Bluetooth Catastrophe with XPS M2010

To be truthful, I don't even remember, and as I can't get back to it, I'm afraid I can't get that information for you.

I do remember that it said the problem occured when trying to install the Toshiba Stack, and that it wasn't a regular Windows window, but it's been several days and that's the best my memory serves me.

What happens if you reboot the system?

I thought I'd tried that, but now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think that I did. I'll try that, then come back to the computer lab with the results.

What was the error message?

:emotion-2:  I like the popular saying "When in doubt, reboot"  :emotion-4:

http://www.elithecomputerguy.com/2009/08/28/when-in-doubt-reboot/

Sigh.

I rebooted, and though the computer started up without difficulty, I still have no mouse or keyboard connection.

I even tried telling it to search for bluetooth devices.

When you reboot the system and you see the big blue DELL logo, can you press F2 on your keyboard to access System Setup?  I'm curious if your keyboard works prior to Windows starting.

And here is some information about how to pair the keyboard to your XPS:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM2010/en/OM_EN/keyboard.htm#wp1063141

When I rebooted again, I was not able to do anything. I couldn't even get the keyboard to wake up. I put the keyboard into discover mode while bringing the computer back up again, and when it got to the Windows screen, it suddenly stopped. Previously, this had been a sign that it had actually paired with the computer, but I still couldn't get the keyboard to wake up.

I decided that the battery in the keyboard must be dead, so I just let it sit with the computer plugged in, but I got the same thing.

I tried what the documentation said, but no dice.

Is it possible to order a new hard drive from Dell, set up like it would be for a new M2010?

Is it possible to order a new hard drive from Dell, set up like it would be for a new M2010?

It would probably be faster if you just do a reinstallation of Windows.  Look at the following webpage:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM2010/en/OM_EN/software.htm#wp1127297

That seems to require a working keyboard, the one thing I don't have.

If there IS a way to reinstall Windows without using a keyboard, I would be very happy to use it.

A USB keyboard doesn't even work while trying to reinstall Windows? 

Try it like this:

1. Plug in a USB keyboard to your system
2. Insert your original Windows Installation CD or DVD that came with your M2010
3. Reboot your computer
4. Press F12 immediately after the DELL™ logo appears and wait for a menu to appear that has a list including "Internal HDD", "CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive", "Onboard NIC" ,etc...  If you don't see this menu, reboot and try pressing F12 again.
5. Select "CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive" and press ENTER
6. If a message appears asking something like, "Bootable media detected, Press any key to boot to this", be sure to press any key so that the system boots to your CD or DVD
7. Then follow the instructions to install Windows

Let me know how it goes.