startup

[braveswordsman]

Hi
I need some help here if poss,after a power cut my new computer[dell 530
with vista home basic] refuses to start at switch on.It hangs there showing
F2 and F12 for about 15 mins then boots.During that time I cannot access F2
or 12 and the power button will not work to switch off.Dell has no reset
button so I have to unplug.
When it does start in gives me the option of starting Microsoft Vista or
windows Vista and I have no idea what it means.
I decided to format and go back to XP but although it formatted C
drive[Recovery] it will not let me format the D drive {OS].
Dell did not include manuals so I am lost an dcould use some expert help.
I would like to keep Vista but why is it not starting?I have removed
everything from Add/remove but ti still is the same.
I can't get into the bios to check as F2 does not respond.
I tried re-installing Vista and it went through ok but it still hangs at
startup.
Anyone at all help me with this?Cheers

 

[GTS]

You have a hardware problem, possibly a bad power supply. The computer is
hanging up long before it even tries to load Windows. The attempt to
reinstall Windows was a mistake. It appears it was done incorrectly and
that you installed a second copy of Vista in a dual boot configuration
wiping out your recovery partition in the process. How did you try the XP
installation? If you booted from the XP CD, you should have been able to
format either drive. Did you check that XP device drivers are available for
all your hardware.

Frankly, I think you should get some professional help at this point. You
need fix the hardware problem first and then decide which version of Windows
you really want and reinstall it properly. If you don't have a Vista DVD
and have damaged the recovery partition you may need to obtain media from
Dell to reinstall it.

 

[AJR]

In addition to GTS's comments - regarding "...and the power button will not
work to switch off.Dell ..." - Power is applied via "software" mode - it is
not a direct wired power button.

To turn the computer off via the power button - you must hold the button in
for 4-8 seconds. If the computer does not turn off at that point unplug and
check all "connections".