Windows 7: No Dell welcome screen, cant do a new instal, no way of entering bios

Hi all

I have done LOADS of searching different places about this problem I have.
I want to do a clean install but as the PC boots all I see is a black screen,
the up pops the XP welcome screen (Yes Windows 7 form sorry
about it been a XP problem more or less I just really need help
on this 2nd PC to get Windows 7 onto it) then the PC boots as normal
I get too the desktop but my OS is XP and I do not want XP as my OS lol
and if I had to install XP again the PC needs a clean install anyway too
give it a fresh start!

There has to be something that has stopped the dell welcome screen with the blue loader below
coming up on boot?!?! It did when I got this old PC its a dell dimension 2400 lol but better then nothing
at the moment



Any help would be great I am really stuck and do not know what to do here

Hello Lodgik mate is this the laptop you are trying to install on or the old Dell? which is what I think you are trying to install to.

Mate if you are using the Dell the just get a new hard drive and be done with it. Mind you I have the exact same model Dell that you have and I don't know if the specs would be up to it as mine only has 2GB RAM and some slow old CPU so be prepared for a fairly slow machine and don't forget you will need a 32bit version of 7 and if you do go new hard drive you can get the OEM 7 and that is going to save you a lot of money even if yo up the HDD and some more RAM.

Some system specs on the Dell would be handy - Speccy - Download < download from piriform and post back results of the run using the XP.

Make your XP Recovery disks off the Recovery partition, then I'd run Dell Diagnostics to test the hardware before Windows 7 install. Dell Diagnostics Utility - How to Run the

If Diagnostics won't run then you can wipe the HD. If it runs and the hardware is good then boot the Windows 7 installer, delete all partitions except OEM Diagnostics, create a new partition for Windows 7 in the deleted space. The tools to do this are displayed in Steps 6/7 of Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which also shows how to do a booted install.

To wipe the HD, first boot the installer to first screen, press Shift + F10 to open a Command Line, and run the Clean command as shown in this tutorial: Diskpart Clean Command.

Go with Greg LODgik! I thought a new drive would have been the easiest and not knowing how old the original is - well thought it would save a lot of grief perhaps if it went south

My problem is 1 there is NO Dell splash screen to press F12 or F2 to either enter the bios menu or the boot to safe mode menu. I now want to do a fresh install of XP its looking like 7 would be a disaster on dis old baby so I want to install A fresh clean brand new XP on my Dell but cant because there is no Dell splash screen to get to boot from the USB or CD or even enter the bios menu... Last week the splash screen that says Dell with the blue loader below it was there and just all of a sudden its gone and now I cant do the re-install, All I get when I re start my PC is a black screen then XP welcome screen comes up, before that there should be the dell splash screen were I can enter the BIOS and all of the above but its vanished... Someone must have had this problem before? I cant for the life of me figure it out and im goggling like hell trying to find out whats happened!! Lads and girls please any help would be so much appreciated.

God bless

Reset the CMOS using one of the other methods if you can't boot into BIOS setup: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

I'd then run Dell Diagnostics if they are still on the HD, then wipe the HD and Clean Install Windows 7 or XP.

As a last resort if you can't get a disk to boot, there are boot disks like the HD maker's HD Diagnostic or Partition Wizard Wipe Disk which will boot themselves that can wipe the HD which should force the installer to boot itself to begin install.

If what Greg says doesn't work mate then I still think a new drive and an OEM would be the best way out.