Winfixer, Yield Manager...and who knows what else.

You're kidding... right?

 

That is a Windows file. Search your harddisk for another copy. Look for pci.sys also look for pci.sy_
Sometimes files are in a compressed state. These filenames end with an underscore ( _ ) and must be expanded to their full form using a command named expand at a dos prompt.

If not on you harddisk anywhere else you will need your WinXP boot CD so you can retrieve the file from CD.

 

This is why a legal copy of WinXP on CD is needed.
If you do not have a CD you will have do one of the following:
1) copy the file from another WinXP system with the same revision level as you
2) borrow a WinXP CD with same revision level as you
3) buy a WinXP. But this option will get you SP2 and I'm not sure you will be able to use the pci.sys from SP2 on your system.

This problem may have occurred when you tried to install SP2 and MS realize that you PC did not have a valid licensed copy of Windows and it failed the install.

 

Yes the version and Service Pack revision level. Before trying to update, you had:
Platform: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)

which is the original Windows XP version with no service packs added.

You cannot install a legitimate copy of WinXP from an online source. PCs from companies like Gateway, Dell etc have legitimate OEM version and sometime do not come with bootable Win XP CDs. They may only ship with a recovery CD to restore to exactly how they ship it to you.

Your work is still on the drive and can still be recovered by other methods. For one example, your drive can be added as a slave into another computer running WinXp and then you could recover your files by backing them up on to the other PC.

No a WinME CD will not help you.