Can't start up windows.

Okay well this was my original thread:

Okay, I was uninstalling some random adware programs on my computer and then the machine went haywire, so i said "Okay let me restart" After restarting it gets to my desktop background for a split second, flashes to a red box that says

NAV Auto-Protect
Unable to determine the location of config. files.

Then I press Ok because it is the only button, and then a pop up saying explorer has caused an illegal operation and will be shut down kind of thing. After I hit ok, all You see is my background and nothing loads. I am clueless to this one.

Its win 98 SE should I re-install? but i dont know how to do so without losing all my files i have on there, or even if they get lost. Someone please help me, My bro is gettin aggrivated that i keep coming onto his computer

Well what I recommend is this:
Boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 as soon as you leave the BIOS screen and select Safe Mode)
Reinstall Norton AntiVirus. The NAV error up there is something that happens when you accidently remove a NAV component.
Reboot into Safe Mode again. Run AdAware, or Microsoft's AntiSpyware product.
Try to boot into normal Windows. If it works, great!
If it doesn't....
Download HijackThis from our Handy Tools section. Run it (once again in Safe Mode) and post the log here for us to take a look at.

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yeah i forgot to mention: when i boot into safe mode, it gives me the explorer has performed illegal operation box again, and then just stays on my less resolution background, with no icons or ANYTHING

Yup. You're in trouble then.
BUT!
No fear!
With 98 you can just boot from the Windows 98 CD, and choose to NOT format the drive. Then just install Windows into the C:\Windows directory. This will just overwrite your old Windows files.
If you're really worried about your files you can always get into DOS through the boot disk and manually copy your most important files to a safe spot.

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how do i go about copying them, and where would you reccommend i put those files just in case?

Anywhere but the Windows directory.
The 98 install process only touches files inside of the Windows directory, and Program Files. Even your old programs will remain after the Windows install.
In Windows 98 your Desktop and My Documents are all located in C:\Windows\Profiles I believe-its been awhile since I had to do disaster recovery on 98. If they're not there, poke around some more. I know they're somewhere inside a folder in the Windows directory.
The command to copy individual files is "copy filename c:\destination\"
Remove the quotes

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Alright thank you, Ill let you know how everything goes...Gotta find my 98 disc now :-/

OK well re-installin 98 wasn't quite working because it kept saying I interrupted the installation of some file and it wouldn't work, so I took my bros XP disk and installed that, but now all my folders and everything are here, but the files arent...anyone know if they are actually here or...not

Installing ANY version of Windows on to an existing Windows partition overwrites EVERYTHING in that partition, not just the Windows and My Programs folder. Even if you didn't format, everything previously on C: drive will have been overwritten when you installed XP. So unless you saved your own files to another partition, CD-R or whatever, they have gone. Oh, and you should be aware that using someone else's Windows CD for your own PC is illegal -- bad boy!

Well actually, your files are all STILL there on the HDD - it's just that When you format, Windows puts a DELETE tag infront of the blocks on the HDD, so it's like you have a completely new HDD when infact, you haven't.

It's how the police are still able to catch paedophiles even though they format their drives - as they have some very expensive software that allows them to recover data.

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