i lost my internet connection and was advised to install sp3 but it crashed my computer and now it only opens in safe and safe networking with the sp3 title at the top of the screen. restore dosn't work.

I will assume at this point that you just want your PC running again. So this article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950249 will walk you through uninstalling SP3. If that doesn't solve your problem you may want to try a repair installation using your Windows XP disc: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/... Once you're back up and running look for the Network Administrators version of SP3. OK, here it is: http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarg... Disable your antivirus, close any opened programs and try again. Oh, and you may want to set a restore point before proceeding. This, btw, gets your Windows back up and running. It's not intended to address your lost Internet connection. It might but I don't suspect that it will. Let us know how it works out.

my hunch is, that installing sp3 would not have solved your problem. Who advised you to do that, someone on the phone, from your isp? larry