Not sure my problem was identical but certainly sounds similar.
I also had the blank Recovery screen, but also an error when trying to access User Accounts from Control Panel, and also am unable to use the Microsoft/Windows update site. I noted from an earlier post that when someone suggested you download and install Windows Script 5.6 you replied "I am unable to download this. This requires "Windows Advantage Validation" which fails on my machine for some reason." Well it also failed on my machine, just as all Windows update functions did, and this failure was related to the blank recovery screen as well.
However, the Windows Validation site offered an alternate method of validation that allows you to download and install a small program that you then run - it validates windows and provides you with a code number which you then paste back into a box on the Validation site. The program is called GenuineCheck (not sure that name actually appears on the site). Doing this, I was able to get around the fact that I couldn't use normal validation to initiate the downlad. I then downloaded, as was suggested back on page 1 or 2 of this thread, Windows Script 5.6 for Windows XP and Windows 2000:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/detai...;DisplayLang=en
After downloading and installing this, I rebooted. I then downloaded and ran what another had suggested:
the vbs script:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/reg/olereg.vbs
This fixed all of the problems noted above. I know you tried this script, but not clear you were able to download and install Windows Script 5.6 successfully before you ran it.
Hope this helps you or someone else having these types of problems.