bugsy_

As for the password issue im affraid i am unable to help there for obvious reasons. But you may want to look at these other options you may not have tried yet. SEE HERE

can you please elaborate? what is your issue exactly?

If DSTM advice dont work, Turn off the computer, unplug the AC adapter and take out the battery then hold the power button for 30 seconds then put the battery back in, plug the AC adapter back in, then turn it back on as sometimes this works :)

Ok i think your looking to Select Repair or Recover from install CD Type cd system32 when the command prompt appears > Press Enter then type ren kernel32.dll kernel32.old > then press Enter > Type map then press Enter. Type expand d:\i386\kernel32.dl_ then press Enter If the Windows XP CD is inserted into a drive other than D: replace D: with the proper drive letter. Type exit and then press Enter key The computer should shut down and reboot again. hopefully your issue will be solved, i just done this the other night on a friends pc and it worked just fine. Found here Hope this helps

Also you might want to try booting from install DVD select > Repair your computer > Startup repair. It will attempt to repair its bootloader as i think this maybe the issue here. The startup repair only fixes one thing at a time so you may have to repeat this several times in order to repair all if any issues. Hope this helps if you get no joy from DELL diagnostics tool.

Are you using addins for MS OFFICE 2007 as sometimes this can lead to it running slow or when opening documents and hanging. If so try and disable your addins then enable them one by one to see if any particular addin is causing you this issue. maybe this what is causing your issue, i know its slightly different to what i have mentioned but its worth a shot. Try using your MS Office 2007 CD to perform a repair instead of re installing it first as it could be something simple.

If i remember rightly open Windows Explorer > click Organize > select Folder and Search Options > Select the View tab > check Hide protected operating system files. This will hide desktop.ini files in the directory. this is normally checked by default.

Ok i understand this is a new drive but i would choose to run a regular format on a volume, as files are removed from the volume that you are formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors. like i said i know its a new drive but do a regular format and should you get a blue screen again try and get a error code, it should right at the bottom of the blue screen. also just make sure everything is correctly seated drive/memory/graphics, make sure all cables and wires are connected.I know psefrank has covered most of what i said but do a regular format after checking everything psefrank suggested.hope it helps; Good luck and let us know how you get on!

The only thing i can think it could be is the MOBO or PSU

I'm glad it's working for you, old trick but effective :)

Ok try this, turn laptop off > take batery out > plug in power cable > boot up laptop > put battery in > power off > boot back up. Not ideal i know but apparently sometimes this works unless your battery needs replaced.

Try and install the XP sound driver by right click an run as admin, it may just work for you. a few of XP drivers do work on vista. let us know how you get on.

Ok seems to me you have a virus of some sort, i suggest you download and install MalwareBytes and run deep scan in safemode.. and wait there. and just wait for further advice from a malware specialist

Are you getting any beeps on boot up if so is it 1 or a couple or constant beeping? I think your motherboard is the issue here. Have yo tired KenB suggestions? have you checked nothing as came loose or unclipped from inside, as in cables? make sure all hardware is correctly seated and remove ram and replace it, and make sure everything is free from dust as KenB said. Have you gave a bad knock or have you toch the inside for any reason before this happen, are you sure it hasn't been overheating?

Go to > computer > Then, right click on the drive you wish to scan for errors and select Properties > Now click the Tools menu, then Check Now under the error-checking section, in the next windows check both boxes and click start then shedule disk check then you will need to restart your computer and wait till it finishes. let us know how it goes. WAIT! sorry this is for XP below; Step One: Click Start, select Run Step Two: In the box, type cmd Step Three: Click Ok Step Four: Run the chkdsk utility by typing in the following command: chkdsk c: ..or chkdsk c: /f /r

eg, windows 7 ultimate x64 AMD Athlon II X2 nvidia geforce 9200 etc... be things like make and model of your computer, what graphics card you have, memory, what OS you are running............. does that help any?;)

Hi Frank :) looks just like me don't he :D

If it is windows 7 with IE8; Go here and Reset your IE8, as it is only the setting in IE that seem to out of the ordinary here. edit; Also you say it is a new laptop, make sure your are installing all updates from the windows updater.. see here

Yeah, some pinched my name here had to change it slightly, in saying that i couldn't find the other me :D Hi DSTM :)

lol fancy seeing you here :D Hi Starbuck :)

Hi Guys, I new here, and stumbled across this site and liked what i see and joined to hopefully learn more and hopefully be able to offer some advice if i can. :) Thanks Bugsy_

When trying to boot from CD/DVD remember at the point of it booting up press the F11 or F8 key rapidly until you get to the boot menu, then select boot from CDROM Drive or something along those lines. or To get into your Recovery Partition Press F11 or F8 as above without CD/DVD

Maybe a VGA chip failure or MotherBoard..... maybe. can you post you full system specs for a closer look?

After a fresh install i recommend you visit your manufacturer website here to get the latest and most upto date drivers for your machine. Also check in the Device Manager for any discrepancies. I would also make sure you use Windows updater for all other updates.

Before shelling out for a graphics card you might want to do some basic checks first if you haven't already; make sure the base unit is free of dust and grime take out the RAM switch them about take out the graphics card and re seat it correctly and firmly make sure all connections are free from dust but be careful of touching things inside the base unit so be earthed. :) should this fix your issue it is advised you only download the drivers from the manufacturer website or vendor.