Thanks for the suggestion Squidly....that's exactly what I've done. Complete reformat, reinstall & slowly reloading all my apps and data.

Am I having fun yet? lol

Well I don't know if this is better or worse. I finally got to do a Repair from my CD but now the problem has changed.

I can boot into Windows now BUT ALL of my programs and files are no longer...

I'm really hoping for a solution before I kick this machine out the window :rolleyes:

This is a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop, BIOS v.A06 (yea I see there's an update available but it's been fine...