XP Home, SP2

When I logged on I got a Windows File Protection message that said some system files had been replaced with unknown versions and that I needed to insert the Windows CD to ensure system stability.

Instead of inserting the CD or cancelling out, I logged off and then restarted the system.

I logged back on and the message did not appear.

Should I be concerned? Thanks!

Start in Safe Mode w/ Command Prompt, then type

sfc /scannow

To me it sounds like one of those Windows glitches that happen sometimes.
If you want to do some checking:

http://memtest86.com/
There is a version to create a bootable floppy diskette and/or an ISO for creating a CD.
Run it overnight and any failures are unacceptable.

You could also run chkdsk /r to do a thorough check of your hard drive.

Razor2.3:

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm kind of stuck.

First, sfc /scannow didn't work in Safe Mode w/ Command Prompt. It threw up a message about not being able to run because of a missing file, but I didn't write down what it said. I'm in the middle of a scan now, so I don't want to try it again in safe mode, but I will if you need the message. However, I don't think that what happened in Safe Mode is causing the problem that I'm having now. Let me explain...

When it didn't work in Safe Mode, I DAGS and found some info on sfc which didn't say anything about running in Safe Mode, so I tried it in Normal Mode and it began to run. However, it started asking for an XP SP2 CD almost immediately.

As a workaround, I followed the instructions found at this site for copying the I386 folder to my system and changing the SourcePath in the registry.

http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc...

Here's part of the problem: I don't have an XP SP2 CD. I have an old XP SP1 Upgrade CD that I purchased many systems ago and the original Restore CD that came with the eMachine I'm using today - except that it is no longer really an eMachine because the MB has been replaced. The shop that replaced the MB managed to get the system running with the original OS. (This was done well over a year ago, so it's not part of this current issue.)

I copied the I386 folder from the SP1 Upgrade CD to C:\. I could not find an I386 folder on the Restore CD.

Everything seemed to run fine until the scan was about 95% done. Then it started asking for the CD again.

I tried inserting both the SP1 Upgrade CD and the eMachines Restore CD but sfc doesn't like either CD - it keeps telling me it's the "Wrong CD".

I also checked the registry setting for the ServicePackSourcePath and it was set to C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles. The ServicePackFiles folder is indeed in C:\WINDOWS.

So now what? I'm 95% through the scan and don't know how to tell the system that I don't have an XP SP2 CD.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Open task manager and use end task to stop it.Then go here and create a sp2 slipstream cd for the future.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...

Thanks...I'll give it a try.

per:

Before I created the bootable CD I tried a shortcut to see what would happen. I followed the instructions to slipstream SP2 into the files from the XP SP1 CD that I had. I then copied the new I386 folder out to the root drive and tried ran sfc to see if it would work.

Alas, once again it got about 95% done and then asked for the XP SP2 CD. I decide to click cancel to see what would happen and it asked me if I wanted to skip "this file". (Of course, it wouldn't tell me *what* file it was going to skip.) I said Yes and it finished the scan.

Since sfc apparently really wants a XP SP2 CD, I followed the procedure found here to create one - this site explains how to use the free ImgBurn software to create the bootable CD.

http://www.howtohaven.com/system/cr...

After the CD was created, I ran sfc again and when it asked for the CD at 95%, I inserted it and sfc finished without a problem.

I wonder if sfc asks for a SP2 CD just to see if you have one. Considering the hundreds of system files it verifies, it seems kind of strange that it only wanted the CD for *1* file.