done everything short of reformatting I need to know if any of this sounds familair to anyone and if there's anything I can do about it, or if my hard drive is totally dead and I need to replace it.