If it is the regestry, try getting into the dos mode an run scanreg.exe

the hard drive is making the clicking noise. Everything else is unplugged just the monitor and CPU are attached and functional.

what starts clicking? the computer, the speakers, what?

I tried running scanreg.exe but it clicks when I start it and then it closes the program. Please help!!!!!!!!

Uh oh. Clicking noises on startup = very very very bad. Happened to me... I'd power up, then click click click click click... pause... click click click click click... pause... etc. Then it'd stop for a bit, and Windows would try to boot up. It'd finally give up, and prompt me to run Scandisk. Scandisk would scan, scan, scan, then get stuck on 5% or so, then CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK... pause.... CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK... pause... CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK. 30 minutes later it'd mark the sector bad, the move on to the next one.... repeat. Very very bad. Specially since this 40gb drive held, well, everything. Eventually had to give up, tear it out, and send it back.

Which is what I recommend you do. Call up Dell Tech Support, tell them what's going on, and they're going to ask you to try to run Scandisk and stuff, but insist that you've done so and you KNOW THE HARD DRIVE IS DEAD. Insist that you must send the hard drive to them, and insist that they either fix it (unlikely!) or send you a new one.

Happy computing!

that is exactly what is happening to me...
It has everything on the 40 GB hard drive. I don't want to lose this data.
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it

Unfortunately, if you're already hearing clicks, and you can't even boot all the way up. well, it's too late. If you can get ANYTHING off of it (onto disk, in DOS), then consider yourself lucky. That hard drive's shot.