Missing or Corrupted "system32\drivers\ntfs.sys"

My Windows XP will not boot in normal, safe, or 'last good configuration' mode b/c of this missing or corrupt driver (system32\drivers\ntfs.sys).

I have a laptop, 2400 amd atholon, 512, 40 gig.

I had some system shutdowns before where the screen went blue and said it was shutting down to protect itself, and that if the message repeated to uninstall any recently installed programs. It always restarted after that but ran very slow. I haven't installed anything recently to cause the problem and I figured it was spyware/virus related and ran all my protection (Adaware personal, AVG, spybot, spyware guard, etc.). It cleaned up a few new things but still ran slow. Now I can get to the F8 prompt and that is as far as it will go.

Any guidance on what to do, where to direct this question, or what more information I need to obtain is much appreciated.