Hi guys,

Im having a problem with my compaq laptop, Ibooted my computer up this morning, it came up to my COMPAQ first screen, red-and-white, where F10 is System Recovery, F1 is Setup, and 'Esc' is Boot, so then, instead of the usual black screen with the flashing white underscore sign in the top-left corner of the screen, it came up with the usual Windows error message if something had gone wrong:

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this.

"If your computer stopped responded, restarted unexpectedly, or or was automatically shut down to protect your files and folders, chose Last Known Good Configuration to revert to the most recent settings that worked.

"If a previous startup attempt was interrupted due to a power failure or because the Power or Reset button pressed, or if you aren't sure what caused the problem, choose Start Windows normally."

> Safe Mode
> Safe Mode w/ Networking
> Safe Mode w/ Command Prompt

> Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)

> Start Windows Normally

(30-second timer down below)
So, I've tried out EACH of the options to no avail. When trying to turn on any of the three safe modes, it lists "Loading ..." and names of files, about 30 - 40 of them scrolling by fast, as the screen goes black, and the system reboots.

Im so stuck, I have no knowledge of the technical world and could do with any help, because I can't afford to pay someone to look at it, thanks so much in advance :-)

Would suggest a repair installation

Repair Installation
A Repair Install will replace the system files with the files on the XP CD used for the Repair Install. It will leave your applications and settings intact, but Windows updates will need to be reapplied.

Perform a Repair Installation

Thank you for your help but I don't have a Windowns XP installation cd, do you know if there is any other method without using the cd?

See if you can borrow a disc from someone if possible

Ok shall do so then fingers crossed, thanks for your help

First questions (as always usually), what happened/got installed/removed since the last reboot and when the problem occurred?

If you don't have an install Cd to repair, you may not have to repair your windows installation, depending on your answer above which could pinpoint to the problem at hand and help resolve it another way.

System rebooting while 'going through files' in safe mode may mean a driver issue. Since you don't have a windows CD you are not able to go into Recovery Console (unless you had installed it when you did have a cd).

You can try restoring your registry (but note: it will restore it to your first install)
How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

Better option, google: bootcd utilities recover registry
There are quite a few free utilities that you can burn and boot from a Cd and recover your registry to a more recent version that worked.

Another thing to look at: if you had installed or attached any new hardware (the drivers for that could be causing the boot now), remove these one at a time until you find what's stomping your system. Unplug all USB devices. Turn off puter and on again, press F8 as soon as post has finished and before windows loads, and go into Safe Mode.