I have a dell inspiron 6400 and im getting a black screen once the dell logo comes up and windows xp loads...I see no icons or nothing..just a black screen

Before you use the Recovery CD you need to backup your data because to restoring your laptop will wipe your data off the hard disk.
To backup your data when you cannot boot up your laptop, remove the hard drive and connect it to an USB hard drive adapter. Connect this hard drive/USB adapter into the USB port of a working computer. The computer will see it as an external storage device, you can then open the folders and backup your data.
You can then fit the hard drive back into the Dell laptop and boot up with the Dell recovery CD to reinstall Windows etc.

Immediately after seeing the Dell logo, keep tapping the 'F8' key,
until you see a "menu" (white text over a black background)
giving "startup" options for Windows XP.

Select "Safe Mode" and see if you can start in that mode.
Then, use "System Restore" to go "back" in time, to the most-recent checkpoint (date/time) where your computer _DID_ work.

Restore to that point, and restart.

if you are talking about the factory settings restore
1: windows XP- restart.. on dell logo hold down ctrl and tab F11 and push the restore tab as u see it
2: vista- restart .. on dell logo tap F8 and select repair my computer.. login as admin.. from the list choose dell factory image restore and confirm data deletion.

That means the Windows "Shell" or Explorer.exe is failing to load. You will have to wipe and reinstall your windows. If you have important data, I suggest you take your machine to a pc shop and have them attempt data recovery.

Sounds like a bad drive but it may still have the data on it (hand it over to a professional).
Next time, don't forget to do your backups so you don't have to worry.

JOAT

This is a no boot issue. Youre saying that you can perfectly run the PSA diagnostics but doesnt load Windows rather it stays on black screen, meaning the boot loader of Windows failed to load. You need to reinstall windows on your computer

Insert OS cd in drive and start reinstalling by selecting repair mode now once all files are loaded system will reboot when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10
this will give you access to your account also you can reset all passwords
Now restart lappy and let the system boot normally without OS cd in drive
now you will come to old screen and previously configured desktop with all intact aplication and icons on desktop and it will no more ask you for password till you set a new one

Thanks and regards

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Have you tried doing a winXP repair:

XP repair
When you boot with the Dell Win XP install CD-ROM, it loads a minimal operating system, similar to DOS, but compatible with Win XP. At the first screen you select install Win XP (not Recovery Console) and at the next screen it will find that you already have Win XP and offer to attempt a repair. This repair should not touch your Applications or data; it just reinstalls the Windows files. This is great because when it works you don't need to reinstall all your software.

If the repair does not fix it :

If you have documents you need,you would have to set the hard drive in an enclosure and copy the files over. Then you can run the Dell recovery disk . This will set it up as when it came from Dell.

If I could be of further assistance, let me know. If this helps or solves the issue, please rate it.
Thanks, Joe



I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/joe_8b8c2cd6ce148309

Could you please run the diagonistics on the computer?
Turn on the computer. When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> immediately. Select Diagnostics from the boot menu and press <Enter>.
NOTE: If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the
Microsoft Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.
b Press and hold the <Fn> key while powering the system on.

Make a note of any errors that you get after running the diagnositcs on the computer.

It could possibly be a bad motherboard. But before having the mobo replaced, I suggest you swap out parts from a working system to eliminate points of failure. if you don't have the parts, just remove the parts not needed for posting. this includes the hdd, optical drive, modem, bluetooth card, wireless card, and external devices. once you see the dell logo, install these devices one at a time and see what causes the problem. If you decided to have the mobo replaced, you can send your system to the depot for repairs. before this try pushing F12 when booting see if you can get onto the dell diagnostics.