"Need to repair Windows XP professional if possible"

I have a current thread with the above title, and wonder whether this article is a solution to my problem. I have a Dell Precision M50 laptop which has a corrupted Windows XP Professional installation which will now not boot up to the Desktop. It reports it cannot load hive, which is either corrupt or missing.

Does the present article cover my situation? Would I need to be able to get the hard disc out of my laptop? (which may not be so easy as getting a hard disc out of a desktop).