Originally Posted by
Saab Dastard
It sounds to me like you need to put your existing HDD to one side, get another HDD, install it into your PC, then put an OS onto it (you might have to buy that - 2nd hand on ebay?), then add your existing HDD as a 2nd (data) drive, either externally (via a USB caddy or cheap USB - IDE connector) or internally, assuming that you have the wherewithal to do so (space, power, IDE cable, etc.).
That way you don't lose your data, but can access your PC.
SD
^^^^ THIS, except you'll be able to harvest the OEM license key using the keyfinder now you've managed to boot into it. *Please* stop trying the futile task of repairing a broken PC when you don't know (and will never know) fully why it's broken. Honestly, cut your losses and get a new hard drive and reinstall. You'll then be working from a known-good configuration and will have confidence in the PC's ability to actually DO the tasks it's asked to do.
(I don't think any of us "stars" would normally try and dissuade you from doing something genuinely productive if we thought you'd learn from it....but one of the first things you learn as an IT guru is when to give up and reimage the PC).