Cannot Start System

I turned on my XP Pro this morning and got a message
"we apologize for the inconvience but windows did not start successfully. A
recent HD/SW change might have caused this.

If your computer stopped responding.......
..(snipped).
safe mode
safe mode with networking
safe mode with command prompt

Last known good conf

start windows normally."

None worked, I just go back to the same screen like a loop.. I powered down
the system and that didnt help..
System was turned off normally last night, nortons was up and running so I
dont think it's a virus.

Please help.
Thanks

[R. C. White]

Hi, Sharkman.

Well, if Windows shut down normally last night and won't boot this morning,
I would suspect hardware.

There are many possibilities, but it's probably something quite simple.
Like a loose cable, or a defective one. Maybe some tired component (power
supply, RAM module) finally died - or is just not up to par.

Tell us more about the boot sequence. Apparently you do get past all the
BIOS boot procedures and Windows begins to boot. You are able to press F8
and get the menu with Safe Mode and other options. You chose Safe Mode and
got the same apologetic message?

What is the make and model of your computer? How many hard drives and how
are they partitioned? Are the HDs connected directly to the standard IDE
onboard controller, or through a RAID, SCSI or other add-on card? What
about your video card? Are there - or have there been - any other operating
systems installed on this computer? No, we probably don't need ALL that
information, but if we know what you DO have, it will keep us from
suggesting fixes for what you DON'T have. The more pertinent information
you give us, the better chance you have of getting useful help.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

> wrote in message
...
> I turned on my XP Pro this morning and got a message
> "we apologize for the inconvience but windows did not start successfully.
A
> recent HD/SW change might have caused this.
>
> If your computer stopped responding.......
> .(snipped).
> safe mode
> safe mode with networking
> safe mode with command prompt
>
> Last known good conf
>
> start windows normally."
>
> None worked, I just go back to the same screen like a loop.. I powered
down
> the system and that didnt help..
> System was turned off normally last night, nortons was up and running so I
> dont think it's a virus.
>
> Please help.
> Thanks