Emergency Windows XP Computer Help Needed

Windows XP SP2 on my computer will not start. Earlier this morning, everything was going great, then Firefox locked up while doing a Google search. Locked up tight, and I had to press and hold the power button for several seconds to shut down.

Now, when I power up, everything goes well through POST until Windows tries to start up, then the screen goes black and all disk activity ceases. After waiting several minutes with nothing happening, pressing the power button for a fraction of a second shuts the computer down.

I've tried booting into Safe Mode - same results. When I boot so I can see each startup event happening, the last event that prints to the screen is:

I do not want to lose all the data on the boot drive. Some of it is not backed up since two days ago, including Quicken and QuickBooks.

One big obstacle is that I originally installed this from an early WinXP full install CD, before SP1, and I've updated through SP1 to SP2. So, booting from the install disc won't help. I do have an SP2 disc from Microsoft, but I doubt that is bootable.

Dear FREEPERS,

I recently had the GEEK SQUAD at Best By wipe my main RAID drive and reinstall XP-P, fix some long standing niggly problems etc.

Since then, sometimes when calling up a posting window, ALL ONLY FR EXPERIENCES, the window will appear in black. THIS SEEMS TO PARTICULARLY HAPPEN WHEN I right click on the 'to post' button to open in a NEW WINDOW.

Usually the letters are unreadable. Often they will appear as the totally verticle line in white but not even consistently--spaces will appear as the verticle line as well as letters randomly.

It's really frustrating. I haven't figured out a consistent thing that triggers it other than it usually happens with the posting window but sometimes with the comments window.

Clicking on the "post" button can be a challenge as scrolling to it can result in all black but usually all white if I preview. I kind of have to jury rig clicking around and minimizing and unminimizing to get the "post" etc. buttons to appear again.

I don't know if something quirky has changed on FR about this time or if it's all my machine or what.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for all you do for us and The Republic.

LUB,
Quix

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BTW, I notice that post #2 on this thread asked why not go to Microsoft--their help system has improved lots. But it's still maddening and costly.

I've spent literally many hours of exasperating frustration on the phone to India. The Indian techs did their best and were quite diligent etc. But the whole experience over several calls and techs was absolutely infuriatingly exasperating as a communications experience. And that's with me being quite used to and quite familiar with the Indian accent.

I have a tech email into them now about a MS Word sorting failure. They are wanting me to talk to them on the phone. I'm resisting strongly out of sheer frustration.

The short of it is, NO THANKS. There's NO EXCUSE for a lot of the problems Microsoft's software tortures people with. NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER. They have had massive amounts of money and the best brains money can buy for more than 10 years.

They could have AI software modules to ferret out problems and correct them automatically for customers by now. But even their tech assistance is extremely clunky. And their software is enormously clunkier.

I'd better stop before I get really wound up about Microsoft. The short of it is, DO NOT TELL ME TO GO TO MICROSOFT if you want a calm civil response.
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Thanks in advance to the dear souls on here who labor so kindly and sacrificially to help the rest of us dunderheads.

BTW, I'm not a novice. Have had a computer or terminal in my home since 1976. Goodness, that's 30 years. Shocking.

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