XP won't boot - black DOS screen only

XP stopped booting and goes straight to a black DOS screen. Tried safe mode and last known good settings but just returns to the same screen. We're newbies to self repair work so hopefully we can get our laptop booted and recover the work without too much trouble. Thanks for any help!

Whats the make/model of the system?

On start up press F8 to get to the advanced startup options.
Then go to Disable automatic restart on system failure.
Do that & let us know what the exact error message is please.

Toshiba laptop (Windows XP) Professional
model # PSMB0U-015007

error message was

a problem was detected and windows has been shutdown to prevent damage to your computer. If this is the first time you have seen this stop error screen. Restart your computer and if this screen appears again follow these steps. Disable or uninstall any anti-virus, disk fragmentation or backup utilites. Check your hard drive configuration and check for any updated drivers. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

Bummer! I guess I posted the wrong info or was missed. If anyone knows what I need to do to get back into the rotation I would really appreciate the info. Thanks in advance for any help.

First step is to boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r

Thanks for the quick response. Not familiar with the recovery console but I will research on how to boot to it. Machine was purchased from Best Buy a while ago so not sure if I have any Windows XP CD or recovery CD. Are there any other ways to boot to the console without the CD's?

One way or another, given the problem you have, you are almost certainly going to need an XP CD. However, here is another method of getting to the recovery console that you may want to try:

Please download ARCDC from http://artellos.com/arcdc-page
Then:
1) Double click ARCDC.exe
2) Follow the dialog until you see 6 options. Please pick: Windows Professional SP2 & SP3
3) You will be prompted with a Terms of Use by Microsoft, please accept.
4) You will see a few dos screens flash by, this is normal.
5) Next you will be able to choose to add extra files. Select the Default Files.
6) The last window will allow you to burn the disk using BurnCDCC

Your ISO is located on your desktop.

Great! I'm searching now for the docs and CD's from when I purchased the laptop. Sounds like I can use this machine(my desktop)(windows XP also) to complete the steps above and then use the burned CD in the damaged laptop to try and get to the recovery console.

Please describe for us what exactly you are referring to as a "black DOS screen" when you say "XP stopped booting and goes straight to a black DOS screen".
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When you were asked to disable automatic restart and report the error message in full, you omitted to include the most important parts that we wished to see ("Bummer! I guess I posted the wrong info"). Please try again ...

Please do the following:

Get a look at the error message presented by the BSOD (blue screen of death) ....

• Start tapping the F8 key after you press the ON button, and continue tapping until you are presented with the "Windows Advanced Options Menu" screen.
  
  
  
• Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" and press the <ENTER> key.
• Your system will attempt to restart normally, but when it crashes, it will not re-start: Instead, you will see a BSOD with error message.
  
  
  
• Record the error message details (contained in the areas outlined in red, in the above example image), and post in your reply.

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If you wish to recover your 6 pages of homework ... or any other files from your laptop, because there is no guarantee that you will be able to recover your Windows system (anytime soon?) ....

If your computer is not able to boot into Windows or simply not able to access the internet, you can use a LIVE Linux operating system run from a bootable CD or flashdrive instead of Windows, to access the internet, to access files on the HDD(s) and do other tasks.

Using a working computer:

• If you wish to use a LIVE CD ...
  
• Download the Linux version of your choice (usually an .ISO image file).
  
• There are many options to use for a LIVE CD. I suggest that you try one of the following:
  
• Puppy Linux (download file size 128 MB)
• Ubuntu (download file size almost 700 MB)

[*]Burn the .ISO image to CD: If you do not already have a suitable burning program for writing .ISO images to disc ...

• Download and install ImgBurn.
• Ensure that you UN-check the box agreeing to install the Ask toolbar during the installation.
• Place a new (blank) CD disc in the drive tray.
• Choose Write image file to disc.
  
  • Under Source, click on the Browse button: Navigate to and select the .ISO file that you wish to burn.
  • Place a check-mark in the box beside Verify.
• Click

[*]When the CD has been burned and verified as successful, it will be bootable.
[/list][*]OR ... if you wish to use a LIVE flashdrive ...

• Go to UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads and at the top of the page, click on Download (for Windows) to download the application.
• Follow the instructions further down the page under the heading Installation & Screenshots.
• Run the application to download and install the Linux version of choice to your flashdrive.
  
• I suggest that you try one of the following:
  
• Puppy Linux (download file size 128 MB)
• Ubuntu (download file size almost 700 MB).

[/list][/list]
Boot the problematic machine from the LIVE CD or flashdrive.

• (You may have to configure the Boot Menu or BIOS Setup Menu to boot first from the optical/CD drive or the flashdrive, which ever you are using.)
• Choose to run the Linux operating system from the CD or flashdrive without making any changes to your computer.
  Do NOT install Linux on your hard drive.

• When the Linux operating system loads ...
  
• You will be able to navigate to all the files on your HDD.
• You can backup your files by copying them to a flashdrive or an external hard drive.
• Before using the internet (if you choose to use Puppy, for example) you may have to:
  
• Configure/set up the internet connection
• Download a favourite browser
  (With Ubuntu the foregoing should not be necessary.)

[/list]You may find one of the following guides useful:
Recover files from Windows XP hard disk using Puppy Linux

Recover files from Windows Vista hard disk using Puppy Linux

Recover files from Windows 7 hard disk using Puppy Linux

The easiest way to copy files/folders in Puppy is to drag-and-drop from one window to another. To do this open a window showing what you want to copy. Open another window showing the location that you wish to copy to .... and move the windows so that you can conveniently see both at the same time.

Now, simply drag the items you wish to copy from one window into the other. Simple.