General Protection Fault on Startup

[Kathi]

During a download of a recent Microsoft windows update,
the internet went down. My daughter shut down the
computer not realizing that this download was also running
at the time. The computer was shut down, and when it is
powered back up, a black screen appears with "General
protection Fault" error. I've tried shutting down and
starting up by pressing F8, and or ctrl., but the same
screen appears.

Is there a way to get into the system to do a restore at
the last date without having to do a complete system
restore from the CD. There is alot on the computer that
will be lost that I haven't had the chance to back up.

PLease Help. Also, I didn't receive a Windows XP CD when
I purchased the computer, only the System Restore.

Thanks,

Kathi

 

[Jetro]

Kathi,

What kind of GPF did you get?
Remove/disable all the peripherals but video adapter, power up the box and
hit F8 (Ctrl key belongs to W98), try to boot into LKGC or Safe mode. Borrow
any suitable Home/Pro CDROM and perform an in-place upgrade. Call your
friend for help. Visit nearest repair store (I cannot suggest "Grab the
local paper and call anyone").

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=315341
How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP