PC you need not suffer!

1) When booting my pc to ON state it reads (see below), this oddity is new to me of the past month. It loads, seemingly taking longer, and I click my username to login. Programs seem to load up (looking at the taskbar) moderately slower than normal.

invalid boot.ini file
boot from C:/windows


2) Also i have windows XP Pro and somehow it's not a valid copy.. and I DON'T have the cd key. What am i to do! Also I have a winlogon program running, which if memory servers me right is VERY annoying during startup and int he taskbar! Any suggestions!?

3) I need to download songs and more, is LimeWire safe/good/safe enough to use? I used Kazaa Lite K++ but due to explanations of how bad it is for your computer I stopped!


ANY Help is Absolutely Appreciated, and Happy Holidays!

Is this the same PC we just cleaned? you can check by going to start>run> type msconfig then go to the tab that says boot.ini Does it look like this: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

You can try these if you like:

Open Notepad and copy/paste this into Notepad

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

Save as C:\boot.ini

Or:
create a file in c:\boot.ini
Edit boot.ini

copy/paste this:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

Select save as c:\boot.ini


Here is the list on 'good and bad'P2P programs.
http://p2p.malwareremoval.com/

Yes! This is the computer we (ok ok you) just fixed :). I had a few minor issues and wanted to make sure i didnt overextend my welcome to the HiJackThis! secter! I am currently creating a new boot.ini file, i guess i don't have one anymore. That msconfig doesn't have a boot.ini tab! Thanks!

Let me know if that works

hrm.. I have created a notepad file saved as C:\boot.ini and placed it in C:\. It did not work or I have something slightly wrong. I recieve the same message at startup. However In C:\ i see "boot Configuration Settings".

check by going to start>run> type msconfig then go to the tab that says boot.ini

Excellent it's there now in the msconfig dir.

Excellent it's there now in the msconfig dir.

But you're still getting the error?

Do i have to restart or power off and on? I believe I am, but possibly not after it's there now?

I think just a reboot should do it.

Alright, I still see the invalid boot.ini file booting from C:\windows. However this time upon entering my settings (the only user of the pc) i got a message from the System Configuration Utility. It says its currently in Diagnostic or selective startup. For normal startup mode the utility would not show. (Should i have put that boot file in C:\windows or just on the C drive itself?)

go to run and type in MSCONFIG. Then click on the "Boot.ini" tab. click the button that says "check all boot paths". You should get back a message stating that everything is good (the computer checks to make sure the boot.ini file is compatible with Microsoft Operating Systems). Next, assuming your computer likes the boot.ini file that is in there (and it should), then click the button that says "set as default". By doing this, you have now created a new (modified) boot.ini file that is a carbon copy of the original. Click apply. You will be prompted to restart. Before doing so, go back to MSCONFIG and in the general tab you will see that "use modified boot.ini" should now be checked. During reboot, you should not get the invalid boot.ini message. What you will get is a message (after reachign the desktop) stating that you are not using the defaults or something like that and do you wish to go back into MSCONFIG to restore the default settings. Since your new boot.ini file is exactly the same as your original, click no and check the box to hide that irritating message.

What i get when i attempt to check all paths is a System Configuration Utility has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Then its usual send or don't send microsoft this problem.

I was going to ask if i should paste [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect into the boot.ini section there. But i had clicked on advance and it froze it just like the other Detect button did so i assume that wouldn't work. I do have it in the right Dir correct. Just the base C:\ drive, and not in the C:\windows folder.