all very well, but my it's sister's computer and she doesn't have a virus scanner installed. to make it worse, windows installer wont run so can't install a scanner, and she wont have internet...

When trying to load Word, a command prompt dialog box pops up for a few seconds before disappearing. Nothing else happens. The same problem occurs with most other utilities - it won't even run...

the post boot admin pw is (I think) different to the recovery console admin pw. he should try it. also, microsoft have a knowledge base article for people who can't boot beyond agp440.sys. I'll try...

Microsoft published a knowledgebase article on fixing this problem without doing a reinstall. I'll try and find the number if you check back in a few days time.

You can't restore it properly...

is it a case of it not being able to connect to the internet, or can it not load web pages?

there's already a thread going talking about this problem. try some of the ideas in there, see if it fixes the problem.

<a href="showthread.php?p=2045#post2045" target="_blank">svchost takes up to...

what file system are you using - NTFS or FAT 32? If you're using FAT 32, plug the HD into a Win 98 system - you'll be able to access the secure info.
The other option is to use a Linnux system to...

common problem with xp - applications not starting correctly, then taking up 99% cpu usage. my experiences show it happens with iexplore.exe, help centre, some virus scanners, etc.. it's quite...