Windows Startup disk disappeared!

I installed Bootcamp successfully last year and have run it quite satisfactorily since then. I hadn't used it for a few months but when I tried to switch from OSX to Windows this week (rebooting holding the Option key) there was no start up disk for Windows. Going into System Preferences, only the OSX and 'from start-up disk' options were listed. So, there's not trace of Windows having been installed.
Although I'd rather not reinstall, I'm unable to because I get an error message about the partition when I launch Boot Camp Assistant.
I've used the Disk Utility to repair but that has made no difference.
Any suggestions?

H Nerowolf and thanks so far,
1. Never had the Windows disk icon on the desk top but it appeared always when I selected
"Start Up Disk" from System Preferences. It no longer appears here.
2. The error message reads: +The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition.The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows.+.
3. No, no A/V programme running in Windows. The only application I installed on the Windows partition was a business accounting package called 'Cash Flow Manager'.
4. Running the command in Terminal results in:
+Son-of-Dome-Head-2:~ Al$ ls /volumes+
+Macintosh HD Skype 1 baystongroup+
+Skype Time Machine Backups iDisk+
+Son-of-Dome-Head-2:~ Al$+
Doesn't look like a Windows partition to me....
My objective is (firstly) to recover a data file (which was only 80% backed up) and (secondly) to restore the Windows XP.
Grateful for any further assistance you can offer.
Regards,
A.

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