laptop and xp problem

Hi. I wasnt sure where to post this as this is my first time here..
I have an hp laptop with XP. A year ago the power went out right as it was logging off now it wont start again. I can get to the user loggin part. Where you can click on the car or chess piece or whatever for different users. When I click on it it flashes to my desktop screen for like 1/2 a second and then xp logs off and it returns to the user page again.

I'm kinda stuck here and cant do anything with it. Is it fixable???

I am far from being a geek so I need help.

Thanks for any you can give me

 

This issue is commonly caused by a nasty bit of malware. The PC logs on and off OK as long as the malware is there. But if you run a scan and the malware is removed, you end up with the problem you described. This is because the malware takes over the logon routine, and when it's removed, the logon routine is removed with it. Here's some possible fixes:
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Windows-XP-Logs-Then-Immediately-Logs-Off-t15771.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/en-us
http://www.housing.hawaii.edu/resources/support/winlogoff.htm (a shortened version of one of the fixes from the first link)
This issue is usually caused by malware as I posted above.... usually but not always. When I have run into this problem, and if the fix in the 3rd link above doesn't work, I have found that a clean install is usually required. Again, usually but not always. I have fixed this issue by using the steps in the 2nd link I posted. This is a fairly involved process, and there's quite a few commands that must be entered exactly perfect, and the steps must be followed exactly perfect without intentionally or accidentally leaving anything out. So it's probably best to print the article from the 2nd link and study it a bit before starting the process. If you can get your hands on an ERD Commander disc (published by Winternals I think) you can try a remote system restore to a date before the problem started. If nothing works and you just want to save your data (music, pictures, documents, etc) before formatting and wiping the hard drive for a clean Windows install, you can boot to a UBCD4Win and burn your stuff to CD/DVD (you'll need 2 CD/DVD drives in your PC and one must be a burner) or you can copy it to an external or USB thumb drive. The UBCD4Win is a free utility that is basically like running Windows XP from a CD. You boot to it and you end up in a desktop environment that runs just like Windows; there are many VERY helpful programs already loaded and you can browse your drive and copy any desired files to an external USB drive or a thumb drive (just be sure to have them plugged into the PC before booting to the CD). If you want to burn your files to CD or DVD, you'll need 2 optical drives, and if only one is a burner, then you'd put the UBCD4Win in the drive that doesn't burn. The UBCD4Win has built-in burning programs (in addition to tons of other stuff). Here's the download link for the UBCD4Win:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/UBCD4Win_d5710.html
And here's a link to the 'how-to-build-the-UBCD4win' article, be sure to read this before downloading the file so you'll know if you can actually do it. It's really easy to do, so don't worry:
http://www.ubcd4win.com/howto.htm
You will need your Windows XP installation disc for all of the fixes I have mentioned here. You will need it to build the UBCD4Win also. For best results with building the UBCD4Win, do not use an OEM Windows disc (like one from Dell or Gateway); you should use just a regular Microsoft disc if one is available.
Good luck! and Welcome to Major Geeks!

[dlb]
:major

 

Should be able to if it was just a power outage not a power surge, did you try System Restore after the power outage?

What is the model number of the HP?
Did it have SP2 on it?
Can you get into safe mode? If you can, you can check it for malware too.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222