Hi, everyone. I am having this exact same problem on my laptop right now. I was surfing around and got a pop-up from Avast saying there was a threat detected, and I believe it said either 37.exe or 73.exe in the TEMP folder was the problem. Then Avast gave a prompt in the middle of the screen that I've never seen before and suggested a restart just to be sure. So, I did and ended up with spydee's problem. However, I used my install disc as they have and when the computer said "Press any key to boot from disc", it remained there and did not do anything. I even left it running for a few hours and still nothing happened. Safe mode does not run for me either.
Laptop: Gateway Model no.: MA3
OS: Windows XP Home
I do not mind if I need to reformat, as I back-up my files regularly, but a fix without doing so would be great.
Also, I apologize if it is preferrable to start a new thread for this, but since it happens to be the exact same problem as the OP, it saves me a whole lot less of typing on my smartphone which I have been using for my main source of internet.