Upon trying to install windows xp with an apparently corrupt cd, the laptop started displaying some serious problems. the display stays black right from the very beginning. upon repeated on/offs it does have a chance of showing the image, but it does have a very poor quality. the xp i installed showed that it goees with 4 bit color depth and it will not change into anything else. It may be a driver problem on the windows side, but that should not impact the image display of the bootloader and bios, before actually booting windows. Can anyone help me out here? Thank you in advance, Vlad Cojo

Can you get into the BIOS? There are a number of keys that could do it DEL, F2, F5, F10...there should be an image there, you should also be able to see POST or a splash screen while booting that hides POST, but getting to BIOS would be a start. You could then try rebooting from a working XP disc and reinstalling.

The problem is due to System startup failure. It could be due to many reasons like abruptly shutting down the system, Services not starting, Malware or trojans infection, Corrupt Hard drive, corrupt system files,etc.

Method 1 :
Start your system by pressing F8 upon startup.
Select "last known good configuration that works"
Check it it can get you to your Desktop.
Reboot the system,everything will be fine.

Method 2 : Start your system by pressing F8 upon startup.
Select "Safe boot"
Check if it can get you to your Desktop.
Now, Click Windows startup button
Select "All programs"
Select "Accessories"
Select "System tools"
Select "System Restore"
and try to restore the system in an ealier point.
your system will reboot now and check if it works fine now.

Method 3 : 
Download "Hiren's Boot CD"
Below is the link
http://hirens.longcomputerservices.com/Hirens.BootCD.10.1.zip
Extract the zip file using Winzip or Winrar.
Burn the ISO image file with Nero or PowerISO in a CD.
Boot the system using that CD ( Set your BIOS to boot from CD-DVD Drive)
Select "Windows XP Mini" upon startup.
Use tools that are available in the CD

It will most probably solve your problem.
If the problem still persists Use can always Backup your important files using that CD to an external USB Drive or to any Network Share location.

That's it.

Hi,
The display drivers maybe corrupt.

Boot the machine into safe mode. Right click on My Computer (XP) Computer (Vista) and select manage from the sub menu.
When the window pops up select Device Manager.
A device list will populate. When it has look down the list for Display Adapters. Click on the + icon next to Display Adapters to it expands. Right click on the display adapter and select uninstall.

Restart the computer and let it boot in normal mode.
If it boots in normal mode let it detect the Display and install the drivers for it.
I would be a good idea to update the display drivers via the Dell Support website


Regards.

one possibility is your windows xp might be corrupted. Try formatting your system and install a fresh copy of xp. or there might be a problem with your RAM.

there are two possible reasons:
1. your laptop's hard drive might have bad locations
2. one of your windows file might be corrupt

using windows xp installation cd try to repair your windows
be carefull not to reinstall. first try to repair and if it does not work then reinstall.
to repair i'll give to you some details:
on setup, after press F8 *(if you are agree with terms of licence) you will be asked what do you want to do.
and requre to press r to repair a previous windows installation, or to press esc key to instal a new and fresh windows.
press r

if u have critical files to recover, ask for help from someone who know very good what to do.

may be u have problem with the display driver or u have a corrupted windows xp try to run the windows in "ENABLE VGA MODE" if it works fine then just reset the display settings else u have to try to repair / reinstall winxp
mai me ur response @ [email protected]

You don't need the original setup cd as long as you have the windows cd you can boot up the pc using that cd and just repair the windows or install it over cause its only a file messed up. Get back to me

you can use any xp disk.re install fresh copy not repair.im sure you know someone who could lend you a copy for couple of hours

That error message means. You must have tried to boot up to a floppy diskette. The diskette ( 's ), were made with a defective floppy drive.To re-download the Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install of Win XP click the link below:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E8FE6868-6E4F-471C-B455-BD5AFEE126D8&displaylang=en
Option if you have a cdrom in notebook & a real Win XP CD. Put the win xp cd in the cdrom drive. Start the Pc laptop & press the F8 key every two seconds. Windows will display a boot up option menue. Choose the cdrom. Win XP will start the installation.

It sounds like you may have some corrupted system files. You should be able to repair them using your Windows XP installation CD and the steps out-lined in this article. http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=313