Ok, a couple of updates, I remembered I have another Hdd with this same copy of XP on ( ha ha, i know why i dont throw stuff away now!!!) and have managed to rig up PC with it as the OS, also If it helps I have detected the corrupted folders as: $oem$ and I386, Would any of you knowledgeable peeps know if I can copy from the OS that I'm using at the moment and replace these files on a new disk, together with the ones that WILL copy to make a new unattended disk and also much more important, which of the masses of folders XP uses will i find them in!!! Any ideas?! :thumbup