Computer keeps re-cycling

[mike12]

I have a friends computer. It is a Dell Inspiron 530 about 3.5 years old. She tells me there was a power outage, and now the computer will not boot up. When I turn the computer on, I see the Dell screen etc. and the Windows XP screen for a moment. But then I get a screen full of info such as
"We apologize for the inconvenience but Windows did not start successfully etc. A recent hardware or software change might have caused this." Then there are several options, such as Start Normally, Start in safe mode, Safe mode with the command prompt, Last known good configeration, etc etc.
I have tried ALL those options, same result. It appears like the computer is starting, I see the Windows screen for a few seconds etc, but then it displays all that info about "We apologize etc." I can't
even get into SAFE mode. It brings me back to the same screen. I have tried removing and switching the 4 memory sticks around, same result. The power supply seems OK, meaning the fan in the PS is running, so I guess the PS is OK. ?? Any suggestions on what to try next ? Thanks, Mike

[jdeb]

Any beeps? I would run hardware diagnostics on it. Hit F12 immediately when you see the dell logo at startup. Select Boot to Utility Partition from the boot menu and press Enter. Run the hard drive first.

If that fails, you can run it from the Drivers and Utilities media (cd) that came with the computer. When the DELL logo appears, press F12 immediately When the boot device list appears, highlight CD/DVD/CD-RW and press Enter.

Select the Boot from CD-ROM option from the menu that appears and press Enter.

Type 1 to start the CD menu and press to proceed.

Select Run the 32 Bit Dell Diagnostics from the numbered list. If multiple versions are listed, select the version appropriate for your computer.

When the Dell Diagnostics Main Menu appears, select the test you want to run. I would run the hard drive first.

[mike12]

jdeb---Thanks for the reply. There are NO beeps at all. I tried to boot to the utility partition, but there is none. The hard drive was wiped a long time ago, and I guess the partition is gone. She has NO discs, or lost them, so I will have to go to the Dell site with the Service Tag number and download the diagonistic utilities to my computer and then burn it to a disc, and then try to run the diagonsitics. Lots of fun.

[glc]

On the F8 screen, have you tried disable restart on error? That may freeze it on a bluescreen for you.

I suspect the power outage crashed the hard drive. If you don't have the Dell diags, you can download diags from the hard drive maufacturer or use a UBCD.

[mike12]

glc---I was able to "disable restart on error"
Then i eventyually got the message that windows was shutting down etc. and then this message UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

I also went to the Dell site and downloaded the DIAGONISTICS utility, and burn it to a CD, and then put the CD in the problem computer. I set it to boot from the CD rom. I got lots of info on the screen, and appeared to stop at a Dos prompt. I could do nothing at this point, and it never gave me any other choices. I do have another original DEll diagonistics CD that I tried. It did load, and gave me a choice of several computers to choose from. None of those listed were for the Inspiron 530. I chose one just for the hell of it, but it said something like this was not for this computer etc. Any other suggestions. I might take the hard drive out, and I have the cables to hook it up to my good computer with Windows 7 on it. Maybe I can scan for disc errors that way ???

[glc]

Download the diagnostics from the HARD DRIVE manufacturer or download a UBCD.

Ultimate Boot CD - Overview

[mike12]

Problem solved. She finally found the DEll discs. I ran the diagonistics on the hard drive, and it failed three of the tests. So I told her the bad news. I ordered a new Seagate hard drive, waiting for it to arrive. Thanks again for the suggestions. Mike

[David M]

About your computer re-cycling, I was just gonna say that so long as it is getting the right garbage in the right bins then you should be okay.