Windows XP stuck in booting

Hello all!
I'm currently trying to assist my elderly mother with her problem Windows XP computer. As the title states, it will only go as far as the "splash screen" with the Windows XP logo and the bar under it that shows the blue bars scrolling, but never progresses any further.
She no longer used this computer to connect to the internet, but has many photos, documents and other info that she sometimes likes to refer back to. (She has another computer with Windows 7 that she uses for her occasional emailing on the internet).
I knew trying to tell her things to try would be futile (she understands even less than myself...so not much knowledge between the two of us combined!lol) So I offered to take her computer home with me and see what she was experiencing and if there was anything I could do to rectify it.
I have tried all the options for the faulty restart (as it won't boot so I just shut the power off). Won't start correctly in any of them! Just reverts back to the hanging.
I have also checked with the sticky on this board (How to Repair Windows XP) as I do have an authentic version of Windows XP, but I am not able to complete that either! It shows some info on the bottom of the screen saying "Examining ......mb at (something or other) I neglected to write down the message! ooops
Can anyone explain to me what I'm doing wrong? My mother is at her wits end with this "stay at home" thing going on right now, so anything I can do to help her pass the time is my ultimate goal!
Thanks all and hope everyone is staying safe!
~Vicki

 

Hi Vicki, Personally I would get the HDD out of the comp and get someone competent to extract the data and photos off it. The HDD may very well be packing up if its from the XP days.
The message you saw was probably to do with the Master Boot info and that used to indicate problems with HDD.
Sorry, but this could be a costly exercise as you will need another drive to put the photos and data on.

 

Thanks retiredlearner for your reply. I was afraid this is what the problem might be, but thought I'd give it a shot anyway. Now to see if I can someone to get all that info off her hard drive! We live in a smaller rural community, not many computer "repair" shops here locally!