I came across a problem like this a while back and it turned out to be bad RAM causing the problem.

well then it just may be that xp is incompatible with your laptop I dont know what else to do to get xp installed

it's starting to sound like you might have a hardware problem. if you have another boot cd (just anything to try and boot the computer with to prove the cd drive is working properly try it) also go...

cannot find NTLDR just means that your computer is looking on the hard drive to boot windows. go into your BIOS and check the boot priority make sure the cd drive is first. and try again


...

no I dont know. I would imagine that sp3 would work. it wouldnt hurt to to try anyway.

I did some searching on your problem, do you know if the install cd has any service packs on it. so basically is it just xp home or xp home sp1, xp home sp2.

if it's just xp home you might need...

Hey Valuum, it is possible to turn off that warning through the windows security center. just go to control panel and click on security center and then click on recommendations for the firewall and...

great glad you got it working

one more thing you should check is

browser.search.searchEnginesURL

the value should be

https://%LOCALE%.add-ons.mozilla.com/%LOCALE%/firefox/%VERSION%/search-engines/

ok open firefox and in the address bar type this

about:config

and then hit enter

then scroll down to

browser.search.selectedEngine

click on the AIM icon a list of search providers should show click on google and thats it

well the only thing I can think of then is to ask the person who gave it to you for the password or try to take the CMOS battery out for a few minutes and then put it back in.

does it say anything at all

is it the windows logon box

try to access the backup folder from the computer you are doing the back up on if access is denied the you dont have the right permissions set on that folder.

ok it was late and I wasn't thinking as clearly as I should have been, the quote above is what lead me to believe there may be a virus involved.

ok you may have a virus or malware

if you have no other option you might need to reset the computer back to factory defaults.

restart the computer and press Ctrl and F11 at the same time when...

when you say that the computer wont boot, what exactly is happening?

Dell also has some troubleshooting help on their website for your computer.
...

dust can conduct electricity, and it could be possible that is why your mobo is acting like that, but at the same time it doesnt take much to damage a mobo so even if you clean it you still might...

yeah dust will kill a mobo. well if you are positive that the ram is good then it has to be the mobo. best of luck

ok joytech

now we have established that your computer will not work with just the essentials

your next step should be to take all the ram out and install them back one at a time. so install...

hey joytech this issue is keeping me up

this didnt click till now, in an earlier post you were able to get the computer on with the hard drive disconected, so maybe you do have a good mobo.

ok...

ok I hope this helps some but Im goin to bed know

later

oh yea a dying mobo can act just like that

with an unstable computer the fans will still run but if thats it I would check the ram

that usually means wrong or bad ram, bad cpu or bad psu

sometimes a computer will become unstable if the ram istalled is incorrect, even though your software said its compatible I would still check the mobo book for compatible ram

when the computer starts it will go through POST (power on self test) thats programmed into the BIOS

ok

I'd like to stay and help but its late, Im going to bed, I'll check back tomorrow

peace

have you tried to just reinstall windows if you have over 200 viruses that could be the problem right there, if you have a boot sector virus you will have to reformat the drive

have you tried to just reinstall windows if you have over 200 viruses that could be the problem right there, if you have a boot sector virus you will have to reformat the drive

ok verify that the surge protector is still good. also check the outlet it is plugged into, try plugging into a different wall outlet, if you still have a problem it still could be a bad PSU you...

what is your computer plugged into (UPS, surge protector, or just the wall outlet)

did you make any changes to your computer before it started acting this way

consider this, first make sure that your ram is compatible with your motheboard, then make sure they are all the same speed. after that, break down your computer to just the bare bones and see if it...

you should be able to delete that 32MB partiton when you are in the setup screen, just read it and follow the the steps.

Instead of wiping the disk you can delete all the partitions on the disk,...