Sounds like a faulty hard drive is suspect #1.  Power on, press F12, load the Dell diagnostics and let the quick test run.  If nothing shows up, boot to the 32-bit diags, and run an extended hard drive test.

I did some looking on the Dell website and found that I had some time left in the warranty on this thing and so I called tech support. I've been on the phone with him for an hour or so and he had me run a test where I press the Fn key down while powering on and it ran through some extensive test. It showed exactly what ejn63 had suspected, a faulty hard drive. I just don't get how it could be faulty - I've had this laptop for like 6 months and don't run a lot pf programs on it, so how could the dang thing be faulty already?

Like any complex, electromechanical device, a hard drive can fail at any time, for many reasons.  Could be a latent defect in manufacturing, or it could be the drive was bumped while it was spinning and damaged the platter.  There's really no way to know - that is why backups are so critical.   There's a current wave now I've been seeing - those who think the new solid state drives, because they've no moving parts, are more reliable than spinning conventional hard drives.  A couple have found out the hard way the inverse is true - they're not as reliable as conventional hard drives -- not yet anyway.

Any single storage medium can fail at any time - keep backups accordingly.

Like any complex, electromechanical device, a hard drive can fail at any time, for many reasons.  Could be a latent defect in manufacturing, or it could be the drive was bumped while it was spinning and damaged the platter.  There's really no way to know - that is why backups are so critical.   There's a current wave now I've been seeing - those who think the new solid state drives, because they've no moving parts, are more reliable than spinning conventional hard drives.  A couple have found out the hard way the inverse is true - they're not as reliable as conventional hard drives -- not yet anyway. Any single storage medium can fail at any time - keep backups accordingly.

Having major issues with Dell Inspiron 1440 and Win 7?

Warning: this is only for those who suffers. sudden crash or Blue Screen of Death. and stuck to "Starting Windows" and the pc will restart again and again..
showing only 2 options. (Launch Startup Repair , Start Windows Normally ) and both wont work. even safe boot work.. Here is what i did to fix the problem

Some people says its a hardware problem.. and yes its a hardware problem.. but it does not mean you have a faulty hardware. You perform a critical error before this happens. ex. Software Installation errors..

How to check for faulty hardware:
-Blank Screen on turning on.
-No boot gui, logo, choices(Repairs, Launch Normally, etc.. ) showing up..
-You can hear a clicking noise when turning your laptop on. "Faulty Hard Drive".. needs replacement..
-Lastly. Maybe is a corrupted memory(RAM). needs replacement..

If your laptop is still under warranty.. Its always free to bring it up to the nearest service provider..

But you can always perform checkups. As long as you have a clean windows 7 installer disc.. I recommend windows 7 sp1(latest for now). You can download it at microsoft as trial. You can use your keys later if you have. If you don't have a disc.. Borrow from your friends or go to the computer store..

Try to follow this steps.

1.) Turn on pc.. when the dell logo appears. press F12 repeatedly until a selection will show up
2.) Insert windows 7 installer disc at wait for 30 seconds.. the select CD/DVD Drive.
3.) You can see windows is loading files. just wait for it to finish and a window to show..
4.) Select language u want. then click next..
5.) Then click "Repair your computer"
6.) It will take a while to load. it will search for windows 7 installation on disk.
7.) click "Next". and you'll see a choices like (Startup Repair, System Restore, System Recovery, Windows Memory Diagnostic, Command Prompt.)
8.) Click command prompt and type "diskpart" then enter.. it takes time to load until you see "DISKPART>"
9.) type "select disk 0". this means to select your current hard drive. if it replies "disk 0 is now selected". rejoice your hard drive is safe.
10.) then type "list partition" and press enter. it will display the all partition in the hard drive even the OEM partition.

if those 10 steps were successful proceed.. if not.. contact the manufacturer..

11.) type "exit" and press enter. the "DISKPART>" will be back to normal like "Q:\Sources>"
12.) then type "chkdsk /f c:" then press enter. chkdsk = Check Disk. /f = Attempt to fix errors. c: = the drive were u installed windows 7.
13.) just wait for it to finish. and restart

Note: if it this shows "Attempting to fix $whatever please wait.." and it continue to show in another line and in another.. Its a data in the hard disk that causing error for the OS to load.. No other choice but to 
just close command prompt. and click restart.
perform again the 10 steps above..

11.) type "select partition 3" press enter. lets pretend the c: is partition 3. is the allocated space for your hard drive.
12.) type "select volume VolumeName" press enter.
13.) type "format fs=ntfs  label="VolumeName" quick" press enter and wait for it to complete...
 you are now free to reinstall windows 7.

 Its a serious windows error.. and cannot be repaired but simple startup repairs...

I would never bought A dell PC again b/c I had never had any problem with SONY and HP.  Plus, within the 1st years When I had it, the screen went black and they sent out Tech support to change the mother board.  Then the Hard Drive went bad after couple months, then the tech had to come to replace the hard drive.  And now, the problem of the hard drive happen again within couple months.   But since the warranty was already expired so I can't fix my Inspiron 1440.  Micheal Dell is producing worst PC for us in the U.S.    I would never had my kids or any person in my family buy Dell products again.  Never.  

I am having the same problem as you with my Dell Inspiron 1440 I bought in 9/10.  I tried many ways but it still didn't work.  I called Dell Tech Support and they told me to buy the recovery disk to reboot to previous point so I can save my file.  When I received my laptop in the box, it didn't come with any CD.  Therefore, I don't have the recovery disk to try out.  It will cost me $45 for the recovery disk.  

Should I order the recovery disk to fix the problem?   They told me the main problem is the hard drive b/c I ran the test and it's given me the Error Code 2000-0146 which is the hard drive.

IF you already fix your laptop, please let me know.  

i have been working on this machine for awhile and wanted to tell u what worked for me...I used utilities disk to get to the command line by telling it to boot from cd and when it wants you to run the disk HIT Q for quit....then i ran a format /q   (quick)....once that was done i did the reinstall disk and it started working from there...I had the EXACT symptoms u described same everything...i hope this answer helps somebody....my hard drive still reads as going FUBAR and i have made new partitions and installed win 7 on three diff volumes and it works for a bit then starts getting REALLY slow....i would like to know if there is a way to isolate the bad sectors and install and run the cpu from a good section of the hard drive...this laptop is a throw away that somebody gave me that i desprately need to get stable and i cant afford a new one...i am currently running a chkdsk/r on the last partition that was working...thanks for any help <ADMIN NOTE: Email id removed per privacy policy>