Has my laptop died or is there a solution?

[markus1980]

Hi!

I was just browsing amazon when a box popped up saying Windows Explorer had stopped working.

Then a blue screen appeared with STOP: C000021 unknown hard error systemroot\system32\ntdll.dll

The laptop then shut itself down and now won't reboot at all (not even in safe mode, last known good configuration etc).

I have a Dell laptop, it's 18 months old, Windows Vista and never had a problem with it before now. I probably did once have a recovery disk but haven't a clue where it could be or if it's still around.

Is the laptop dead or can the problem be solved?

Thanks

[Miz]

There is probably a recovery partition on the hard drive. The user manual that came with the laptop should have instructions on how to access it.

If you don't have the user manual, Dell usually has them online for download.

Manyll laptops' recovery partitions can be accessed by pressing the Ctrl and F11 key combination as soon as you see the Dell screen early in the bootup.

[markus1980]

Thanks for the reply Miz, I can't access the Dell website to download the manual and pressing Ctrl F11 at the Dell screen doesn't do anything.

The laptop is now turning on though but within a minute of the desktop page loading a box comes up saying WINDOWS EXPLORER HAS STOPPED WORKING, then a blue screen appears and then it shuts itself off?

[Miz]

If you'll tell us the model name and number, if there is one, of the laptop, we might be able to find the manual or at least look to see if there are specific instructions for accessing the recovery partition.

[markus1980]

Thanks Miz, I managed to access the manual for my laptop (Dell Inspiron 1525) and I have no option to REPAIR under the F8 options. I think this is because when Dell sent me the laptop it didn't work but instead of taking it back and replacing it they sent me another hard drive to swap over?

Is there any other way of restoring the factory settings?

Thanks

[Miz]

It looks like your options are to call Dell and see if they'll send you a recovery disc, buy a copy of Vista (or whatever version of Windows you prefer) or find the recovery disc that came with the laptop.

If the laptop has a product key on the case and if you can find someone with an OEM version of Vista, you can use their disc and your product key. It won't have all the drivers on it that the Dell recovery disc had, though, so you'll need to download at least the one for whatever you use to get online (probably an ethernet adapter, aka network card) so you can get back online to get the rest.