I found this for you, Ancient Dragon.

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips/WindowsXP/RegistryTips/Miscellaneous/WhenWindowsWontShutDown.html

I'm not sure it will help...but it's...

Well...when I ran your error through the search engines, I came across these...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;821690

http://www.kuhnline.com/index.php?id=92

The...

is the software virusbuster or virusburst?

Did you recently install any new hardware or software, install a new Windows update, or attach an old HP printer?

Stein has posted a tutorial for this here...

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread55459.html

true

EDIT:

I'm thinking, however, that if his friend's version of XP is not the same as the version installed on his computer...he might run into problems.

If you have your friend's disk...you can wipe and reformat your hard drive.

You need to back up your important data first, or you will lose all of it.

You will also have to reinstall all of...

A fresh install?

(i.e. did you reformat the drive first)

Is it telling you that new updates are downloaded and ready to be installed?

Can you boot into safe mode?

Have you tried just unplugging the router and plugging it back in?

Works for me every time.

Just a quick note for those who do not have XP SP2 installed...

Microsoft support for XP SP1 ends in October.

They are offering an SP2 update CD for free (I paid #3 something for shipping). You...

Unfortunately...your best bet at this point is to buy a copy of Windows XP.

Heck...I don't even have that folder on my computer...mine is called systemprofile

Well...if you get random reboots in safe mode...chances are it is a hardware issue.

You might try replacing the RAM...just in case...but beyond that...you're most likely looking at a motherboard...

does it still reboot in safe mode?

I have also noted in the past that a bad RAM chip can cause all kinds of wierd errors from random reboots to erroneous video driver errors.

I once had a problem with my XP machine either crashing...

If you install the wrong codecs...some funky things can happen.

I would try uninstalling the codecs and seeing if I could play a video I know to be safe...if that doesn't work, and you have your...

There are many programs that can convert video formats...

Canopus Pro Coder
TMPGEnc
Dr DIVX
VCD Easy
Windows Media Encoder
RM Converter

just to name a few

That's beyond my expertise...perhaps someone else will have the answer you seek.

definitely.

laptops are funny creatures.

I've had this problem before, but for the life of me, I can remember how I resolved it.

You can try reinstalling your sound card driver.

With a baseball bat?

It sounds like a memory error...either RAM or the video card.

I hope your Dell isn't rivited shut like the one my boss just bought.

Here are a couple of sites to try.

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/dhcp.htm

http://www.michna.com/kb/wxnet.htm

Does the computer recognize teh cd-rom drive?

Will it read any cd at all?

I'd like to know what the activex warning was. Also, even though Limewire didn't take, the P2P networking might have been installed. If so, try uninstalling that.

Are you wiping the drive (or partition) and doing a fresh install or are you trying to write over the old Windows installation?

On the back of the drive, there are some pins with one or more jumpers that go over the pins. Somewhere on the drive it should tell you where these jumpers need to be for the drive to be set as the...

This is a little out of my area, but have you checked the jumper settings on the drive? Are they set for the drive to be read as the Master drive? Is your cable plugged into the primary slot on the...

Check your Power Supply. A new one should run about $35.00.

Occasionally the Registry entry for File Folders (Directories) gets corrupted. One effect of this can be that Search or a Command Prompt opens when you double click on a folder in Explorer, rather...

I didn't even look at the original post date...my bad.

You need to get into the bios settings and change the order of the boot drives.

Usually, the initial startup screen says something like "Press DEL to set up computer" or something similar.
...

What operating system were you using on the old drive and what one are you using on the new one?

Theoretically, you should be able to access the old drive through Windows Explorer if you are...

Your best bet is to contact Compaq and ask them about a replacement CD.

reformat the drive and reinstall windows

This type of file opens with C:\WINDOWS\regedit.exe