Alright, I'm paying back a favor for a guy who helped me get a sweet job earlier this summer. He got a computer and it shat out on him, and he needs an answer! So, I told him what i think is wrong, and I also told him I'd post the issue here so all of you who are smarter than me can take a crack at it. Remember, all answers must be in language that you would use to explain computers to your parents, because he's of that generation and I'm going to be showing him verbatims.

Who likes a challenge?
Seriously, thought, I would really appreciate the help. He's a really nice guy and it's a brand new freaking computer.
When booted up, the computer tells him that it has had a fatal error, and that Windows cannot start because te registry could not be updated. The error is located in C: Windows setuperror.log
It also spits out this number/code thingy: 3DFEAIDF
I told him that I believe the OS didn't install properly, and that he needs to slate and reinstall Windows XP. Am I right? I'm perfectly willing to accept a no for that....Please Help!