Resolved The Dell won't boot past Dell Window

Hi,on my friends PC we Checked EVERY cable on PC & Monitor, everything fine. The Monitor works, The Dell VOSTRO 220s with XP tower turns on & off with button on Tower. When I turn on PC from cold with just monitor on but no picture the DELL startup screen appears and I pushed F12 first & did some Diagnostics Then clicked F2 and did some other startup tests. EVERY test passed. When you start the DELL it loads and usually then goes into Windows I believe. The trouble is that the PC will not complete the boot & enter Windows. Monitor screen turns black after DELL word shows. I want to try and somehow get into Windows XP and use System restore from yesterday when everything worked fine. Any ideas or help please???
~Paul

 

Steve, I'll give it a try, then I'll let you know what happens...
Thank You
~Paul

 

Hi Steve, I tried what you advised and nothing happened.

[Try turning it on (booting it up) and let it sit for twenty minutes or so to see if it maybe is hung on something.]

It would not unhang itself. I have the CD's that came with the Dell VOSTRO 220s. Will one of them get PC to re-boot completely?
Thanks again,~Paul

 

You will probably find you have a recovery disc but you may have an XP disc as well. What is written on them?

A recovery will return the computer to the state it was in when it left the factory and will wipe all your files and any software you have added. Have you backed up all the impotant files. If not, you could remove the hard drive and connect it to another PC and extract all the important files. With it re-installed insert the recovery disc, reboot the computer and follow the prompts.

If you have an XP disc you can do a repair install which will leave all your files and software untouched. Insert the disc, reboot and follow the prompts until you get some choices for the type of installation, select 'Repair' and follow the prompts. You could do this with a borrowed disc but it must be the same version of XP as you have installed.

 

Markmadras, thanks for the reply. I do think I have a Win XP Disc that came with the PC. So if I put in the disc you think the computer will boot? Then it will ask if I want to do a Repair insted of a Reformat, correct?
Thanks again markmadras,,
~Paul

 

Yes that is correct. But read the screen carefully.

 

Thank you lj50...it's for a friend I'm going back over this morning (Monday). Like everyone I had & used XP PRO for a very long time. I think I do okay with it. I'll be careful reading screen & I'll let you know how I make out!
~Paul
"GO PATRIOTS "

 

good luck with fingers crossed.

 

Okay lj50 & markmadras here is where I stand after my latest adventure. I loaded the XP Pro CD that came with the Dell thin tower VOSTRO-220s I clicked the F12 Key, went into Setup & tried to get the "R" for Repair to fix the XP Pro. It took me to next page but would not Repair anything. It said to type EXIT but I could only type 1 letter , E. I don't know why I can't get the computer ro Repair itself ,
~Paul

 

Why did you click the F12 key?

Did you reboot the PC with the XP disc in the drive?

Sounds like you may have done this wrong, when the system boots from the disc you should only need to follow the prompts until you get to a screen where you have a choice for a full install or a repair.

This link will give you detailed instructions and show you what you should see on the screen.

http://www.camtech2000.net/Pages/XP_Repair.htm

 

Markmadras, yes I did reboot the PC with the XP Disc in the drive. When I looked at the link you left for me I did everything the way it said except I clicked on the R first but it shows I should have clicked "Setup XP now press Enter" then I press F-8 for the Windows License Agreement. I should then click on the Repair part after I ok the license.
Thanks for all the help
~Paul

 

I was forgetting the first option to press 'R' for the recovery console, I must remeber to mention that as it is easy to confuse recovery with repair. OK, so you should be able to get it going now and hopefully the computer will be come back to life.

Let us know how it goes.

Just to be on the safe side I would advise you to download Microsoft Security Essentials to check the computer is clean from infections as it may well have been a virus that caused this problem.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/support.aspx?mkt=en-us

 

Sorry about the missed step. I got distracted with my sick pug puppy the older pug is very protective with her.

 

Not a problem lg50, you & markmadras have been a huge amount of help. My sister has a Pug and from time to time they have little problems with its breathing I believe! I'm hoping that this A.M. when I go back over to their PC I get it "Repaired" I'll let you all know if I'm able to Repair the system so it will continue to load and operate correctly.
Thanks again, hope pooch feels better
~Paul

 

I guess I missed something along the way. A repair installation may eventually become a valid approach, however it might be premature at this point in time. Why don't you try dancing on an F8 key during startup and see if you can get into advanced boot options and then select last know good configuration?

A shot in the dark that may bring some relief if you can't get to advanced boot options is to keep tapping the Ctrl key during startup - while its doubtful that this alone is going to permit you to boot with limited drivers, never say never.

 

Thanks and my fingers are still crossed.

 

Well today was not such a good day. The Repair of the XP Pro operating system didn't work. I had to do a complete reinstall but it all turned out to be a great learning experiance . I want to thank again Ij50,Markmadras,Steve R Jones & Rockster 2U for all their time and knowledge. It taught me so much. So my friends PC is up and running and he is very happy that its fixed. Only thing strange was after I updated Windows with all the security fixes including IE8, The E icon down in quick launch was gone. I couldn't find Internet Explorer anywhere in the Programs when I pressed Start. I forget how I was able to find a MSN shortcut & then drag that to Quick Launch but I did.
Thanks again,
~Paul

 

I am a bit confused as to why the Repair install went wrong but pleased to hear it's all up and running again.

 

You're welcome.