Press F12 a few times at powerup and boot to the Diagnostics.  Run an extended test on the hard drive (this will take a couple of hours to complete).

Post any errors you see by number (2000-0142, etc.).

Thanks for the fast response. Just finished the diagnostic tests. It says it passed. Advise me on what to do next? Thank you

You'll need the recovery media you made when you received the system - boot the system from that flash drive or DVD and then do a repair install.

Thank you for your reply.  Unfortunatelyi don't have the media recovery cd.  Anything else that you can suggest?

You'll need to make a recovery flash drive

www.microsoft.com/.../windows8

I have similar problem - ran diagnostic - "fail PSA V 4236 error:  2000:0142.  Error code says to "update BIOS and Hard Drive Firmware."  Does this mean I have a harddrive or software/driver problem?  Easy to rectify??

SWIFTY96

Error Code 2000-0142, indicates a failing/failed hard drive and you need to replace it.

Bev.

Hi,

Its not necessary that you need a Windows CD or flash drive to perform reinstallation. There may recovery partition in your system. From this recovery partition you can easily perform the recovery.

Hope this link will be helpful..

www.dell.com/.../how-to-restore-the-dell-factory-image-with-dell-backup-and-recovery

Can I get some help my computer is stuck on the hard-disk drive failure screen. 

Thank you for your message. What is the system model in question here?

What is the error message?  What is the status of the hard dive in BIOS?

Run a hardware diagnostic by following the video on this link

For my reference, please click on the message tab next to your avatar– click “New Message” & search for my Dell username (Sreejith R) & send a private message with the service tag, registered name & email address.         

How to locate the service tag