HELP! Windows XP will not load

If anyone can help me with this problem, it will be greatly appreciated.

My windows xp on my dell does not load. I get an error message saying that something went wrong and asks me if i want to start windows normally, start in safe mode, or return to previous configuration. Start windows normally and restore to previous config. do not work...after the black screen with the scrolling bar, the screen just goes blank and nothing happens.
If i start in safe mode, a list of files scrolls down, eventually stops and then nothing happens.

I put the win xp reinstallation disk in the cd drive and restarted, and the recovery doesn't even come up...it goes straight to the error screen and asks me how i want to load xp. why doesn't the recovery/repair screen come up? i tried putting the cd in the cd-rw drive and same thing.

There was a storm over the weekend that seemed to disrupt several internet connections on my block, but everyone's computer is working ok, just the modems are down. My computer was off all weekend, i have a surge protector but it won't work.

Also, i don't know if this could be a factor, but my cd-rom drive has been acting funny...its been whirring really loudly and making strange noises...could it have gone berserk and could this be causing the problem?

can i make a system disk? who should i contact for free help? my warranty form dell is probably over by now?

can anyone help???? Thanks so much.

a

 

make sure that your CD rom is set to boot first in the bios.. otherwise it's going to be skipped at boot directly from the hard drive.

 

Ok thanks...how do i do that?

 

when you boot your DELL machine, there is a option on the screen that says "press (a button) to enter setup". What ever "that button" is, press it and it will bring you into the bios. It may be F2 or DEL key.. Once in the bios, you're going to need to look for boot sequence and adjust it accordingly.

 

Ok thanks alot...i did that and got the re-installation going. When i hit R to do a system recovery, then it prompted me to enter which recovery i wanted to go back to. There was only one option, which was 1: c/windows...so i typed in 1 pressed enter, and then nothing happens...the screen just stays the way it is. I guess the only thing left to do is just completely re-install windows? will i lose all my saved files?