XP will not boot

[Mare]

My XP machine will not boot at all.
Black screen.
Will not do anything even with the XP cd-rom in the drive.
Can anyone help me to walk through a recovery?
I'm not sure how to get the system into any mode so I can
salvage files and then reload the OS.

I have created an MS-DOS disc and will try it.
Not sure what commands to use to recover the system.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Tom Swift]

Exactly what happens when you press the power button to turn your computer
on?

Tom Swift