Date: 09/02/05 (Computer Help)    Keywords: software, microsoft

For the past couple days, my computer had been freezing 1-5 minutes after Windows started. I went to Microsoft's homepage and they suggested a clean boot, which i performed, and still it froze after about a minute. I decided to try starting it in safe mode to determine if it was a problem with Windows at all or a problem with the computer itself (which is a junk E-machines PC from 2002.). Like the Microsoft homepage suggested, I changed the setting in Run> MSCONFIG so it would start automatically in safe mode, rather than booting in safe mode with F8. Now the computer is stuck on a loop of trying to start, not being able to and restarting.

The screen says this: Sorry for the inconveience, but Windows did not start sucessfully. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this.) I have no idea what to do. If anyone has any ideas at all, please help. Then, there's a menu for several different safe modes, the last good configuration, and start Windows normally. none of these load all the way to windows and the computer will restart and return to this screen.

If there's nothing that can be done aside from wiping the whole thing clean and reinstalling Windows, is there any way i can get my files/programs off the hard drive first? or are they lost forever?

Source: http://www.livejournal.com/community/computer_help/480174.html