Windows doesn't start like normal

I have about a 5 year old Dell Latitude laptop, running on XP.  After using an internet connection at a hotel I was staying at, my computer wouldn't start Windows.  It stayed on that black and white, "Sorry for the inconvenience, but Windows didn't start...."  I tried the different options, but it still wouldn't start.  After leaving it for about 20 minutes, it finally started.  So, I ran Norton, but it didn't fix the problem.  Does anybody have an idea on what I can do?