win xp keeps on going to error screen

[dev_d_bhatt]

Hey there, im actually posting this on behalf of a friend who recently came across some problems with WinXP (Home Edition)
on his home pc.

He owns a Packard Bell pc, about 3 years old, its a Pentium 4.

The problem occurs when starting up the pc. Everytime he starts it, he gets the screen which starts of by saying
"We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully..." and then prompts him to select from
a list of options

Safe mode, safe mode with networking, last known good configuration, start windows normally, etc.

However, whichever he tries to select, WinXP still doesnt load, and the pc restarts and goes back to the same
screen as above!

So anyway, i tried to go into his BIOS setup (in the main screen after starting up, when they say "Press F2 for BIOS Setup")
but found that i couldnt even access the BIOS. Its as if the pc just ignored my commands and went straight to the "We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully..." screen.

Theres a small variation though. when he selects "last known good configuration" in the screen, the WinXP logo pop up for a bit (as though its loading) but then again, the PC restarts itself and its back to square one.

Basically, theres no way he can access his WinXP at all..

He's really perplexed as a lot of his work documents r on that pc..

i really hope someone here can help me out! thanks!!!

Regards,
dev

[flanzig1]

He may have some hardware issues. I'm thinking that the HD is going bad. Download the drives diagnositics progran from which every brand it is.

[moistmule]

have a look for an option that allows you to disable the wautomatic reboot. this isn't present in all versions.

other than that, have you tried repairing or reinstalling?

[glc]

If it has XP SP2, there's an option on the boot menu screen you are getting to disable restart on error. Use it, and read the bluescreen and post what the first few lines say.