Hello PCFreak

Welcome to PCHF
First of all, I'm sorry for the delay in response.
It sounds to me like you did a full reinstall of Windows. Were you trying to wipe all your data off and then do a fresh install of XP? If so, I'd say you should retry the restore and do a full format of your hard drive when it asks.
As far as the flash thing, that usually refers to updating your BIOS. You shouldn't have a reason to do that. If that is the only option you have during boot, there may be a serious problem on your motherboard as a result of the power outtage.
So again, if you can, try a to start the XP installation over again and format the partition. Understand if you format you will wipe ALL the data off your hard drive, so you are going to lose anything you saved.
Hope that helps!
