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My sisters pc is playing up and I need help!

She had a power cut the other night, and now her pc starts up but gets no further than the DOS screen giving the option to start in safe mode, use last settings that worked or in normal mode. Whichever option she chooses it goes round in  a loop and offers her the same page again. Windows itself just doesn't want to play.

Any ideas as to what I should do?

If she is in swindon take it into PC Medic in Greenbridge Road ( to the side of Grime2Shine), The man in there is really good and fixed in no time at all when my mums done that.

Had the once before and i just stuck the disk in and did a system reinstall over the top which solved it. Si will know more, i'm just typing shit to sound good.

Try getting into Windows Advanced Options Menu which has other ways of running Windows when it won't start up normally. To get the menu, you need to power off your computer and  restart it. Immediately start tapping the f8 key until the Advanced Options Menu comes up. You may find it takes several restarts to get this menu to come up.

your best option if that doesnt work is to just to do a system repair if you have your system disc.

Or you could try and use System Restore Facility through in safe mode if you can access it:

(1) Log on to Windows as Administrator (or as any other administrator-level user).
(2) Click [Start] then [Help and Support] then [Performance and Maintenance] then [Using System Restore to undo changes] then [Run the System Restore Wizard].
(3) On the Welcome to System Restore screen, select Restore my computer to an earlier time (if it is not already selected), and then click Next.
(4) On the [Select a Restore Point] screen, click the most recent system checkpoint in the On this list, click a restore point list, and then click Next.
(5) A System Restore message may appear that lists the configuration changes that System Restore will make. Click OK.
(6) On the Confirm Restore Point Selection screen, click Next. System Restore restores the previous Windows XP configuration, and then restarts the computer.
(7) Log on to the computer as Administrator or other administrator-level user. The System Restore Restoration Complete screen appears.
(8) Click OK.

there is another way but i cant think how you do it  ???  i had the same problem several months ago, good luck

Cheers guys - that gives me a couple of things to try when I go round.

You may need to do a repair install like Barry says. I would try anything you can before this but it's not that terrifying - you don't lose your files or settings. You just have to be VERY careful to make sure you're doing a repair install and not something else.

You will need a Windows installation disc and the serial code. The serial code is usually on a sticker on the back of the pc.

What version of windows is it?

She is running XP on an reconditioned HP desktop. God knows if she has an installation disc.

Will the disc auto-run as it is stuck in DOS?

If it's XP home addition I can sort you out a copy of the disc, all you'll need is the license key/serial number which should be on a sticker on the back/bottom of the pc.

I'm doing a copy for someone else this week so it's no bother, but I guess it depends if you're in Swindon or out of town. If not I can always upload an iso disc image for you to burn onto a cd.

And yes, it should auto-run, you may need to change the boot settings in the BIOS menu though, but usually you get a message like 'press any key to boot from cd'.

Cheers mate - I will let you know how I get on tomorrow night.

As others have said, definately a repair.