Windows Startup Black Screen Error

[Troy]

Hello, I turned on my computer the other day and Windows
XP would not correctly start. I received a message that
said "We are sorry for the inconcvenience, but Windows did
not start successfully. A recent hardware or software
change might have caused this. If your computer stopped
responding, restarted unexpectedly, or was automatically
shut down to protect your files and folders, choose 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 was pressed, or if you aren't sure what
caused the problem, choose start windows normally."

It then gives me options to choose from:

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Networking
Safe Mode with Command Prompt
Last known good configuration
Start Windows Normally

I've tried all of these options, but after I click each
one I get the Black Windows XP Startup Screen (with the
bars on the bottom moving), and then a blue screen
suddenly flickers (probably an error message) that is too
sudden to read. The computer restarts, and the process is
repeated. I don't know what to do. I've tried System
Restore, but when the computer restarts after I select
system restore, the same problem occurs. I would
appreciate your help, since I don't want to lose any of my
files. I would appreciate it if you could help me solve
my problem and tell me how to backup my files now in case
I have to re-install XP. I thank you for your time.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Assuming you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, try a Repair
install as follows:
NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP will allow you to perform the above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.