I saw similar thread but none were identical to my problem. here goes
my stats:
IBM thinkpad a20m (older model)
MS Windows XP SP2
192 MB
6 GB Hard drive

I recently installed panda anti-virus and noticed hard drive space was low (around 1 gig free before installation) heres what happened..

1. system began to run slowly after installation
2. upon restart recieve error 0x0000007E after logo screen appears
3. all alternative boot modes fail (safe, boot log.....)
4. I do see in debog mode a driver file that may be the problem (from a removable cd burner not hooked up b ut still installed....i don't mind deleting it.)
5. startup ALWAYS reverts to BSOD after this file loads...or attempt to load.

How can i get to dos to delete this file that may be causing the problem.

The file's probably not causing it - I believe that error code is indicating an inaccessible boot device. Try booting up off the CD and choosing recovery console then running chkdsk. Let that run and assuming it completes reboot and see if Windows comes up. If that doesn't work then rename c:\windows\system32\config\system to c:\windows\system32\config\system.old and then replace it with c:\windows\repair\system.bak:

If upgraded from Windows 2000 or if Windows 2000 substitute all references to c:\windows with c:\winnt

1. Rename current System as a backup:

copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\system32\config\system.old

2. Copy backup of system from c:\windows\repair to c:\windows\system32\config:

copy c:\windows\repair\system.bak c:\windows\system32\config\system - then reboot. This procedure will reset your hardware configuration back to the time of initial set up of Windows - you may have to reinstall device drivers but your data should be in tact. Good luck.

how can i boot from cd without running windows setup

it'll prompt "press any key to boot from cd"

if you press a key it takes you to windows setup
if you don't it'll boot from c and generate the stoip error

ok nevermind I saw the processes scanning and assumed that it was beginning the installation. AFter all of the processes THEN it prompt for recovery console. BUT I tried to do the above and it cannot find the file when i attempt to copy the bak file. All I really wanna do is save the documents to disks. I can scrap the rest of the crap. from recovery console can i do this

If you're talking about floppies when you say copy to "disks" then I don't think you can use Recovery Console; if you are talking about another hard drive/partition then you can:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;314058

Restrictions and limitations of the Recovery Console

When you use the Windows Recovery Console, you can use only the following items: •The root folder•The %SystemRoot% folder and the subfolders of the Windows installation that you are currently logged on to•The Cmdcons folder•The removable media drives such as the CD-ROM drive or the DVD-ROM drive

Note If you try to obtain access to other folders, you may receive an "Access Denied" error message. Also, when you are using the Windows Recovery Console, you cannot copy a file from the local hard disk to a floppy disk. However, you can copy a file from a floppy disk or from a CD-ROM to a hard disk, and you can copy a file from one hard disk to another hard disk.

I got it. #2 worked I just took the .bak extension off the end of it. ????i have no clue how it worked but it booted and ran fine from that point on for me to save the docs and scrap the hard drive thanks a lot