Unable to bootup - blue screen error - memory dump

History with my Inspiron 2200: 5-months old.  No previous problems.  First encountered the BSOD (blue screen of death) on Friday.  Found my paperwork and tried 4-times to call Dell, getting disconected after about 30-minutes into the voice activated menu system.  Reached a human being on Tuesday morning who had me read the error message to him, then after being on HOLD for 5-minutes, told me that the warranty does not cover, because this is a software problem. 

I went on-line with a different computer, explained the status and asked for help.  I received acknowledgement of e-mail, a promise of responce within 12-hours, and a troubleshooting list.  I later started the troubleshooting, learned a few things which I forwarded to Dell as a reply to the acknowledgement e-mail.  Specifically, I started the computer in the BIOS checking mode (Fn + On), got an error message and a way to test Symptom Tree: Cannot Boot The OS.
I ran this test.  Only errors were in IDE Disk S/N Read Test (0F00:0244) and Verify Test (0F00:0244).  Both systems found errors after 24% complete, with many faulty message blocks.  I then ran Windows Blue Screen and got similar results at Read and Verify, with the same error codes at 24% complete.

I continued down the troubleshooting list with the reinstallation CD for Windows XP.  The Dell tech sent an e-mail with a different test for me to try (to determine if the problem is hardware or software).  Since the reinstall was in progress, I decided to wait until it was complete.  In the meantime, I registered with the user forum to see if there were any answers to be had.  XP installation stopped at 68%.  I reported same to the Dell tech, was unable to run his requested testing, but found a few other things to report.

New e-mail from Dell tech this morning, verifying address info in prep for replacing the harddrive under warranty.  That's my update. 

I read several forum accounts of problems with Inspiron 9300's going to BSOD after 5-months and getting the "software" run-around from Dell support (probably phone).  I recommend perseverance, on-line support, and documentation of results.  Of course my problem is only half-over at best, so the outcome might still be unsatisfactory.  Good luck to you both. -Earl

Hello,

I e-mailed Dell tech support and explained the problem.  I received a confirmation e-mail with suggestioned trouble-shooting steps, and a personal reply a few hours later.  While exploring the trouble-shooting options, I gathered info that I forwarded to tech support prior to receiving the personal reply.  (see more detailed account above)

Based on MY results, the technician determined that the harddrive was faulty, and sent a replacement under warranty.  I called tech support after it arrived for help with the physical harddrive installation and the software installation.  Everything is working fine now.