Boot-up; inappropriate steps required.

O/S is Windows Me. Within a few seconds after initiating boot-up, I get a message (white text on a black background): "Press <Del> to Resume ". After I press <Del>, about 20 seconds later, a "Scandisk - Local disk C:" screen appears and a lengthy scanning starts. I usually cancel this and the boot-up then proceeds OK. What caused this and how do I get rid of these two peculiar steps??

 

Try letting the scan complete, replace the Cmos battery, use a can of compressed air to clean any dust out of the case & heatsink/fan and check all connections.

Is this an older Dell?

If so: boot problem: press delete to resume

 

Boot-up; inappropriate steps required

Thanks, Whiskeyman for timely response. Since this is indeed an older Dell (Dimension 4100 from 2001), I went to the link you suggested and was astonished at how prevalent the problem was. Rather than invest more troubleshooting time and in a new HD (the most frequently mentioned possible solution), I've decided it's time for a new machine. Thanks again, Whiskeyman for your help.