Folks,

I'm brand new to this website and am beyond frustrated with my laptop and I would just consider myself an average intelligence computer user. I know everyone on this website has been in this position so I hope you can help me out before I chuck this 1600.00 paper weight out the window. I'm offering a $50 reward via paypal for anyone who can give me a solution that restores my system. Thanks in advance; this is what I've got:

Situation: Dell Inspiron laptop E1705: Just got it from my brother who said he couldn't fix it and thought it just needed new RAM. XP operating-less system.

Problem: The computer won't boot properly (i.e. I never am able to make it to the windows desktop, or anywhere close for all I know). I can't start in safe mode. So I'm booting from the XP windows disk to format/re-install windows hoping this will be the answer. So I boot from the CD and the Windows installation splash screen displays and starts installing. Usually I get to 34% complete or so, enter my language product key etc, and then as it continues thereafter the system reboots. One time, about an hour ago the splash screen indicated installation of windows was competed and it was "finalizing installation." There was 9% remaining... and then it rebooted to go through this whole thing over again...real cute!

What I've tried:

(1) boot from CD, "new installation," "repair" windows... goes through the process, goes back to the splash screen and reboots as above.
(2) boot from CD, Windows Recovery Console (WRC), ran fixboot and fixmbr, exit, back to splash screen and reboots as above.
(3) boot from CD, WRC, ran chkdsk which apparently found one error and fixed it, exit, back to splash screen and reboots as above.
(4) i've deleted all partitions and formated the system
(5) installed 2GB of new ram from crucial

Please for the love of God... someone has to have a solution for this retarded issue! Thanks so much!! This is ruining my long federal weekend!

Chris

Hi - welcome to PCHF - there will be a talented team looking at this..

My view, from what you've written is that the the Laptop has been "cooked" by overheating.

As you boot it it turns on, works for while etc. but thereafter it overheats and cuts out.

Others in the forum will, I hope, have more optimistic ideas.


(Is federal weekend slang?)

Elpmek:

Thanks for taking a look at my issue... definitely doesn't sound too good. Grrrr...

I'm a federal employee in Washington DC and we have a 4 day weekend with the Inauguration on Tuesday. 5 million people are descending on DC; however, those of us who live here aren't leaving our homes because of the crowds and shut down areas of the city. Plenty of time to sit in front of this stupid computer...

Thanks again...

Hi there,

Create a UBD disk: Ultimate Boot CD - Overview and use the hard drive tools on there to fully test your hard drive for bad sectors/blocks etc.

Created a boot flash drive utilizing the following steps:

1. Download the HP USB format tool and format your stick using a Fat 16 or Fat 32 file system
2. Download and launch UBCDfix2.exe, a UBCD folder is created
3. Download the UBCD ISO and move to your UBCD folder
4. From the UBCD folder, click fixubcd2.bat and follow the onscreen instructions
5. Reboot and set your computer to Boot from the USB device
6. On next launch, you should be booting Ultimate Boot CD from your USB stick

However, now that I plugged the flash drive in, rearranged the bios boot order, etc... how in the hell do I run a specific program from the boot flash drive? thanks...

Offer $$$ and everyone adds input. I don't need it, give it here. But I agree, it's the hard drive. I use Secure Data Disposal to wipe contrary hard drives. It's free and on install makes an ISO that is bootable.

Ahhhh! Get this! I went through the windows install process for like the 20th time and it installed!! I am now at the desktop... ah, what do I do now? Do I run any tests while I'm fully on the system? I'm affraid to restart this POS! let me know what I should do guys...lol

thanks

chris