Most of my stuff is backed up but since they changed the hard drive last year the backup wasnt working so at least not all lost and some saved to Google drive but yes I should have saved it all
You can use a windows 7 repair disc - 32 bit to match your o/s.
Run startup repair 3 times if necessary, restarting each time.
That will try and set the correct partition active and recreate the boot critical files ( yes it works on Vista ).
If not, then we can use pw free boot disc http://www.partitionwizard.com/download.html to mark the correct partition active - then run startup repair from win7 x86 repair disc .
Another great free boot disc is Paragon rescue kit rk_free.exe - try normal mode>File transfer wizard to copy off files to safety.
Thanks so much for all your help but nothing is working on my laptop I've run out of options, think its time to take it to the PC repair shop again thanks again for all your assistance
Thanks to richc46 I have managed to get back into my system after performing a complete restore. Thankfully most of my work I had saved previously but it will be a lesson to me to save all work on a regular basis from now on. Thanks to all who offered assistance. Now that I have a clean pc I'm going to upgrade to windows 7 wish me luck
Luck to you
Download and always use Macrium Reflect. It is a complete backup of your drive. If you ever have problems, you can be back in business in 15 minutes.