hhheeeellllllppppp
Turned computer on this morning. It brings up the logo of my motherboard - then a black screen comes up with text saying there may have been a power break or automatic shut down.
It then gives me options to start the computer
in safe mode
in safe mode with network
in safe mode with something else
start computer in last known good setting

if i choose any of these the computer seems to re boot - brings up the windows front page with the scrolling bar for a couple of minutes then clicks back to the black screen with the text with the options

anyone know how to get it to work properly other than using a hammer

I would try again:

Last known good configuration. If that fails try: "Safe Mode" then take the option for "system restore".

If that fails you will need your XP CD or if this is a manufactured computer the manufacturer might have a recovery hotkey rather than a CD.

If you have the CD there are a few things you can try from the Recovery Console such as Fixboot or Fixmbr.

You could also try doing a repair install of the operating system which may fix the operating system problem without replacing any of your files.

I had this exact same problem happen to me yesterday. Two nights ago windows updater said there were updates which needed to be installed, so I started the installation and went to sleep. When I woke up the screen was black. I restarted the computer and got the same message as above. I have tried every option given. If I try restarting with the last known working configuration it just gives me a black screen after bringing up the Windows Xp Logo. If I attempt to start in safe mode, it brings up the same black screen, except it says "safe mode" in the four corners of the screen.

Try doing a repair install. If you are using XP just insert the CD and then follow the stages upto doing an install it should then say it's detected a version already installed and give you an option to press R to do a repair install. This is different from the recovery console option.

Might as well try the Recovery Console first:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654

Try:

fixboot

fixmbr

bootcfg /rebuild

chkdsk /r

Between each attempted command try to restart and see if it has worked.

None of these options worked. The computer doesn't read the XP installation disc. It just takes me to the same options as before. I have a feeling I'm going to have to reset it to factory defaults.

Is your BIOS set to boot the CD prior to the hard drive?

If not it needs to be.

Enter the BIOS Setup or Boot Menu when prompted on startup and check it out.