I have Dell inpiron 1420. It It became unbootable to windows xp pro after I set up the bios to default. Strange! I tried using safe mode , Last known config. and alsot I started to boot it from XP cd but I got an error massage saying SETUP DID NOT FIND ANY HARD DISK INSTALLED IN YOUR COMPUTER.

Restart the computer. As soon as the bios start screen displays, start hitting F8, about once a second. You will eventually get the windows start menu. Use "Last known good..." or VGA mode. Last known good should do it. If not, VGA mode will allow you to get into windows and change your resolution settings, then reboot and get back to work.

You have corrupt or deleted windows files or possibly a hardware error. The first thing is to try a repair using a Windows XP CD that came with your system.
XP REPAIR INSTALL 1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order. 2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below. This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer: To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

• To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
• To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

3. Press Enter to start the Windows Setup: do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you do not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R". 4. Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations. 5. Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair. 6. Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact. 7. You will need to apply Windows updates after this procedure.

try to boot in "Last good known configuration settings" by restarting your pc and then press F8 before windows appear and then select the boot option i mention above. if this not work since you said that it can't boot to safe mode, your other option is to repair the windows or else reformat it. when you repair the windows you must have windows xp home edition cd installer, you load it to your cd/dvd rom and then restart your pc and press F2 or DEL button before windows appear in order to go to setup bios settings. in bios settings, you choose boot order setup and setup first priority to cd/dvd and press F10 by saving the changes and then press any key when you see the prompt so that it can boot up to windows xp home cd installer and then follow screen instruction that you arrive to windows repair option.

I think that you have to reinstall the XP os on the hard drive again.

have you tried this ......

restart the laptop press F8 it will open to boot the laptop through various process like safe mode , last good known ..... select the last good known option and press enter .... it will boot the laptop with last setting



if this one not working then go for reinstall of xp ...for reinstall xp

1. Start your computer from the Windows XP CD. To do this, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.
   
   Note To boot from your Windows XP CD, the BIOS settings on your computer must be configured to do this.
2. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.
3. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.
4. Read the Microsoft Software License Terms, and then press F8.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP Setup.

Reboot the computer to the BIOS screen. Go to the last page or the "SAVE" page and there should be a "set system settings to default" somewhere around the BIOS. Once that is choosen, reboot in safe mode and go to your display settings. safe mode automatically sets the resolution at a setting that is safe to use, try bumping the settings up here to see if it holds. I would then go to your video card manufacturers support site and update the drivers for the graphics adapter.

I would suggest you to try doing a BIOS default settings

Immediately after you start the computer start hitting F2( or Delete key in some systems), It will take you to BIOS. Just load the default settings for BIOS save settings and exit.

This should resolve your issue

Try booting the system to Safe mode.

To boot to safe mode:

Restart the computer. As soon as the BIOS has finished loading, F8 key on your keyboard. When Windows Options menu appears, scroll to select the Safe mode menu item, and then press Enter.

Select "Last known good configuration" then press Enter.

If that doesn't work reboot again and keep tapping on F8 to Safe Mode and instead of selecting "last known good configuration" select "Repair Your Computer"

Or you can try this:
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1. Place your Windows XP set up disk in your CD drive.
2. Turn off your computer and change your BOOT order to boot from CDs first.
3. Turn your computer back on.
4. Press any key on your keyboard when it asks you to.
5. Press enter when you see a blue screen, one of the options should say, "To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.".
6. Press enter to start the windows set up.
7. Accept the Licence and Agreement and confirm that the setup is searching for current versions on XP.
8. Press "R" when the set up has found your current version of XP.
9. Notice that the Set up is deleting all your windows xp files and replacing them. (This will not cause loss of data)

Reboot into Safe Mode by repeatingly tapping on F8 while in process of rebooting and then select "last known good configuration". If that fails reboot again to safe mode and select safe mode with command prompt and in the command prompt type "chkdsk /f /r " <enter>

If that doesnt work do place your Windows CD into the Cd-Rom, reboot and select option "Repair"

You may try "Last Known Good Configuration"

Boot the operating system with the “Last Known Good Configuration” feature. To use this:

1. Restart your computer.
2. When you hear a single beep or after the bios has read your hardware settings press [F8], this will display the “Windows Advanced Options” menu.
3. Select Last Known Good configuration and press enter key.

Let me know.

Thanks.