If I cannot find my original WindowsXP installation disks can I just use someone else's?
Maybe as long as I have the correct service pack version its okay?

The windowsXP is fully licensed by the way.
Someone has recommended using bartpe in order to boot from CD because windows is crashing with blue screen and then restarting.
Someone tried backing up files by connecting my (laptop) disk as a slave on another computer but it was not readable.
The reason seems to be that my laptop disk has Checkpoint/Pointsec full disk encryption (which loads up and I can get through okay giving usual username/password but then it starts loading WindowsXP, flashing up the WindowsXP logo before crashing with bluescreen and restarting all over again).
I hope its just the windows whcih is corrupted and I can get at my datafiles because there is some important (according to me) work on there currently not backed up... doh!

Thanks for any help.

After you enter your name and password to Checkpoint try pressing F8 repeatedly while Windows starts and see if you can get to the Windows restart menu.

Hi Ed_P - after gving Pointsec credentials and hitting F8 a few times it gives me safe mode/normal windows boot options.
If I choose one of those options then it starts trying to load windows that way and I tried hitting F8 a few more times but to no avail - it carries on as if booting windows but then crashes with blue screen which disappears quicker than I can read it and laptop tries to restart asking once more for Pointsec credentials.

By the way, in case of interest - this laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad with a blue Thinkvantage button (isn't that great?) which when pressed allows me into the "Startup INterrupt Menu" where I can enter BIOS Setup Utility... could that be helpful?

One more thing - in addition to "F1 BIOS Setup Utility" the Startup Interrupt Menu offers "F12 to choose a temporary startup device"; I wonder if that can be useful here? Thanks for any tips!

Hmmm, removing the battery cartridge from underneath laptop I can see a label announcing Windows7 Pro (Lenovo Singapore) and a Microsoft Product Key. I am starting to think maybe the IT guys at work (its a work laptop) have installed WindowsXP on this machine {perhaps because that is what they are used to supporting} or is it possible that Windows7 would boot up showing a WindowsXP logo (which is what I see at startup).

If Ed or anyone else has further suggestions/tips then I wish them good karma...

Your IT staff should read this checkpoint KB.

Thanks Allen!

So it looks like they should be able to create this recovery disk using another laptop which has Pointsec installed (presumably one which uses the same WindowsXP and service packs?).
And it looks like we would not need to use a BartPE disk then?

Excuse this ignorant question but what would be the quickest way to back up my precious files once I have that disk?
When it says configure the BIOS to boot on the media would that be a case of selecting the d: cd/dvd drive in one of the bios options (I can see currently excluded from boot order is "ATAPI CD1" / "ATAPI CD2" while "2: ATAPI CD0: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM etc" is number 2 in the boot order after "1: USB FDD:" so I would need to add ATAPI CD1 into top spot of boot order with the recovery disk inserted?

Then it says I need to boot on the media and start recovery.
Will the working environment be the normal Windows or near enough at that point?
Can I immediately make a backup copy of my important data directories to an external USB hard disk at that point?
I'd just like to save(backup) my data if possible before doing anything further along the lines of "recovery"...

I can be a bit of a worrier (did you notice?)... I would like to ask if anyone (Allen?) knows if it matters what service pack is on the XP/Pointsec machine from which the recovery disk is created. If my laptop was running XP with Service Pack 4 say and the boot disk is created from one on SP2 or SP256 or whatever the latest one is then will it make any difference to (1) backing up my files (2) recovering my laptop fully (whatever that means...?)
Thanks for any information on this.

For reference the instructions were:

How to create the Pointsec recovery media

Solution ID: sk32906
Product: FDE / Pointsec PC
Version: 7.x, 6.x
Last Modified: 17-Nov-2010

Solution

To create a recovery media, go to a machine that has FDE [Full Disk Encryption] installed:

1. Locate the recovery file intended for the machine that needs to be decrypted. The recovery file will be named after the hostname (i.e. <computername>.rec). This file is found in the share designated by the Administrator.

2. Start the Create Recovery Disk utility (UseRec.exe). This utility is found at C:\Program Files\Pointsec\Pointsec for PC on a machine on which FDE is installed. You can also find this utility on the FDE Installation disk. (On the Installation disk, select ' FullDiskEncryption > 1_Pointsec for PC > >Tools > Reco_img > [a folder with the FDE version, for example, a folder called 7.4]'. UseRec.exe should be here.)

3. In the recovery disk utility, point to the recovery file and click "Create disk".

4. Authenticate with two users that have permissions to create recovery media.

5. Select type of media to write to.

6. When the media has been created successfully, remove the media.

7. Insert the media into the affected machine and configure the BIOS boot on it.

8. Boot on the media and start recovery.

I don't know pointsec and never used it but i suppose the recovery media created will allow your it staff to backup safely your data on an usb drive (for example). I don't think the service pack should be a problem but the pointsec version should be the same.