I think Norton killed my pc

[bubba gump]

I have just downloaded a 2007 special update from norton and my machine has died.....
After I had done the update every time I went to put in a blank disc to burn some photos from my hols i got the dreaded blue screen that tells you that Windows has recovered from a major problem and restarted and when it loaded up it sent an error report which was saying that it didn't know excactly what was wrong but the anti virus was causing it and after the 2/3 time of this happening and the Norton programme recommending to me I change the Phising protection to theirs, when it restarted it got to the second boot up screen then nothing just a blank screen not even a blinking light on the pc.
I have tried starting it in safe mode and it gets to the screen where it asks me what I want to do, I tried Load Windows XP normally and thet doesn't work and then I tried to Go Back To An Earlier Point When I Last Worked Ok and that loads into a new screen of what I thinks is different driives or progs loading up then it stops and does nothing.
I don't want to return to factory setting unless I really have to because there is a folder of photos that I really don't want to lose, and songs that I have bought from itunes
Is there anything that I could do that can help
I'm running Windows XP Media Centre

[Buenchico]

I've always managed to get round problems like this by re-installing Windows. I'm not referring to a 'full' install (which involves formatting the hard drive and losing all data) but an 'on top' installation which should preserve the majority of data. (The only thing I've ever needed to do, after reinstalling Windows in this way, is to reinstall my anti-virus software. All other data has been preserved).

However, I've only done this using pre-XP versions of Windows. I've never tried it with XP although, theoretically, it's still possible. Instructions are here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341

Once you've got back to a stable PC, ditch Norton. It's a absolute disaster area. Even if it doesn't crash your PC, it's likely to slow it up. Switch to the free programs which are far better than either Norton or McAfee. The most widely recommended free firewall is Zone Alarm (but Comodo is also popular). For free anti-virus software, use either AVG or Avast. Support those with ant-spyware programs such as Ad-Aware and/or SpyBot.

Chris

[bubba gump]

Thanks for your reply Chris.
I hope that it helps, I'm just a bit nervous about having a go because I'm abit of a novice when it comes to these kinda things, and I really don't wanna lose those pictures I mentioned, because they are from a special occasion that I'll never be able to take again.
One other Q that I have is that the only disc that came with the PC (Mesh) is a Restore disc that says on it that I shouldn't use it until I have consulted their Tech Support, is that to get me to phone the expensive phone line?
Is this the disc I need to use to get around my problems!
Thanks Again

[Buenchico]

(Posted in 2 parts):

You might find it impossible to completely re-install Windows if you've only got a recovery disk. I've only ever worked with PCs where there's been a proper Windows disk available. I'm not sure exactly what's on a recovery disk. If it's basically a boot-up disk, the instructions for using it should be fairly simple and shouldn't cost you too much if you have to receive them via a premium rate phone line. (It'll certainly be a lot cheaper than taking your computer to PC World, where they'll charge you at least �30 just to look at it).

I suggest phoning the help line - after, of course, ensuring that you've got a pen and paper handy, together with the recovery disk - There's no point in paying for the time it takes you to find a pen!

If you want to try an experiment first, to see if the recovery disk acts like a basic boot-up disk, try this:

[Buenchico]

Power up your PC. Ignore any error messages. Simply put the disk into the drive and restart your PC. Then . . .

A) If you get to some clear instructions, simply follow them.

OR

B) If, instead, you get to a screen offering you different ways to boot the PC, select 'minimal boot'. Then, when you get to something like 'C:>_', type 'scanreg/fix' (without the quotation marks). When you receive a report that the registry has been repaired, press 'Enter' and then (after waiting for any disk activity) remove the disk, restart the PC and cross your fingers that everything will return to normal.

OR

C) If you don't get anything comprehensible on the screen, it's time to make that phone call.

Chris

[Dextrous]

Hi
I had the exact same problem a few weeks ago and I had to re boot using a RAID floppy disc and this allowed me to boot up and then reload Windows xp from the original disc.

If you don't have a RAID disc then you need to get someone to search the web for the site of the manufacturer of whatever motherboard you have and download a RAID disc for you.

Hope this helps.

[bubba gump]

Thanks Guys, I'll give it a bash if it doesn't work then I will be giving it a bash with a hammer.
Just one more Q, sorry to be a pain!!
When it boots up at the moment I have the option of pressing F10 to restore it to factory settings, I'm not too sure if it will let me go on from that stage but if I do does that wipe everything off and send me back to how it was just out of the box, someone has told me that they have done this before but they still had all their folders and files, is this true?
Thanks again guys you have been more than helpful, so much more so than the reply I got back from Mesh.....