Thanks for the reply. Yep it is a recovery dvd but doesnt it still contain win xp? Maybe just no recovery console. I am getting a blue screen right after the windows logo says something like "Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE"
Ive read some forums and think I know how to fix this as long as I can reach the recovery console. Sounds like I may need a real win xp cd, or can the console alone be downloaded and booted from cd hopefully (in a perfect world)