I have the same problem on a Compaq presario 2195us laptop running XP home.
My problem started after a reboot of an SP2 upgrade.
I will be trying either of the two when I get a chance
1).
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=228888
" using recovery console on a single computer".
2). Try booting form the INSERT bootable ISO image on CD.
Inside Security Rescue Toolkit
Will try to rename ntfs.sys .
http://www.bootdisk.info/comments.php?id=12&catid=1
David Meo
store2net@adelphia.net
Please let me know if your try works.