Invalid configuration - can't start BIOS or anything

When I power on my old Inspiron 8000, I first see the blue Dell-Inspiron banner, then a black screen with text saying:

"Invalid configuration.
Date and time not set.
Please start SETUP program."

And there it sits doing nothing.

If I remove the CD, it adds that it cannot find fixed optical device, and corresponding for the hard drive. Otherwise it checks on the CD, the hard drive and the floppy, but it doesn't boot an otherwise bootable CD, besides from not booting my Windows XP installation on the hard drive.

The thing is, that the keyboard LED never flashes, so it is totally unresponsive.

Is there any hope?

(I've just fixed the LCD screen by screwing the laptop into pieces to find a disconnected contact. At first test after that, it worked perfectly. But at the second startup a couple of hours later, I have this major problem.)

Message Edited by Plopper2 on 01-08-200710:58 AM