problems starting XP on laptop

[S.K.]

My laptop today decided it no longer wanted to proceed past the XP
user log-in screen when I turn it on. I get no user name to click on,
and cannot do anything from the screen.

I have tried to reboot in safe mode, unsuccessfully; have tried to
boot from a network, but it resulted in the same screen. I tried to
restore the last good settings and got a message that a driver had
been successfully restored, but it still would not go further than the
XP screen.

I would like to just restore the OS, but my system recovery CDs will
overwrite the entire hard drive.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

SK