XP won't boot please help

[hastyrichtard]

While using my computer the other day it locked up so i had to hold in power switch to turn it off. (I have done this many times with no problems.) However, when I went to turn it on today it goes to the screen asking whether to start normally or in safe mode. No matter which option I choose (start normally, safe mode, last known config, etc...) it goes to the xp logo screen and then quickly goes back to screen prompting which mode to start in. I cannot get it to go to the login screen and boot. Please tell me what I can do to get logged on.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[pscowboy]

Somehow you have suffered corruption in one of the files the boot process needs to complete.

Hit F8 during a boot to get a menu. Choose Last Good Configuration.

Next, you could try typing fixboot and fixmbr after you reach the option for "Repair" using the XP cd to boot with.

If that doesn't work, re-install.

Protect yourself from these accidents by doing an image once a week. If you buy discs in bulk, they cost about 25c. It takes less than an hour to reclone a drive. The majority of my business customers do an image every night. My house trade does theirs' every week. I swear by Acronis True Image.