Endless loop in safe mode

I tried to upgrade windows from safe mode, now when system restarts to finish installation i get the following message:
"windows xp setup cannot run under safemode, setup will restart".
The only option to proceed is to press o.k. and go through the process again.

pressing F8 and using all options doesn't help, I still return to safe mode and the same message.

I tried to boot from XP cd but then windows sees i started upgrade process and havent finished, so i can choose to either
1. finish the the upgrade (which returns to safe mode...)
2. install new windows.
3. exit.
...no access to repair concole.

I'll appreciate any advice I can get.
Thanks

You need to edit the boot.ini file....
The line that is causing you a problem is
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional Safeboot" /fastdetect

You have to take out the word safeboot.

So now is it NTFS or FAT32 file system?
Boot from a bootdiskette - for NTFS use this and for FAT32 use the 98se OEM bootdisk
These make the pc load from the diskette. Then you need to make the file visible
Type in at the A:> prompt
attrib -h c:\boot.ini
and press enter
now type
edit c:\boot.ini
press enter
an editor should open and you can remove the word safeboot.
Saving the file is done using Alt F and then S

Let us know what happens.

I did as you suggested the line was:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional" /NoExecute=OptIn /fastdetect /safe mode:minimal

I erased the entry: "safe mode:minimal".

Now Safe mode is avoided but when installation is continued I received an alert of "Fatal Error" - "One of the components that windows needs to continue setup could not be installed. The operation was cancelled by the user".

When I press o.k. I receive an error code of 426.

"The service has not been started."

Is there a way for me to get to standard windows Backup my data and start the installation all over?

By the way I checked the boot.ini on another machine and saw that the order of the entry is a bit different from mine:
"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micr osoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn"

I really do appreciate the help

I've had a look on MS knowledge base and it appears your problem is caused by invalid update signatures which only happens with SP2.
If you boot to XP either normally or safemode(sorry about that) go to the add\remove panel and find\select SP2 and remove it, reboot and continue where you left off.
If you can't boot, other than into the setup restarted dialogue screen, you need to reinstall from scratch as the installation you have now is too corrupt for repair.
I can't find any other solutions to this problem, but someone with more experience might.

BTW the order the switches appear in boot.ini ( /NoExecute=OptIn /fastdetect ) is not important so fastdetect can come first or second, makes no difference.

Will installing new windows erase my "my doc." folder?, if so what about installing second xp on the same partition - just for backup and then format the HD?

Well if it only boots to the setup restarted, you won't be able to put another install on the same drive ... but you could put a another drive in as master, install windows, slave the original drive and then back up your files, then format the original drive and do a clean install of XP - finally copy the files back from the borrowed drive.

If it does offer a new copy of windows and it also detects that there is an existing installation, it may allow you to specify a different directory in which to install windows

Quote:

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When Setup encounters the \Windows folder during text-mode setup, Setup prompts you to overwrite the folder or to press ESC to use a different folder. Press ESC, change the folder name to match your original DriveLetter:\%SystemRoot% folder name, and then continue with the installation.

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from this mskb

Alternatively if you can coax it into recovery console, you could run chkdsk /r as shown on method 2 of this mskb
You could also try installing recovery console

Good luck!

I am able to install windows on a different directory, but will it erase the "my doc" folder? or will it create a new one if I set a different name for the administrator?

By the way its a laptop so connecting another HD is a problem.

It should leave the original alone... but you would be better off making a back up of your docs before trying.

Is this laptop capable of booting from USB? If so you could connect a usb drive ...?
If not try installing recovery console and copying the files to another directory completely.