Setup Hangs at "Installing Devices"

I have a Dell Laptop. First it received an NTFS.SYS error. I copied a new NTFS.SYS file to it using the recovery console. Then it received BSOD. I deleted SYSTEM, DEFAULT, SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE and then copied them from the reapir DIR. Still BSOD. So, now I'm trying to repair windows using the windows XP Pro disc. The setup hangs at "Installing Devices" There are no new devices, its a laptop. Any suggestions on how to get setup to run? I really dont want to reformat!

Thanks
Ray

 

I'm thinking you have a file system error, and possibly a bad or failing hard drive. Boot to the recovery console. Type chkdsk C: /r and press Enter. Running chkdsk can take some time, like a LOT of time, like over 6 hours, so be patient. It may appear to freeze up, and the percentage progress counter may actually go backwards; it hasn't locked up, and the backwards percentage counter is normal. It happens all the time so don't worry. Just let it run. When it's done, type exit and press Enter to reboot. If it still gives you problems, visit the drive maker's web site, download and run their extended diagnostic to make sure the drive is healthy. If you could post the exact BSOD error number and message, it will help us offer less generalized and more focused advice.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[dlb]
:major

(oh yeah..... there's a space before and after the C: in the command above)