Windos XP doesn't start. Help

Hi I got troubles with my pc, I would appreciate any help,

I got a laptop Window XP Home, (SP3). The problem is Windows doesn’t start. I got the black screen. I have tried Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, Safe Mode with command promt, Last known Setting that worked, and Start Window Normally. Nothing of these works.

I could reinstall Windows again with the Recovery Disk, but I will delete everything I got.
I managed to make a test with the recovery disk and this is that I got:
STOP: c0000218 (Registry File Failure)
The registry cannot load the file:
\systemRoot\system32\config\SOFTWARE
or its log or alternate.
It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.

My main concern is to safe my personal files. Any idea how I could do this?

 

If you can access the ERDNT (Erunt) folder in Windows, using a live cd, a network connection, or maybe wine, and run the program therein you can restore your registry from the backup located there. If recovery isn't possible I usually run a Linux Live CD, mount the C: drive and copy any files wanted to an external USB or flash drive. Will probably pick up that Sabrent adapter on my next run to compusa...

 

Similar case here, see how the OP fixed it in post #6.

 

I’d like to let you know that thanks to your help I managed to fix the problem. My pc is back to normal.
I did it using the very first solution given by Major Attitude on http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830084.
I followed the steps ‘Use the recovery console to confirm that the hard disk or file system is not damaged’
Once in Recovery Console, I examined hard disk with chkdsk and I got ‘The volume appears to be in good condition and was not checked’
Then did chkdsk /r and it found and fixed (all at once) errors on the volume.
That was all, pc restarted and back to normal.

Thanks you all for help, because I am not an pc literate and I managed to fix my pc. I asked in some local repair shop, quoted me £45 and to leave my pc there for 2-3 days. Thanks guys.

 

Glad to hear that you got it working. I would howeve rbe careful. as MajorAttitude said this may be indicative that your hard drive is failing. Keep an eye on it and if you get the same or a similar problem soon then replace the drive. Come back for instructions if you need to but it is a fairly simple task that shouldn't require a shop to do.