Lexmark X83 on a pentium 1 gig system, running Windows XP SP1.

I was told that this multi function devise was working fine on friday, no programs added or removed from the system.
The devise works fine on its own, scans, copies, and prints.
When i tried to re- install the printer in Win XP SP1 i get this message

16 bit Windows Subsystem
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose ' close ' to terminate the application.

The program for the Lexmark X83 will finish loading, but there is no sign of the printer. However i can still scan from the computer using this devise just fine.
Can anyone explain to me what might be going on? Thanks.