I am trying to recover a pc with the windows xp disc but it gets as far as registering components and then stops, it seems to be still running but have left it for whole day and once it has got to that point it just stops there. I cannot get into BIOS or anywhere else as as soon as I boot it up the Windows install comes on and if I haven't put the disc in it will ask for it and there is nothing else I can do. Can't get anywhere to format the hard drive. Oh by the way it is a Dell!!!

What is the exact Dell model?

Were you using the Dell Recovery CD?

What happens when you try to get into the BIOS?

Hi,
The pc is a Dell Dimension 4800 and yes I was using the Dell Recovery disc.
When I press set up at the beginning I just get boot from C or boot from CD and a couple of other options but nothing that helps.
Thanks Carole.

So repeatedly pressing F2 after power on does not open the BIOS Setup?

Why were you re-installing in the first place?

A failure at "registering components" is often a hardware failure but please verify whether or not you can access the BIOS Setup:

http://support.dell.com/support/topi...C5E&l=en&s=gen

I am reinstalling for a lad I work with, he said that everything had got so slow it was taking 15 mins to boot so he tried to do the recovery but only got as far as I did. When I continuosly pressed F2 this time I got a list of various things up and as you said it could be a hardware failure I switched off the mouse input because when I used a mouse in the port it didn't work, so had to use a usb one, but that made no difference. He racked up a large phone bill when he rang the help desk so didn't want to do that again!

Carole-

This is John at Dell headquarters.

It sounds to me like you've got a botched installation of Windows on your hands. Since the machine is booting, I'd try the following:

After booting to the problem spot, turn off the system entirely with the Windows CD still in the drive.

Turn on the machine, and then hit F12 immediately, repeating every half second or so. Once you see a screen giving you advanced boot options, choose to boot from CD so you can reformat that drive. If you never see that screen, and instead see it repeat the cycle it has been, fire the system down and try again.

Let me know if this helps!

John
Dell Customer Advocate