Inspiron 6000 - won't boot, not even in safe mode

Question

I have an Dell Inspiron 6000 with Windows XP.

For the past 2 weeks or so, the sound has not been working at all, I haven't been able to get online via Wifi (except a couple of times), and it crashed a few times suddenly.

But for the past 2 days, it's been stopping during booting at the screen that shows the Windows icon and does nothing else. The only thing I can do is hold down the power button to shut it off. In safe mode, the same thing happens.

I am able to run diagnostics (by tapping F12), and I passed all those tests, including the one called "can't boot the OS" or something.

I called Dell and they said my warranty is expired, but they gave me general advise on how to restore Windows (CTRL-F11), which I'd rather not do because I'd lose all files and software.

How can I tell if the probem is with Windows or the hard drive? The Dell support guy thinks it a Windows problem.

Please help. I'm not a techie, so go easy with technical lingo.

ejn63 · Answer

Power on, press F12, boot to the Dell diagnostics and do the extended test of the hard drive.

Qbert217 · Answer

OK, I'll try that tonight, although I tried the express test and it passed every part.   I also plan to run a Windows repair using the XP CD that came with my laptop.  What do you think about that?

Dakhath_ · Answer

Sounds like a Windows problem to me, though that problem could in fact be caused by your hard drive. A repair installation should do the trick if your hard drive checks out. (Here's a good guide to that, in case you need one: XP repair installation).

I recommend that you backup what you want to keep first, just in case, but that might be a little complicated in your situation. It can be done, but you'd need something to boot to that would allow you to back up files. Something like BartPE or one of the bootable versions of Linux (the kind you run from CD or your USB drive) is great for that, if you want to look into it. Alternatively, you could use an adapter that will allow you to hook up a laptop hard drive to another computer using USB. You probably don't have anything like that lying around though, so it might not be an option.

Good luck with it, either way. And from now on, keep current backups. It'll save you a load of headaches.

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Inspiron 6000 - won't boot, not even in safe mode

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