xp will not boot

[newfie1968]

i have a toshiba laptop every time i power it on i get the screen that says choice of bootup ie..safe mode..normal.. and so  on,but to no advail will my system start up it keeps reseting after the alotted 30 sec

[Allan]

What is different since the last time the system booted properly (new hw, sw, virus, error, etc)?

[newfie1968]

there is nothing new about my system

[newfie1968]

Power on the computer and tap F8 immediately until I got to the Advanced Boot Options menu then Highlight Safe Mode and press enter...  and it did not boot no matter what option i used

[Allan]

Based on the limited background provided this is the best I can suggest:

1) Boot to your XP CD and choose the first repair option. When you get to the recovery console run chkdsk /r - it will take a while to run, let it finish and then reboot. If still no joy

2) Boot to the XP CD and choose the SECOND repair option and do a repair install.

[dahlarbear]

Blue Screen of Death.  If you disable the auto restart, hopefully the machine will stop on a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).  Record and post back with the "exact" error message text and/or numbers plus any offending software module it might name.

Use the <F8> function key during system startup to access the Windows Advanced Options Menu.  Tap the <F8> key once or twice per second as you startup the computer (or immediately after POST completes and screen flashes black prior to displaying Windows XP logo with its processing bar display).

From the Windows Advanced Options menu, use the up/down arrow keys to select the "Disable automatic restart on system failure" and hit <Enter>.

This item became available with the release of Service Pack 2.  It is not on the Windows Advanced Options menu of Service Pack 1.