Laptop is dead! Help!

gonzo127

i think next thing to try is the ubuntu livecd, this will not fix your windows problem however will show you if it is hardware problem or a software issue, it should also allow you to back up any files on your hard drive that you havent got backed up.

basically go to the ubuntu site and download the ISO and follow the instructions on how to create the disk, once done pop it in your drive and try to boot to the disk (might require a change in your bios) anyways if you can get that sorted it will give you a option to 'try ubuntu' which is what you need (liveCD) this will run the entire operating system from the disk and your systems ram without making any lasting changes to your hard drive.

if this boots up fine and you can then access your hard drive it is then most likely its a windows problem and not a hardware one, so back up the files you want if you havent done already and then i think it might be getting towards a format and reinstall - although someone else might be able to suggest other fixes since i use ubuntu myself i am not totally up on fixing windows

TwistedPsycho

This does sound to me to be an issue with your Inspiron loading Windows itself.

The flashing cursor says to me that it has looked for a boot sector and failed or looked for the Windows boot files themselves and failed. I would suggest taking it to your local computer technician to have a look.

HOWEVER

If you have absolutely nothing of any value on your laptop (IE family photo's, documents, etc) that is not backed up elsewhere, I would wonder whether it would be a better starting point to simply start again. I may not like Dell too much but their ability to factory default your laptop using their hidden partitions is vaguely impressive and would save you any local repair tech charges.

I will re-itterate one point though YOU WILL LOSE anything added to your Inspiron post-fresh install - documents, photo's, any games installed, etc.

rdpro

n57602000 wrote: »

Still coming up with these two things:

Black screen with just a flashing under score in the top left corner

or

Disk Read Error press CTL+ALT+DEL to reset

If you have a diagnostics CD, boot to that (F12 at the Dell screen) and run the hard drive tests.

If they come back ok, it sounds like your partition may be damaged.

Remove your hard drive password before attempting a backup, then download a bootable recovery CD (like Hiren's)

If you use Hiren's boot cd, use the Mini XP option when it starts. This will give you a normal XP desktop with usb support so you should be able to open your hard drive and copy anything off to an external hard drive.

danthemoneysavingman

i concur, sounds like corrupt partition table.
I'd look to (if possible) take the HDD out and hook it up to a USB caddy, then try a repair using another computer.
just my 2 cents

n57602000

Just did the F12 and diagnostic and ran and the only error message came up when doing the hard drive and the message was:

Error Code - 0146

Message Error Code - 2000-0146

Then something like contact Dell team to find out more etc...

Donnie

DELL diagnostics 1 & 2

~daisy~_2

HoofeHearted wrote: »

What make/model is the laptop? Is it a Compaq Presario? If so it may be suffering from a known problem that HP/Compaq will fix for free.

ive got a compaq with hinge issues just within the warranty period !! what is this known problem pls ?

have phoned compaq and they told me to go to pc world which is what i was trying to avoid !!

macman

Your contract is with PCW, not with Compaq. I should get it down to PCW pronto, as once it's outside the warranty they won't want to know.

~daisy~_2

yup off there later - just thought if someone did know of ''known problem'' may help me

im worried pcw will come back with - wear and tear or its been dropped ........

macman

They'll try that tack certainly, but if it had been dropped there should be clear sign of impact damage-not hinge stress.
Why buy from PCW if you know what they're like?