Laptop help please :)

kidcat

My daughters laptop (dell inspiron 1525 - Vista) has suddenly stoopped working.

When switched on it starts to load and shows the blue loading line but instead of showing the desktop screen it just shows a black screen. I have tried putting the disc into it and restarting but didnt get very far.

Does anybody have any ideas how to fix it or is it going to be another expensive computer shop repair? (Shes only had it back a few weeks after it had a lid repair)

jaydeeuk1

Have you tried safe mode or system restore? Keep pressing F8 when booting up and you'll see a menu.

kidcat

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

Have you tried safe mode or system restore? Keep pressing F8 when booting up and you'll see a menu.

Is that with the OS disc in or out??

And what do I do with it from there?

Thanks for your reply

jaydeeuk1

No disc. Just turn PC on, and keep banging away on F8 (will probably beep, but ignore that).

From the option menu, select 'Safe mode' and press enter. Let us know if windows loads up or not.

kidcat

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

No disc. Just turn PC on, and keep banging away on F8 (will probably beep, but ignore that).

From the option menu, select 'Safe mode' and press enter. Let us know if windows loads up or not.

Goes thru a full list of files

C:/windows ....

etc IYSWIM then onto black screen

kidcat

Bumping to see if anyone has any ideas please:)

Browntoa

look at steps 1 and 2 here ( step 1 repairs , step 2 will reset and lose all data , if you want to attempt to retrieve data from it then come back and ask for help doing that with a linux cd)

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&cs=19&docid=347576&l=en&s=dhs


Table of Contents:

• System Restore
• PC Restore
• Manual Reinstallation

Step 1: System Restore

Click Here for System Restore System Restore is a Microsoft® Windows® tool, built into the operating system, designed to protect and repair the OS. When an install failure or data corruption occurs, System Restore can return a system to working condition without a full reinstallation.
Note:
If you were directed to this article by another article or support wizard, you may have already attempted System Restore.

Time to Complete: 20 - 30 Minutes.

Back to Top

Step 2:PC Restore

Click Here for PC Restore
Available on many Dell™ Dimension™ and Inspiron™ computers, Dell™ PC Restore by Symantec™ is a hidden partition on your hard drive that contains an exact copy of your computer's original factory software. With PC Restore, you can restore your computer to the original state it was shipped in to you from Dell and in a fraction of the time a manual reinstallation would require. Time to Complete: 30 - 60 Minutes.
Back to Top

kidcat

have tried steps one and two for a system restore and I get the message that there is no restore points created on the system disk.

CLIVELESTER

Have just read an article that informs that AVG have released free software that can recover computers that will not start. Have no idea how or if it works as have not investigated any further. Hope this may help.

http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd

Browntoa

THIS IS THE OPTION THAT REMOVES ALL DATA AND YOU WILL LOSE ALL HER STUFF ON THE LAPTOP

As the computer starts, press <F8> on the keyboard until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen

You must press <F8> before the Windows logo appears on the screen. If you press <F8> after the Windows logo appears on the screen, the Advanced Boot Options menu will not appear on the screen. If you do not see the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this step until you see the menu on the screen.

3 Press the <Down Arrow> on the keyboard to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press <Enter>.
4 Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.
5 Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.
6 Click Dell Factory Image Restore.

7 In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.
8 Click to select the Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition check box.

macman

If you can't get to Safe Mode or 'Last Known Good Configuartion' from F8, then try tapping F12 at start up to get into the diagnostic mode. Then run the diagnostic program.