Thanks for taking an interest on this subject Allan. I just started up again and it started ok in normal mode .Yes i do have a windows disc that is genuine. The computer has crashed twice today and this hasn't happened since i brought it new 2 years ago.
A new day, and the the problem with the warning from Registry Recovery saying it had to recover data from a log or alternate copy has gone, since I merged back the last issues, ccleaner found.
I can now get into add and remove programs with no trouble.
At start up I still get the message that new hardware has been found and the wizzard wants to find install for Raid controller
I've tried system restore, no difference
Did a disk check on C, says its ok
I notice now that when i open my computer icon that the torch icon comes up and does a search for 20 seconds before any icons come into view
I hope this helps Rob