Hi everyone, my computer is in deep trouble today, hope someone could provide some help.
I have a Dell 4700 desktop, P4, 1.5gb memory, 40+160GB harddrive, 512MB exp video card and XP home.
After i reinstalled the computer last saturday, the computer got quite unstable(just my feeling). Yesterday, it gave me a blue screen and automaticlly start to dump the memory. Well, after it happened three times in two hours, i decided to reinstall it again.
The computer gave me the blue screen again during my installation, i suspected that my add-on hardware might cause trouble, therefore, i unplugged all the upgrade away. The computer became 512mb memory, 40gb hd, intergrate video card.
Then I tried to install the XP home again, it showed me that "ntsf.sys currupted" during LOADING the XP installation files, and I kept on getting the message while attempting to install the XP again and again. Because the message pop out before the XP installation disk load all the file, i can not get to the "repair" in the "welcome setup" screen as microsoft suggest.
I have read other people's solution about this issue, most people can get to the "r" screen and therefore can be fixed, mine stopped when it is still loading the files.
I have only one desktop and a laptop, so i can not test the HDs, but I had try to hook up either HD to install the XP, same error message pop out.
I had try to use a bootable USB to boot computer under win98, but it can not see the existing hard drive.
I suspect that some happen to the mainboard, but can not verify it. Well at least no smoke came out the computer yet.
Any suggestion is very very welcomed, please help.
Thanks.
Rick.

hi everyone, it seems that my computer is not really fixable,
any suggestion is very very welcomed.(well, including buy a new one )

How old is the computer and is it still under warranty? It's unusual that you would get the error message while simply booting the CD. If you are able to, you might try using a different operating system to reformat the drive then try to install XP back on it.

If you can, try a copy of FreeDOS or a Linux LiveCD. You could download and burn a CD on your laptop and see if the Dell will let you format it.

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hei, thanks for the reply.
the computer is 2.5 yrs old, just 0.5 year pass the warranty, so I am on my own .
I have a copy of Lindows that i download a few years ago, it tell me "missing or invalid swap location ( resume=parameter), does that mean anything to you?
I tried to use FDisk to format the HD, it seems the program don't touch the ntfs system and the problem remains same.
I am going to look for the Freedos, or have the HD formated on my friend's computer, I will post whatever happened.
Thanks again.
Rick

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, replace the missing or corrupted Ntfs.sys file:1. Use the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD to restart your computer.
2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to select the To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R option.
3. Type the number of the Windows installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console, and then press ENTER.
4. Type the administrator password when you are prompted, and then press ENTER. If no administrator password exists, just press ENTER.
5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER after each command):
cd \windows\system32\drivers

ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old
Note This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the Ntfs.sys file is not found, the file is missing.
6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.
7. Remove the Windows XP CD from your CD-ROM drive, type quit at a command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Recovery Console.
8. Restart the computer.

if you havent already seen this
http://www.gidforums.com/t-748.html

seems to have fixed my prob.

edit, i cant seem tto paste the link, but if you go over to the hardware subsection, you'll find a massive thread that covers this problem

first, i like to thank everyone who response.
as i have mentioned at earlier post, i could not get to the windows xp installation setup page, therefore, i can not use the solution post above.
Nontheless, i have fix the computer, here is what i did:
i brought the hard drive to my friend's computer, and sucessfully reformat it. and the problem persist. so i believe that something wrong with my motherboard instead of the hard drive.
The only moveable item on the motherboard is the memory, so i think that is last thing i can DIY in order to fix the computer. I therefore switch the memory to a different pair, hey, miracle happened, the rig start working again. so the old memory has some problem itself and therefore causing the problem.
I think it is very mind-killing or lost when you try to fix the computer but actural solution is so easy, hope anyone read this post will learn sth from it.
Thanks again.