Can't get out of Advanced Options Window, (won't boot in Safe Mode or otherwise)

[quogue]

Inspiron 8600 Laptop running Win XP Pro SP2

put my PC in Safemode so I could do a System Restore as it was not working in normal mode... but instead of just tapping F8 repeatedly, found another way to get there by going to MSCONFIG and on the BOOT.INI tab, I selected the /SAFEBOOT option then restarted... I was told that after solving my issue, I could just go back there and uncheck the option...
 
However, now my PC is in an infinite loop with the Advanced Options Window and will not boot at all- in safe mode or otherwise, and I can't get out of this window... it won't even start using Last Known Configuration..  my screen cycles from Advanced Options Window- counting down from 30 to 0, then goes to Windows XP logo screen, the Dell logo screen with filling BIOS bar, then back to Advanced Options Window again...

Is there a way to get to DOS, then a command line?  Ultimately I want to get back to MSCONFIG and the Systems Utility Screen to uncheck what was checked (ie /SAFEBOOT)- that was what started the problem.

Thanks.

[Broni]

Boot to Windows XP CD, and run repair installation.

[dahlarbear]

1.  Disable Automatic Restart.  From the Windows Advanced Options Menu select the item "Disable automatic restart on system failure" if there is such an option.  This should break the reboot cycle and hopefully force a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).  Record the the message text and numbers exactly as they appear and post them here.  An internet search on "exact" substrings of the message frequently identify the problem and resolution.

2.  Recovery Console.  If you get a Windows XP Professional SP2 Installation CD, you may boot to recovery console (from the CD) and attempt to fix your current installation.  Try these commands in the following order with normal system boot in between to see if it resolved the issue:

    a.  chkdsk /p
    b.  chkdsk /r
    c.  fixboot
    d.  bootcfg /rebuild

3.  Safe Mode.  If you just want to eliminate the "Safe Mode" hard drive boot, start with the above "bootcfg /rebuild" command, although I'm not optimistic that will resolve anything.