shut down; can't get back in - T30 2366-86U Win XP Pro

[etag]

I went into edit thinking I could delete message from there. Anyway till I review the instructions for deleting I'm putting this message so no one else takes their time trying to help me.

Thanks again for the two replies!

[poshgeordie]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

The fault you're describing looks identical to this link, where the Windows Sytem32 directory is corrupt, and gives a solution for fixing it.

The poster used a Linux Knoppix CD which gives access to the Windows files.

There are Windows alternatives like BartsPE, UBCD, however they do require some work to assemble.

Additonally if you're OK with DOS, make a DOS bootable CD and make the alterations via DOS.

Even if you're not Linux conversant, I would suggest downloading and burning the latest Ubuntu Desktop CD.
Booting from the CD will load Ubuntu Desktop into memory and should let you make the changes to the XP directories.

[killer]

Have you tried Rescue & Recovery? At power on, press the Access IBM button or F11 before Windows starts to load. That should bring up the menu for restoring to your last back up.