Advent laptop crashed

Have you done ANY updates or OS upgrades? Take a look at this: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-system/getting-blue-screen-error-irqlnotlessorequal-in/e37150e0-1937-490a-be24-fa22c230b20a OR this: http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/83596-bsod-irql_not_less_or_equal-windows-7-64bit-pro.html

Hard Boot - Press the power button till it shuts down. Not an uncommon problem. It's just Windows.

Try running the check disk utility.

To run the check disk utility you will need a repair disc or a operating system disc. Put the disc in the cd drive and boot from it. You want to get to the Dos Command Prompt (Black screen with white letters) and type the following command: chkdsk /r
Check disk will run well over an hour or two and you will notice the percentages going from high to low, this is normal. Let it run to completion. Then reboot machine.

If check disk fails to solve your problem you might have to reinstall windows. Try doing a Repair Install that way you don't loose your data, documents, music, pictures, videos or programs.

In windows xp you get to the dos command prompt by selecting R for repair when the options appear.

In Vista and Windows 7 you want to get to the recovery console and look down at the bottom of the window for the Dos Command.

Try running the check disk utility.

To run the check disk utility you will need a repair disc ora operating system disc. Put the disc in the cd drive and boot fromit. You want to get to the Dos Command Prompt (Black screen with whiteletters) and type the following command: chkdsk /r
Check disk will run well over an hour or two and you will notice thepercentages going from high to low, this is normal. Let it run tocompletion. Then reboot machine.

If check disk fails to solve your problem you might have to reinstall windows.Try doing a Repair Install that way you don't loose your data, documents,music, pictures, videos or programs.

In windows xp you get to the dos command prompt by selecting R for repair whenthe options appear.

In Vista and Windows 7 you want to get to the recoveryconsole and look down at the bottom of the window for the Dos Command.

Check your bios to see if there is a hard drive option for compatability mode, you should change this value perhaps. What are your options in your bios?

Are you getting a blue screen before it restarts?

When you press the power button to turn it on press the F8 key continuously to get the options screen. Select the option to Disable Automatic Restart. This way you will get to read any error message that is being displayed before it restarts.

Try running the Check Disk Utility.

To run the check disk utility you will need a repair disc ora operating system disc. Put the disc in the cd drive and boot fromit. You want to get to the Dos Command Prompt (Black screen with whiteletters) and type the following command: chkdsk /r
Check disk will run well over an hour or two and you will notice thepercentages going from high to low, this is normal. Let it run tocompletion. Then reboot machine.

If check disk fails to solve your problem you might have to reinstall windows.Try doing a Repair Install that way you don't loose your data, documents,music, pictures, videos or programs.

In windows xp you get to the dos command prompt by selecting R for repair whenthe options appear.

In Vista and Windows 7 you want to get to the recoveryconsole and look down at the bottom of the window for the Dos Command.

OK, first of all the blue screen appears only when windows is loaded so that means that you are still not rebooting from the cd, Turn on the computer and immediately press either the F1 key or the F2 key at one-second intervals to enter the BIOS setup utility. As the Guys at Gateway.com say it.
Then go to a screen called boot sequence which should allow you to choose from where the computer is going to restart from. make sure that the CD drive is first on this list then SAVE AND EXIT. after that, the windows vista cd should work.
make sure you press whatever key it wants you to press to enter to windows vista.

use safe mode run the diognostic tols then restart

trojan

There should be a factory image on the HD when you try restarting it. Hold down the F8 key or F10 key while its rebooting this should start the recovery process you shouldnt need a windows disk.