Serious HDD problem

**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.

10-06-2007, 01:47 PM	#1
MVP Mas Vagina Porfavor Posts: 11,343	Serious HDD problem 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.