Hello all. I'm stumped. I have a Dell Inspiron 2500 and it will not restart. I don't need any of the data on it, luckily, so I'm just trying to reinstall Windows and keep using the laptop. Here's the story line:

1) Tried to restart from Windows XP start menu - laptop hangs
2) Performed a hard power reboot - laptop hangs in Windows startup screen
3) Tried to repair Windows. During repair process, the software wants to restart the computer as usual. Laptop ignores the restart command and just sits there doing nothing.
4) Tried to reinstall Windows from scratch. During reinstall process, the software wants to restart the computer as usual. Laoptop ignores the restart command and just sits there doing nothing.
5) FDisk the drive, deleted the partition, tried to reinstall Windows - same result.
6) Used Emergency Recovery Diagnostics boot disk from Winternals Corp. Created a new active partition and formatted hard drive.
7) Issued the restart command from the ERD console. Again laptop ignores the restart command and just sits there.

It's like the hardware power circuits that are triggered by the software restart commands are bad or something and it ignores all commands to restart. The only time it actually restarted was when I removed all disks and had no operating system on the hard drive and it said "Operating system not found. Press CNTL-ALT-DEL to restart". When I pressed cntl-alt-del, it did restart, but that was from the BIOS and I don't think it's using the same power circuits or relays (?) But that's a guess.

Does anyone have any ideas? I just want to be able to reinstall windows and keep using my laptop.

After all that, I'd be inclined to think it must be something in the BIOS. I know there's a potential security risk called "wake up" in there that's intended for multiple installations but can let "nasties" in during the night, so perhaps there's also something connected with shutting down and restarting.

Have you tried running Scandisk though? Sorry, that's chkdisk or chkdsk or something in XP. It could be that there's a boot sector problem.

Another place you could look is Power Management in Control Panel. Perhaps there's something there than needs changing.

You'll have realised by now that, like you, I'm clutching at straws, but it's worth a try while you're waiting for someone who knows a bit more than we do about this kind of thing.

Thanks for the advice. I'll boot up that ERD disk again and check out the power console if it's available and go through the BIOS with a fine toothed comb. That's a good idea that I have not done yet.

I doubt I can do anything with a power console, I mean, the drive is "empty", reformatted, so there's nothing on it any more. So I think BIOS is the better bet.

That Winternals emergency recovery disk is a fantastic tool by the way. Highly recommended.

Originally Posted by Barney_Rubble

After all that, I'd be inclined to think it must be something in the BIOS. I know there's a potential security risk called "wake up" in there that's intended for multiple installations but can let "nasties" in during the night, so perhaps there's also something connected with shutting down and restarting.

Have you tried running Scandisk though? Sorry, that's chkdisk or chkdsk or something in XP. It could be that there's a boot sector problem.

Another place you could look is Power Management in Control Panel. Perhaps there's something there than needs changing.

You'll have realised by now that, like you, I'm clutching at straws, but it's worth a try while you're waiting for someone who knows a bit more than we do about this kind of thing.

Boot with your XP CD. Choose to install. When it ID's the hard disk(s), choose to delete any partitions. Then create/format a brand new partition with NTFS as the file system. Proceed with the install onto the newly cleansed disk.