information out of scan range

i was in the very beginning process of running the spyware on my computer, i set the system to safe mode and restarted the computer, when it restarted it went through the normal process loading the black and white data then the screen went blank with a message that says IFORMATION OUT OF SCAN RANGE 35.5K HZ/87HZ" And that is it. My system is a Sony Vaio desktop, I called sony paid 20 for support only to have the tech tell me i have to use my system restore cd's because i am locked out. I don't want to loose my data on my c drive. Is there any other solution for this problem?

 

Woops...that Tim beat me to the posting!!

If you have the actual windows cd...then just do a REPAIR Install from the XP cd...it will only remove the windows files and put new back in place.

In a repair install...it will look very similar to a new clean install, only the difference is when you are doing the initial setup (the blue and white screens right after you boot to the XP install cd) you will proceed as if you are going to do a new clean install, but it will come to a step to see if there is an OS already installed and if it is the same as the disc that is in the drive, then it will ask you if you want to try to repair it, and ofcourse you will choose that option!! This will, as I said before, only mess with the windows install files, without touching any of your personal files/settings, etc. but keep in mind that whatever service pack is included on the disc you use for the repair install...your system will be rolled back to that!! So make sure you get it back up to date on your windows updates/patches, once you get the repair done!!

Roger

 

thanks, roger. i did as you said. i installed my xp windows cd with and it took some doing to get the system to respond. the only way i could get it to respond was to hit the f10 key when i turned the pc on this brought me to a menu that eventually brought me to the blue and white screen you refer to. so now im in the repair screen. the message reads as follows; miscrosft windows xp recovery console the recovery console provides repair and recovery functionality. TYPE EXIT to quit recovery and restart computer.
1:C:\Windows
which installation would you like to log onto <to cancel, press enter>?

There is a promt waiting for a response, but I don't know how to answer it?

 

yes, the information is very helpful. However, the screen does ask me for a password. I have many passwords..what one would this be for? Would this be a password i may have entered when i first set up my computer? if so, I have no idea what that password would be, other than guessing...

 

thanks, will i loose data on my c drive by doing this? I am trying to avoid doing that if at all possible.

 

Tim, thank you for the link it seems like it will be helpful. One final question. When I looked through all of my cd's that came with my computer i couldn't find one for the XP Windows, I believe it was loaded on the system at the time of purchase. The CD i'm using is one i purchased through my employer as a CD "Wallet" which constists of xp windows, xp office and so on. My obvious question is, will this be a problem. Or should I just bring the pc to a computer repair person and hope for the best? Again, this all came about as i was following the process for cleaning syware/malware, and it happened when i put my computer in SAFE mode..UGH...

 

Thanks again, but could you explain to me in easier terms... that is to say what do you mean by OEM or corporate version? the software comes liscensed through a college and when you say "key" you mean the registration key numbers I have to enter when adding new software such as this? Sorry if I seem like a dunse..but I'm really being extra careful before I proceed. Thank you for all of your help!

 

okay, lets say i get to the actual windows screen. The trouble started when i tried running the spyware and malware prorams in safe mode. I'm assuming that i need to just run these programs in normal windows mode. Seeing how it locked me out of my system in the SAFE mode. Any thoughts? You have been a great help to me so far. I'll let you know if i can get the windows back up an running...to be continued.

 

oops, a bump in the road. Okay, on the link you gave to me http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189400897 I get to screen 6 after on my system I have partitions. I know I have a C drive, my main drive and then my storage D drive. The screen wants me to choose which partition i want to install the windows. Of course, I chose the C drive as that is the main drive for everything. But the next window prompt that comes up is not listed in the link you sent to me. It reads "You chose to install xp on a partition that contains another operating system. Installing windows xp on this partition might cause the other operating system to function improperly. My options are to continue setup or select a different partition. I'm thinking that I don't need to select another and just proceed with the set up....what are your thoughts?

 

That is exactly what I was in the process of doing when it locked me out....so i think i won't select safe mode this time around.

 

oops, a bump in the road. Okay, on the link you gave to me http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189400897 I get to screen 6 after on my system I have partitions. I know I have a C drive, my main drive and then my storage D drive. The screen wants me to choose which partition i want to install the windows. Of course, I chose the C drive as that is the main drive for everything. But the next window prompt that comes up is not listed in the link you sent to me. It reads "You chose to install xp on a partition that contains another operating system. Installing windows xp on this partition might cause the other operating system to function improperly. My options are to continue setup or select a different partition. I'm thinking that I don't need to select another and just proceed with the set up....what are your thoughts?

 

If you delete a partition...keep in mind that you will lose everything that was in that partition!!

Roger