Windows Does Not Boot up - BLACK SCREEN WITH BLINKING CURSOR

 I desperately need help! Yesterday, I tried to restart my laptop - Latitude D610 running Windows XP Professional - but after the initial Dell screen, I get a black screen with only a blinking cursor.  I've tried to figure out how (or if) I could get into safe mode from here, but can not figure out what F button will do it.  On Dell screen, it only gives the F2 and F12 as options and neither of them has anything about Safe Mode.

A could of years ago, I had my system crash (not this one), and my brother used a Ubuntu tha allowed me to recover my files/data before we reformatted the hard drive.  It's been so long I'm not sure which version to use (I have posted on ubuntu site, but just adding this as a background), and I have never reformatted one myself.

First,  What could be causing my computer to fail when started - before Windows installs - and leaves me with a black screen and blinking cursor?  Is there a way that I could 'repair' Windows, without having to do a complete reformat?

If I have to do a full reformat, what is the best way for a total 'techno-challenged' dork to do it so that once it's installed, all I have to do is go back and add my programs and restore my files/data?  I've read that if it's not done properly, so that it includes all the drivers and other 'insides' needed, then it takes a lot more work to get it to work properly.

I've looked at many threads, but haven't been able to find any that have my problem.  I would really appreciate any and all suggestions and comments, as i'm at a total loss.  I'm just devastated.  I am a writer/graphic designer and without my computer, I'm completely lost. 

Thanks for any help and/or suggestions at all. 

Deb