First I am no expert, but I do use three laptops. What you do depends on what
you have available to back you up, seeing as you are in Iraq and far from
home. I see you have been advised to look at a Repair Install. Looking at the
website containing the instructions, it appears that you may be in danger of
losing whatever you have on the laptop, unless you have backed up the files
you have created.
The website is really dealing with desktop PCs. Generally, laptops come not
with Windows XP, but with a recovery disk or disks. You don't say what make
or model of laptop you have. If you have one that is divided by the
manufacturer into virtual C and D drives, and if you have been cautious
enough to put all your personal files in D drive, the recovery disk will give
you the option of wiping and restoring the factory settings on the C drive
alone, hopefully not touching the files you have in D drive.
If this is not an option then you are looking at using your recovery disk to
reformat the whole of your virtual drives (or C drive if that is all you
have). The recovery disk, as I am sure you know, will wipe out all the files
and folders you have put on the machine and reload all programs that came
preinstalled. Then you have to reload any programs that you had added
yourself. Again, I don't know what you have available to you "in theatre".
I am sorry to say you are in the same position as if you had locked yourself
out of the computer.
There is one other alternative that might just work and would be a darned
sight easier, if it works. Switch off the computer. Turn it on again and keep
pressing key F8. If this works it should (or might) open XP in safe mode.
Then see if you can open "System Restore" in "Help and Support". Then select
a system restore point that antedates the start of the problem. I once locked
myself out of a laptop and used this method successfully.
Whatever you try, please let us know on this thread.
"May fortune rest upon your helm."
