Hi,
I need some help wth my PC - yesterday my wife started it but the black screen popped up saying Win can not start and the issue might have been caused by some recent software instalation etc.
It gives some options like safety mode start etc, but either you choose - after a few seconds of what looks like a standard Win XP launch it comes back to the black screen with the same info (a blue screen with some texts blinks for 0.01 or so sec too...
Any ideas what happened?
The only software update we made recently was the instalation of SD-card port driver downloaded from HP website...
Thanks for tips & tricks...

Sorry to say it, but its time for a format/reinstall...

have you tried using the rescue disk or trying to start it in safe mode? Here's a page that might help http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproble.../safemodexp.htm.

Do you mean "regardless of what you choose"?

The point being that it is the blue screen you mentioned which will provide information as to exactly what is wrong but it sounds like the PC is doing an Automatic Restart. If you can get in via safe mode and turn this off then you would be able to see exactly what the error is and hopefully be in a better position to fix it without have to do a format and reinstall.

Not necessarily the end of the world. If you have the XP disk then you can try restoring the Registry using the "Recovery console" : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/en-us

Good luck and may the force be with you.

Hi
Thanks for all the tips, but it does not look like an issue with registry.
The system can not be started in a safety mode - yes I can choose this option but although the system attempts to start up it comes back to the initial screen with the error messge after a few seconds. Basically whichever start up option you choose or try it does not work... :,,,(

God knows where is my Win CD - I bet my son knows more about it but claims he has no clue

It seems I will need to take the PC to the service point, or maybe one of you would like to earn some euros?

And what happens when you choose 'Normal startup'?

Did you install WinXP SP3? SP3 may have issues with AMD based PCs.

It's highly likely that it IS a registry issue, and if not, the restore also restores other start up files too that could have ended up with crap inside them. By your own admission you have recently installed drivers for your new hardware. How do you think Windows knows to fire-up your hardware? Ever had a PC hang on you when you go to shut it down because a printer is switched off? It does amuse me when people (who know little) about computers ask for help, even though in their own (untrained) minds they have already decided what is and isn't the problem. So be it.

Suggest to ensure you disconnect all unneeded hardware from the PC before booting (esp. the new device).

Previous comment RE the registry fix is probably all you need if you can't boot into XP at all (even safe mode). If you can boot into rescue mode, and think the new driver is the culprit, you could log into the XP installation and rename the driver file if there is one - XP won't try and run the code in the driver if it can't find the driver file.

I use Norton Ghost to create an exact disk image of my hard disk when everything is stable. This gives a fallback in case you can't get XP working again - I know this is not useful right now, but could be a way of avoiding this in the future.

Hope you get it sorted

I am not saying the recent driver instalation did not cause problems but I would be surprised - the PC is HP and has a built-in SD card reader - we have downloaded a dedicated driver from HP support website and the computer (and the SD card reader) worked properly for a week or so. No new hardware or a software from unsafe source was installed.
The processor is not from AMD - it is Intel's Pentium M.
"Normal start up" like all other start up options does not work. The computer goes back to the initial screen with error message.
The PC has been working without a single problem for a few years.
Anyhow - a colleague from IT dept will have a look tomorrow... Thanks for all advices.