windows vista refuses to boot

[makken]

Gah, i hate it when computers fail right when you need them the most.

Large project due tomorrow, all files are located on a laptop, and I can't seem to get it to boot now. It's running windows vista and the OS boots fine, but it hangs on the welcome screen, with a please wait sign, going for 15 minutes now. I can't log in or do anything.

Safe mode has the same problem - vista starts up then completely hangs on the login screen.

has anyone encountered this problem before in vista? know any solutions?

thanks

 

[mechBgon]

You might have to resort to a repair, which is done by starting the Vista installation process and watching for this screen. In this case, I've booted from the Vista DVD, so this may not help if your laptop maker didn't give you one.