[Peachykeen]

I have Vista Home Premium on my Dell 1525 Inspiron laptop. I logged off yesterday with the little Windows icon telling me it would install updates before logging off so keep the power on, etc. I did that.

I came back later and attempted to turn the computer on and I got a black DOS-type screen with "Windows Error Recovery" at the top and the msg, "Windows failed to start...", etc. I tried to Launch the repair tool, but got nowhere.

I chatted online for 2 hrs. with Microsoft and also got nowhere except to be told that I wil have to reinstall my software - meaning I will lose everything on my HD (this was confirmed by Dell). The drive retrieval company Dell recommended will wipe out my bank account to "try" to recover my files. (I have since turned the automatic updates OFF on my other computers!)

Please help!
Thanks!
(not so) Peachykeen (from a 6-yr-old dinosaur laptop)