XP freezes at start up, HELP !!!

Question

Hello, I'm trying to help my sister fix her computer because we had a really bad bad storm about a month back. I'm not sure if she had her computer on or whatnot but now when you try to start the computer it freezes at the Windows XP screen.

Before it even gets to that screen, you get the black screen that tells you that a power surge problem happened and it gives u a countdown where u have to decide which way to start windows, safe mode, normally, etc.

Her computer is a Dell Dimension 2400 series;Pentium 4 2.80GHz; 512KB; BIOS version A05.

I've tried to restore XP to a previous working starting point, I've tried to do a complete re-install of XP all under safe mode, and nothing works, XP still freezes up once the computer starts and it gets to the XP screen.
When I try to re-install XP with the cd that came with the computer it won't let me beacuse it says the version installed on the computer is newer than the one on the cd.

ANY ideas on how can I fix this problem and get this computer back to working ok again?

Please let me know, I'll appreciate it alot.

Thanx

alot4u · Answer

Have you tried to reset the bios ?

Spidey1275 · Answer

No I haven't, I've never gone that indepth with the BIOS, how do I reset it? Thanx again

alot4u · Answer

This link well explains how, just choose your system.

Spidey1275 · Answer

Thanks for the link btw, now I know how to do that. It didn't work tho :-( it's still freezing like it was even after the BIOS reset

alot4u · Answer

Well, Have you tried to repair it from the cd?

Spidey1275 · Answer

Yes I have, but it won't let me do anything because everytime I try to open the CD on safe mode ,which is the only way that I can get the computer to run, it tells me that it can't install XP because the version that's on my computer is newer than the version on the CD.
I even tried to do a system restore to a previous working date, I've gone back all the way to october, and nothing, still freezes on me when I start XP normaly

alot4u · Answer

I didn't mean safe mode, I meant boot from cd, like you want to format   Look here

Spidey1275 · Answer

Hey Alot4u, I really appreciate all the help for sure, u have no idea how much u r helping me with this.
That last step u gave me worked ok, but I have a question before I hit ENTER lol .... I saw that my sister has turbotax info on this computer from 2004, 05, 06, will all this info be deleted once I continue with the step u gave me? just wanted to make sure

Thanks alot again :smileyhappy:

Balaji Ramanath · Answer

Don't mean to jump in unnecessarily, but it looks like Alot4U is away.  To answer your question, yes a clean reinstall of the OS will delete all info on the disk.  So, if you have things on there you want to save, you should boot into safe mode and copy them out (to an external hard disk or to CD's or DVD's) before you go through with the OS reinstall.

alot4u · Answer

Yes, some of it will be deleted, maybe all of it

Spidey1275 · Answer

Can I kick this computer now? lol I did what was on the last link u gave me and everything went ok until I got to the reboot on part 3, for some reason XP still freezes right at the same screen

alot4u · Answer

Ok, let's talk again about the freezes!!!   When Exactly? are there some messages? and, Are there some strange voices?

Spidey1275 · Answer

lol @ voices, I wish lol

Ok, I just start the computer like everybody else, the dell screen comes up, then the Windows XP screen comes up and that little bar at under the letters "windows XP", the one that looks like night rider lol ..... THAT'S where the computer freezes, no messages, no voices lol, nothing, when my sister gave me the computer to see if I could fix it, I just left it there to see if it would unfreeze, well, I went to da store, went to lunch, came back, took a nap and when I came to look at the computer, it was still stuck on the same spot where I had left it at.

Last night after I did the steps on that one last link u gave me, it froze at the same spot once it was booting from da CD, like I was telling ya on step 3, and the same, once the windows XP screen came up and that little night rider bar started moving, it froze there again. Now it won't let me start in safe mode because it's telling me that the setup hasn't been completed, so then it reboots itself and it goes back to the windows XP screen, and we are all stuck all over again

Thanks again for your promp responses Alot4u

alot4u · Answer

I think you need Hirens.BootCD   But you must burn it on a cd to use it, its just 93 MB   Just read here   If you want it just tell me

Spidey1275 · Answer

Yeah, I'll try that for sure, how do I get it ?

Windows General

XP freezes at start up, HELP !!!

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