crapped up my computer

ok... so I was manually cleaning my registry.
and I didn't didn't create a backup like I was supposed to
and I was going through really quick, and deleted an entire folder.
and... now, window's won't boot up.

It just gets stuck on the blue page, when logging into windows xp.. I think.

installation CD is back at my dad's office.. Is there any way to fix this?
dell desktop, like 5 years strong, without any major bugs I couldn't fix, until this comes along. A tad bit..(ok, a whole lot) on the slow side, but then that's why I constantly clean up my system to keep it running as fast as possible.
Should I take on the challenge- go computerless for an entire.. several months? actually, I kind of need one for my ap computer science class... bleh

 

Restart and press F8 after the initial screen to enter the boot menu. There should be an option there "last good known configuration" or something of the sort. You can try several of the options there as I believe this is your only chance to restore a back up of the registry (windows creates such often enough).

 

aha! I found a spare xp installation cd. I overwrote the default system files from the cd, and got it running.... and then I accessed the system restore files, renamed those, and used repair to overwrite the default system files with one from the system restore. and NOW, it tells me I have to activate it, which I'm finding is 10x harder... first of all, I can't get a internet connection on the stupid pc. it usually connects to the internet through the power source, in which our internet provider actually runs throughout the building. And I'm carrying this desktop, and monitor around, looking for a stupid phone jack... and it's 2 in the morning, and i'm trying not to wake anyone up... blah..

 

Haha. I just went through activation trouble too. Just call microsoft. They are very prompt, and it took me no more than 10 minutes to activate my copy, and thats with something even going wrong. So don't hesitate to call.