Karen,

Are you running Windows XP or 2000?

Also do you have your original installation CD?

The computer that does not want to boot and needs repair is XP professional. This one (the host laptop I use to rescue files from the USB-attached hard disk) is XP home.
Your suggestion to give it a little wait solved the problem! After about 10 mins of waiting, it booted nicely into safe mode. Thanks!!! I have now changed permissions and ownership and, copyed the TB folder to the other (this) laptop. I have not yet found out how to merge it with the folder I have established here but, that can wait. What´s important is too feed it back to my own once it´s working again.
I have got the original installation CD (an OEM licence) but the CDROM is not working. I have also copyed the CD to a thumbdrive but my Compaq cannot boot from anything but the floppy drive. No option to change that in BIOS (only enable/disenable USB). I have also placed a copy of the CD in a folder i have named CDROM on the hard disk, attenpting to have it install from there. Also got SP1 and SP2 update files ready to feed the computer once it´s working again (I take it all the updates will be gone), plus ZA firewall to reinstall before i dare plug in the wireless network card..

lol, I was going to talk you though getting around agpcpq if you couldn't get in. It's quite a known problem with this particular system file.

Looks like you have everything prep'd.

Got the ammunition ready, ok, but do I know how to handle these guns...?? (LOL). Problems line up and await me here. First is that I can´t find ANY of the TB emails I had prior to Aug. 12.,when the computer got contaminated with spyware. Later, in October, the laptop broke down complelely. All the old emails were still there until the computer collapsed. Scanning the sick drive about a month ago revealed they were still there.... and now I wonder if emails have been subject to some kamikaze function by the folder protection when I tried to copy them to another computer? Should have been about 2,5 GB and is now only 103 MB and, only the most recent emails are still here. Any ideas? I have dug around for hours looking for another storage placement or backups. Still looking.

Na, folder protection doesn't touch the actually contents of the file. Have you checked the size of the file on the HDD, maybe something went wrong during the copy, or whatever caused your disk to become corrupt in the first place?

The HDD size seemed as if all files were still there (by size), with the only difference that I myself deleted some other files from another folder I had placed there to save downloads. I did download a special program from Microsoft a year or two ago to protect folders and files (not the embedded file protection in XP). That program became immensily UN-popular because files were too secured could not be read when people quit and left. Microsoft removed that program on demand earlier this year. Could be it.
Or, maybe the malware that erased the startup files took more? I will go through all again in safe mode later tonight but, now I need leave my computer and do some errends. I´ll log in later tonight when that´s done.

Yes, think you´re right - either something went wrong during copying or, the spyware/virus took more than just the boot up files. I know for a fact that something went wrong Aug. 12. I replaced Avast with AVG, just to try it out and to try save CPU ressources. Then, something shut down both AV and FW and I suddenly had a great number of spywares, all coming in that date. I assumed I still had spyware left after cleaning and gone back to Avast - which proved right, because the computer broke down in October. I still haven´t found the emails and I am still looking. Tricky to find time because we´re all gearing up for Christmas. I´ll log back when that´s done. (either found or I give up finding them).