said by bcastner
:Promise me you will not go into Safe Mode if it happens again, and that you will not use System Restore. The choice if this happens again is to start XP in Normal mode.
1. Please check in Add or Remove Programs to see if there is an entry for Service Pack 3.
If so, Uninstall it. If you have IE7 or IE8(beta) installed, use Add or Remove Programs and uninstall.
2. Download the stand-alone SP3 package. This is 315mb, and will not be quick to download:
»
www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta···ylang=en3. When the download completes, reboot, and begin tapping frequently the "F8" function key. When the boot option menu appears, select Safe Mode (without Networking). Use as the Logon Name "Administrator" (without the quotation marks). Double click your SP3 dowload to install Service Pack 3.
4. Remember that if you see the Boot Option again after a restart, please choose to enter Normal mode.
When your Desktop finishes loading, reboot again.
Please advise of any issues you experienced.
Yes, I tried choosing Start in normal mode, or last known cofiguration. Both of them resulted in it going right back to that screen, in a loop. So I had to start in safe mode and do a restore.