Won't be seeing much of me...

[geoboy]

I read somewhere that certain files essential to Windows can become corrupt if the computer improperly shuts down, especially in the instance all power is suddenly lost.

Weltall, try repairing Windows. If you have Windows XP, just boot from the CD and act like you're reinstalling Windows. Somewhere along the process it will give you the option to "repair Windows installation". Try going through that process. If you have Windows 98 or ME, you should have a floppy boot disk you can use. If at any point in the process of repairing Windows it tells you that the installation is unrepairable and you need to format, DON'T. If it comes to that point, I recommend using a program called <a href="http://www.kickstartnews.com/reviews/utilities/spinrite_5.html">SpinRite</a> to recover the data. It'd probably be wise to invest in a new hard drive as well.

The absolute last option for recovering the data is to send it in to a shop that will extract the data at a steep cost (averaging around 300-700 bucks). I'm confident that if the Windows repair doesn't work, the $90 SpinRite utility definitely will.