Dell desktop wont boot. Here is what I've tried

[monicakm]

Dell XPS 8300
64-bit
Windows 7 Premium

FF Not responding. WLM not responding. Couldn't shut down Correctly. Restarted computer. Message- win didn't shut down Correctly. Launch startup repair. Hung on blue screen with leaf & dove for hours. Reboot. This time I got startup repair window. That hung for several hours. Reboot. Repair went a little further but still didn't work. I'm giving each attempt anywhere from 3 to 8 hours.

Boot from Windows Repair CD. Loads files. Same results. CD spins for a few minutes and Stops. Blue screen with leaf & dove is as far as I can get.

F8 options... tried safe mode, Safe mode with networking, Last Known good Configuration, debugging mode, Safe mode wl Command prompt...all result in blue screen with leaf & dove,

This is the Windows 7 repair disc I made when the system wasnew. It's been used successfully once before on a Dell win 7 laptop.

I'm fresh out of ideas! I've not Added any new hardware, I've not added any new software. I'm the only one that uses this Computer. This is the ONLY thing I can offer As a possible clue. About 3 weeks ago I was checking for applications in MS config. I accidentally unchecked all applications and restarted the computer. During the reboot it dawned on me that Microsoft Windows was also unchecked. after computer booted back up into Windows, I opened MS config to recheck Microsoft Windows. it was not there! That was at least 3 weeks ago and I've had no trouble until the Firefox and Windows Live Mail hang ups.

Please help!

 

[gregrocker]

Work through the steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start

 

[monicakm]

I have done several of these steps already as stated in my original post. I've also tried two different windows 7 repair and recovery CDs. Both times I got an error message saying there was not enough disk space. There is plenty of disk space on my OS drive. Roughly 80 percent free. Could there be some other reason for getting this error message?
Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

Continue with the Troubleshooting steps which try everything possible to start Win7. If you have questions about how to perform any step then ask back. But not interacting at all about specific steps doesn't help us help you at all.

At any point you can rescue your files and do the Clean Reinstall both linked in the steps.

 

[monicakm]

Greg, we're in the middle of remodeling our house right now so fixing the computer has to take a back seat from time to time. I'm just now getting back on this.

Got something different this time... System Recovery Options. Choose a recovery tool. I have options of startup repair, System Restore, system image recovery, windows Memory Diagnostic, command prompt, dell DataSafe restore and emergency backup. I've run startup repair several times but not from this screen. I haven't had the option of a command prompt. I tried the Dell DataSafe restore and it failed due to not enough disk space, but there is. I haven't been given the option of windows Memory Diagnostic till now. I'm pretty sure I tried system restore option but that didn't work either. Which one of these options should I try first? Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

Those repairs work even better from the repair disk, but go ahead and try another Startup Repair. Then try working backward in System Restore to earliest point.

This scattershot approach is not thorough as would be working through the steps in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start which are sequenced in proper order and include everything possible leading up to rescuing data if necessary and then reinstalling. You can also try the link you just discovered for Dell Windows 7 PC Restore.

If you need to finish your project then we will still be here 24/7 when you're ready to dig in.

 

[monicakm]

Startup repair has been running for over 3 hours. Is that enough time to give it to work? Its attempting repairs ..."repairing disk errors. this might take over an hour to complete".

 

[gregrocker]

Monica is the hard drive detected anywhere in BIOS setup when you reboot and tap the key given on first screen for "Setup?" If not it may have failed. Follow Step 3 in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start:

3. If Recovery options will not run Boot into BIOS setup by tapping the key given for this on first boot screen, check that Win7 hard drive is detected under Storage or Boot Priority order (usually by its Serial which you can google to find maker) and set to boot first. If not check over all cables and connections, or for a laptop check that it is seated firmly in its bay. If you cannot get the hard drive to show up in BIOS setup, then replace its cable or the drive itself.

For a UEFI install to GPT disk the first boot device will be Windows Boot Manager.

The reason I ask is that sometime when Startup Repair fails it is because it gets lost in a loop trying to Disk Check the hard drive which will not repair and deteriorates to where it cannot report back or timeout but may just go on grinding away.

If the disk is detected in BIOS setup, then what I would do next is run Dell Hardware Diagnostics from F12 Menu to test all hardware but especially know the condition of the hard drive.

If it fails to run or to confirm its findings you can also download, burn to CD with WIndows Image Burner, boot and run the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to know with certainty its condition. If it fails, replace it and do a Clean Reinstall Windows 7. If not continue with the steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Start,
or skip to running Dell Windows 7 PC Restore or Clean Reinstall Windows 7.

 

[monicakm]

Diagnostic test shows error code 2000 - 0142... Hard drive failure. Hardware status 7. Validation 43155. DRATS!!! I assume this is a mechanical issue? This is the first hard drive failure I've had in my 25 years of computing. Oh well, at least now I know what's wrong and can move forward. Luckily I have a Samsung 1 terabyte drive ready to install. Hopefully when I get the bad drive out I can find a way to recover some data. Most everything is on an internal backup drive....but a lot isn't!

 

[monicakm]

And yes Greg the system recognized hard drive 0. I'll go back and read your latest post tomorrow. I started to started the diagnostic test before I saw your latest reply. Thank you for your help

 

[gregrocker]

Try rescuing your data from the booted Win7 disk using Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console . Otherwise if you can plug it in to another PC which has an OS you can try copying the files out that way.

Do a Clean Reinstall Windows 7 to the new hard drive plugged in alone.