XP will not start and remains at command prompt

[LJ]

I need help! I went to start XP on my home computer and
got a screen saying a file is missing or corrupted and
because of that I can't get into windows. I've tried
starting with the cd and in safe mode. All it does is
return to the dos command prompt and won't do anything
else. I did finally get it to scan the disk and the
report was that it was o.k. But, I still can't get out
of Dos. Is this some kind of virus, do I have to take
the whole thing in for repair or what? I've tried
everything I know so far and am totally frustrated since
it just suddenly did this. Any help anyone could give me
would be appreciated.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Reboot tapping F8 each second.
Choose "Last known good configuration" at the menu.

Perform a Repair Installation if that fails:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/repaxp.htm