Dell Laptop w/ Windows 8 won't boot past dell logo screen

When i run onboard diagnostics this happens

Pre - boot system assessment build 4104

Error code 2000-0146

MsgDAY log

And in f1 I can't get into advanced

Don't know what to do don't want to put it back in cupboard

Hello I think my problems similar I know nothing about this stuff and I've been trying to ask a question or 24 hrs now

I have latitude laptop has Been in cupboard for about 4yrs its a d430 when I turn on it says 

No boot sector on internal hard drive

Boo:emotion-9:tle devices--strike for retry boot.f2 setup utility. For on board diagnostics whatever I do I m getting nowhere please help me I'm Desperate

Press F2 to go to BIOS and check presence/detection of internal HDD. If it's there, it sounds like it's been totally erased or gone faulty. They're extremely slow little shit_ty disks anyway and provided the D430 is still functional, you'd have much to gain by replacing the Zif PATA HDD by a mSata SSD fitted to a Zif to mSata adapter:

http://forum.osxlatitude.com/index.php?/topic/2803-d430-and-msata-hard-drive/

Hello again  what you've said is like another language to me Firstly how do I check for internal hard drive i mean what am i actually looking for on the bios screen in f 2   and in what section . Now are you saying the hard drive is no good and can't be repaired? Is the advice you've given expensive?  Can I do it myself or would I need to take to a repair shop again extra cost and would it be worth it? 

I really do know nothing about computers and how they work

Thank you for helping me and is there not a special site for people like me 

Turn the laptop on and right after the large blue Dell logo appears on screen, you'll see a message in top right corner about pressing F2 for BIOS setup and F12 for boot menu.

Press F2 and get to BIOS. Check the presence of hard disk on Info pages. .

If the hard disk is there, exit BIOS and on laptop reset, press F12. At the bottom of menu, opt for Diagnostics. Let the diagostics run to completion (can be long).

If nothing bad reported at the end, then you're good for a "simple" OS re-installation.

Good luck.

I had the same issue.  I followed the process above and the system booted. BUT, it is asking for a password.  I did not set a password.  Last Friday was the first time I turned on the computer and set it up.  I then tried to turn on today and I got the Dell logo.

Do you know how to get around the password issue.  Again, I did not set a password.  Thanks,

Hi Guys

I really don't think this issue should be this serious. I tried the F2 and F12 thing and it didn't work. I then took the laptop to a friend who pressed the start up button, then started pressing "enter" for what seemed like an eternity, and then the computer started coming to life prompting him on what to do next until after about an hour of rerunning this and restarting that, my laptop was restored to life.

He told me with the new dells, especially with Windows 8, if you don't close the computer properly, especially when it's in the middle of running an update, the operating system is likely to get messed up and will not restart automatically next time. So from now on I'm not just closing the laptop while everything is still running. I hope this helps someone. This is after I had called Dell so many times and they were demanding $200 to start working with me, even though my warranty expires a few months from now.

I had the same issue.  I followed the process above and the system booted. BUT, it is asking for a password.  I did not set a password.  Last Friday was the first time I turned on the computer and set it up.  I then tried to turn on today and I got the Dell logo. Do you know how to get around the password issue.  Again, I did not set a password.  Thanks,

Are you talking about a BIOS or Hard Disk password or about an OS password?

@MS MARY KAY, what you're talking about has nothing to do with the issue reported by the very polite Samantha Dell who reported a HDD with boot sector issue. It's not the same at all as an OS that's gone bezerk due to being put to sleep in the middle of something.

my son dropped my dell inspiron 15 and now it wont turn on. when i plug the charger in the battery led flashes white then orange and repeats that. i tried another battery in the laptop and it wont boot past the dell logo.

i cant able to boot  window 8 , a black screen will be appear on  new  dell  inspiron 5521 laptop

how to resolve it ?.

I tried this, but it still always says, "something went wrong" then, "preparing automatic repair" then goes black for 10-20 minutes. Then it goes to the startup screen and the process repeats indefinitely.

I have the same problem. When I tried this I only had AHCI as an option. Depending on what I try, after the Dell logo, I either get a blue screen or a strartup screen that says it cant find the boot device

hy last time my laptop was dropped by me and when I turn on it dosent work and the text appear that reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press  a key how I reboot I am new user plz help me