Why will my computer not boot up?

[mamabearlongs]

I have a Windows XP desktop computer that stopped will not boot up completely. When I turn it on, it does not go past the first screen which is the screen with the word Dell on it. If I unplug it for ten seconds and turn it on, I will get a screen that looks like an MS-DOS screen that says something like, the computer has failed to boot up. I would appreciate some advice on how to fix this problem. The manufacturer of this computer is Dell.

[xander]

Put in the windows disk and boot, if that dosnt work then ur screwed because something happened to the HDD of your comp

[unknown]

Sound like you
Need to reinstall windows get a book
Disk since you have the code on the Pc it is legal

[Dell Inc.]

Hello mamabearlongs,
My name is Krishna and I work for the Social Media and Community Team at Dell. It's more likely that you have a hard drive failure or an operating system corruption. If the restore partition is intact, you should be able to restore your computer's software back to factory settings without using the operating system disk. You can follow the instructions from http://support.dell.com/support/topics/g...egacy=true

Please Note: This erases ALL the existing data. This includes files, folders, programs, drivers, E-mails, photos. Hence before performing a restore, back up all personal files.

If that fails, try running the hardware diagnostics and see if it shows any errors. You can follow the instructions from http://dell.to/dU0fpw

Regards,
Dell-Kris K
Dell Social Media and Communities

[Eric R]

In most cases if it fails on boot without and error it is most likely hardware related. If you aren't getting you first windows screen then your computer is not passing POST (Power On Self Test). It could be several reasons.

First open the case and make sure everything is properly seated and connected. I lose Processor Fan can case the system th heat up rapidly and shut down. that would be my first guess.

If the drive was failing or unbootable you would get a message indicating a boot device could not be found

If the memmory was failing you would get either a series of beeps or a screen prompting you to enter the BIOS.

If the processor was failiing you would get a series of beeps as well.

Check your processor FAN and make sure it's properly seated