wahine, how exactly would one change that Registry value if booting into Windows fails? Demagedon: type in cd.. and hit enter That will take you to the C:\ then type chkdsk /f and hit enter After that's done, reboot and see if you can get into Windows. Then, set an Administrator password. "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

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"It turns out I dont need a password" I thought so. The first time I saw that ...password: line I didn't know what was going on either. There is no info about the asterisks in the Recovery Console info on the Microsoft web site, that I could find. Type: help (press Enter) to see the list of commands available in the Recovery Console. Type: (name of command) /? (e.g. chkdsk,space,/?) (press Enter) to see a short description of how to use the command. Type: exit (press Enter) to leave the Recovery Console - the computer will reboot. Don't boot from the CD when prompted while booting the next time you boot, and see if your computer will boot normally. ...... Your Windows may be too messed up for any command you use in the Recovery Console to do you any good. If your Windows registry is intact in certain important places, there MAY be a second Repair option available - if there is, it's more likely to get Windows working okay again. Many call the second repair choice a Repair Install procedure, but I think it more appropriate to call it a Repair Setup procedure, because what it actually does is run Setup again without deleting the contents of the partition Windows is on (which is usually C) first. An XP Repair Setup will (almost always) not harm your existing Windows installation, but it can only fix things Windows detects as wrong, and/or replace corrupted or missing Windows files that are on your original XP CD. In the case of drastically changed hardware, it will set Windows to the new hardware situation. You will need a Windows CD of the same version as the one of your Windows installation, and the Product Key, preferably the one that was used to install Windows on your computer (on brand name computers the Product Key is usually on the official Microsoft label on the outside of the case somwewhere), but it can be one for the same version as the one of your Windows installation. How to do an XP Repair Setup, step by step: http://www.windowsreinstall.com/win... If your Windows CD does not have SP1 or SP2 updates included, and you updated to SP2, you may have to install SP2 again to get it working properly. SP1 or later is required for USB 2.0 and hard drives larger than 137gb (manufacturer's size; 128gb in Windows and most bioses). .... Slipstreamed CD If your XP CD does not have at least SP1 updates included, and you have hard drives larger than 128gb (in Windows; = 137gb manufacturer's size), and/or USB 2.0 support on the mboard, you need to burn a slipstreamed CD that has the contents of both the original Windows CD and the SP1 or SP2 updates - e.g. Slipstreamed Windows XP CD Using SP2 http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstr... Directions for using Roxio or Nero. .... If you have the second Repair choice and run the Repair Setup and that gets your Windows working, you will need to re-register some Windows Update related files (otherwise, you will be able to download Windows Updates, but NONE of them will install) and you may need to re-install some Windows Updates.

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Tubesandwires, Thanks very much for your suggestions. I will let you know of the result as soon as I implement them. Much appreciated.

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Hi, Jennifer Sumn and Tubeswire, I have run some of your suggestions in the Recovery Console(e.g. chkdsk /p and /r), and, while some issues were found and repaired, I still have the same problem (I am getting logged off as I click on my user icon to login). If I use the first option in the Recovery Console "to set up windows XP" (or as Tubesandwires expressed "Repair Install procedure") would I lose my data on the harddrive?

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"If I use the first option in the Recovery Console "to set up windows XP" (or as Tubesandwires expressed "Repair Install procedure")...." The choice isn't in the Recovery Console. When you boot using the Windows CD and after the initial files are loaded from it, when you see the first screen that asks if you want to Repair Windows, you DO NOT press R to go to the Recovery Console - you choose to continue on to Setup. The second Repair choice you see later, IF it's available - it may not be. If you DO NOT see the second Repair choice, "Repair your existing Windows installation" or similar, if you want to retrieve whatever you can, QUIT Setup at that point!! "....would I lose my data on the harddrive? " NO, for the most part. As I said "...what it actually does is run Setup again without deleting the contents of the partition Windows is on (which is usually C) first." See the "How to do an XP Repair Setup, step by step:" link above to see how to do the procedure. It's for XP Pro - but if you have XP Home it's very similar. If you have XP MCE (Media Center Edition 2002, 2004, or 2005), Setup looks very much like that for XP Pro, BUT you need to boot using the orginal, or a copy of the, first of the TWO OEM MCE CDs, you need BOTH original CDs, or copies of BOTH CDs, and the Setup procedure is slightly different and has bugs you need to know about - if you have XP MCE on the computer let me know BEFORE you try the Repair Install (Repair Setup) procedure! You can always try running it to the point where you see whether you have the choice "Repair your existing Windows installation" or similar, or not, and quit Setup if you want to chicken out at that point, without harming any data. You will either see the choice, or you won't if there is too much damage to the existing registry, or possibly if the Windows CD you use is one without any SP updates. Some Windows related things are deleted then rebuilt, but for the most part, all the data and personal settings you added after you got the computer will still be on the partition Windows is on (usually that's C) and will still be there. It runs very much like a regular Setup, except you are asked fewer questions, and have to set fewer things. You have to supply the Product Key - use the one on the official Microsoft label on the outside of the case. Windows is usually already Activated when Setup is finished. A few precautions. Make sure you have the Product Key - it's on the official Microsoft label on the case. If you quit Setup without providing the Product Key, you won't have the "Repair your existing Windows installation" or similar choice when you try booting with the Windows CD again after that. During running the Repair Install (Repair Setup) procedure, you MUST have NO errors reading files from the Windows CD - if you DO have errors, and quit Setup because of them, the procedure will have trashed your existing registry, and you won't have the "Repair your existing Windows installation" or similar choice when you try booting with the Windows CD again after that. (your files will still be on the hard drive if you quit Setup when you have problems reading the CD, and you can take steps to retrieve some of the stuff you don't want to lose, but if the second Repair choice isn't there, as far as restoring Windiows itself, you have no choice except to...... - run the Recovery procedure for your Dell model to restore the original data that was on C when you got the computer [which requires you have made a Recovery CD for that purpose, that uses the contents of the intact existing second partition that is there on the orginal brand name system drive] - run the Recovery procedure for your Dell model to restore the original data that was on C when you got the computer, using a Recovery CD set [which requires you have made a Recovery CD set for that purpose, or you have bought one from Dell for your model, if available] - or - use a Windows CD or a bootable copy of a Windows CD of the same version along with the Product Key found on the official Microsoft label on the case, to restore just Windows, then you will have to get and load additional drivers for your model, etc., etc.) - whatever optical drive you have the Windows CD in and it's data connection to the computer MUST be working properly - the ram must be working properly - don't fiddle with it if it was working fine just before this - it is a very good idea to make sure the Windows CD is clean, and to use a laser lens cleaning CD in the drive to make sure it's clean, BEFORE you run the procedure.

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