Cant get past "Windows Boot Manager"

Question

The following message appeared after restarting my computer (Toshiba Equium A200 1V0) from a window vista update
Windows failed to start. A recent hardwre or software change might be the cause.
To fix the problem.
1. Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer.
2. Choose your language settings, and then click "Next".
3. Click "Repair your computer"
If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.
File: \Boot\BCD
Status: 0xc000014
Info: An error occurred while trying to read the windows boot configuration data
Now my problem is that I cant even change anytthing for my computer to boot from CD - I do not have a windows disc but have the Toshiba product recover disc but nothing at all works. Ive tried pressing F12, F2, F8, DEL .. actually pretty much every key just in hopes it will work.
Anyone else got any ideas on what I can do. Im pretty much resigned to the fact that Im going to lose everything I just need the computer up and running again as soon as I can.
Many thanks

Answer 1

Until one of the experts can give you advice about repairing your Vista system, you might like to try to recover your files. I'm not very computer literate, but managed to achieve this when I "murdered" my Windows 2000 installation. I ASSUME the same process should work with Vista. (Slightly worryingly, Windows passwords don't seem to matter.)
Download a Linux live CD - I found "Puppy" Linux a good one - small download, and easy to use. Burn the resultant .iso file to a CD. Insert the CD in your CD/DVD drive, and start the computer. Let it boot the Linux operating system. (You may need to experiment with BIOS settings to get the computer to boot from CD before its own hard drive.)
You now have a linux operating system running independently of your hard drive. (If it's one of the large Linux programs, it will be slow when run from a CD - not a problem - just requires patience!)
With a bit of luck, the Linux system will see any drives connected to your computer, including your hard drive. (The same as your normal operating system sees a USB stick and can copy files from it, for instance.) You might then be able to browse your hard drive files, and copy them to an external hard drive, or USB flash drive.
I did come across some matter of permissions to write to the external drive - sorry, can't remember the answer off-hand but it was very simple - and only had it once. Again, simply google the problem. There are lots of Linux experts posting threads out there!
This won't enable you to boot your Vista system or anything like that but, if you can get your files copied somewhere safe, then you can simply copy them back once you've reinstalled the offending Vista system.
I'll try to provide a link to an answer I previously suggested here - sorry it's a bit long-winded, but the link in it may be of use, too.
http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=44736&tstart=30
One of those things which is easier to do than to describe, perhaps - lots on the internet about Linux rescue CDs.
I found a lot of useful articles on this google link:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=using+a+linux+live+cd+to+rescue+win dows+files&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
I've never been good at entering search terms; you may well find better stuff.
But the good news is that it might be possible to recover at least some of your data before reinstalling.
If you've not used Linux live CDs before, do a bit of homework first. They're surprisingly easy, especially when you've overcome one or two of the usual initial pitfalls eg trying to burn the live CD as a data rather than an iso CD then wondering why it won't boot. Proabably easier for you to do a bit of googling than for me to write pages here!
Another alternative, if you're better at dismantling computers than me, would be to remove your hard-drive and install it in a suitable external hard-drive enclosure. This can then be connected to another computer via a USB port and you should be able to read your files as if from a USB flash drive, and copy them. I've only tried this with old drives from old desktops with nothing on them that matters too much - but it seemed easy enough. Again, just a way of copying all your stuff before wiping your laptop's hard drive and reinstalling Vista.
Sorry if this was a bit rambling - hope it gives you some ideas.