Can't access safe mode :O

[Guilded_Fear]

Hey guys, back with another issue, this time with Windows XP.

First off its a HP Pavilion a1240n. Dont know specs right off the bat but heres the issue anyway. Im working on this computer for a friend. Its consumed in malware/spyware (the usual issue I have to fix lol). Im able to log in normally but when I try accessing safe mode, itll get down to mup.dll (i think thats the file name) and itll auto restart. Now heres the odd part. When pressing F8, I selected "Disable Automatic Restart On System Failure", chose the OS (XP Media Center Edition), pressed F8 quickly afterwards before XP loaded for the menu again and chose safe mode. Once that was done, safe mode loaded just fine.

I told ya it was odd, didnt I?

Now help me figure out why I cant access safe mode the usual way instead of tweaking around to get into it. Thanks for any help you can offer.

[jkolak]

For a computer loaded with malware, you need to go here:

http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,46313.0.html

Meantime, I think you won't be able to follow the instructions there until you can get it bootable. So try a "boot time av cd". Google that phrase and you will see a lot of good choices from Avira and some other trusted sources.