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Hi all,
I had a major issue that Crunchie helped me with regarding what seemed to be a virus or spyware at the beginning of this month - end of last. Anyway it got so bad that I decided to reformat and start again.

I install windows XP professional like i had before, and then SP1, and all the critical updates, and then SP2, and then when it asks you to restart to complete installation - I do not see boot process (not sure if this is normal?), then the windows emblem screen comes up, and then a black screen with a white mouse cursor in centre of screen. The cursor is unmovable.

PLEASE HELP!!!

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Quick practical checklist and what to try before doing another full reinstall. describes a common XP post‑install hang (black screen with a white cursor). ’s slipstream idea is a good fallback, but several quicker recovery steps often restore the desktop without rebuilding the drive. (dell.com)

  1. Unplug everything nonessential (USB sticks, hubs, printers, extra monitors) and cold‑boot. A number of XP/SP2 hangs are triggered by attached USB devices during the first restart.
  2. Hit F8 during boot to get the Advanced Boot Options and try, in order: Last Known Good Configuration, Safe Mode (or Safe Mode with Command Prompt), and Enable VGA Mode. If Safe Mode works, uninstall recent video/network drivers or run System Restore before a normal reboot. (lifewire.com)

If you get only a cursor after login but the keyboard still responds: press Ctrl+Alt+Del (or Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to open Task Manager → File → Run new task and type explorer.exe to restart the shell. If that brings the desktop back, follow up by checking the Winlogon Shell value and removing the offending driver/update. If you can boot Safe Mode or Recovery Console, run chkdsk /r and use System Restore or copy the registry hives from C:\Windows\Repair as documented. These are standard rescue steps for a black‑screen/cursor situation. (avg.com)

If none of the above recovers the machine, slipstreaming SP2 into the XP install files and creating a fresh boot CD avoids the problem that can occur when SP2 is applied after the initial reboot. Example (run from the extracted SP2 update folder): 

i386\update\update.exe /integrate:C:\XPSOURCE

Follow the extract/integrate instructions shown in deployment writeups before burning the ISO. Slipstreaming is a valid next step when the live repair options fail. (itprotoday.com)

Notes/cautions: check BIOS updates, test the HDD (chkdsk / manufacturer diagnostics) and back up any important data from Recovery Console or a rescue disk before destructive steps.

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