Overnight my computer developed this boot up problem, right after it asks me to boot from cd the computer will freeze(this happens without a boot cd also). Two cursor box things will appear one is red and the other is teal and it won't go beyond that. I've tried repairing the installation, using chkdsk /r, fixmbr, fixboot, none of them work. I really don't want to reinstall as I have a lot of important files on the drive. Does anyone know what the problem is? Is it possible to reinstall over the existing install without losing data?

Try taking the CDROM out of the boot order. Did CHKDSK return any errors. Consider downloading the hard drive diagnostic utility from the hard drive manufacturers website and test the hard drive to make sure it's not failing. Yes, you can do a fresh install without deleting the data. You'll need either a boot CD that can read the hard drive (like BartPE, Knoppix, other other), then rename the C:\Windows folder to something like C:\Old_Win and the C:\Program Files folder to something like C:\Old_Programs. The run the installation process WITHOUT FORMATTING the hard drive, and without the "Repair" option if it detects the old system folder. Once the system is up, even if you create a user account with the same username and password you used before, a new profile folder will be created. But you can find the old profile folder under C:\Documents and Settings where your old \My Documents, \Favorites, \Desktop and other data will be. Assume that I already did an Internet search.

If you can boot to the OS CD, you can run a Repair of the OS, which will not overwrite your current install. "So won’t you give this man his wings What a shame To have to beg you to see We’re not all the same What a shame" - Shinedown