Solved Vista boot hangs, black screen, no more action

Thank you for whatever advice you can offer.

Trying to fix a friend's desktop:
Dell Inspiron 531 (manufactured 2006 - in China of course)
Athlonx 64X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2000MHz
1024 MB 667MHz dual channel DDR2 SDRAM
Cache: 512k x2
Buffer: 64M
On-board video (64M system RAM allocated)
Single CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, no floppy - on SATA1
Seagate 160GB HDD (ST3160815AS) - SATA 3.0 GB - on SATA0
BIOS 1.0.13
Service Tag 764WRD1
Vista Home Basic (OEM version, no discs available; do not know if it is running 32bit or 64bit)
Home use computer - email, Facebook, web surfing, simple gaming (older lady, not a hard core gamer)

Problem friend reported:
Was working fine. On Sunday morning, it suddenly had problems. She tried using System Restore, but it would not 'take' a prior restore point. Got worse, OS reverted to "Safe Mode" option list, would not boot in Safe Mode. Eventually got to point it would start (Dell logo, then flash Windows progress bar for 10-20 seconds, it would disappear) but never finish booting - hard drive light on a slow cyclic flash, no response to Ctrl-Alt-Del.

So I did some quick research, found instructions to try launching the Dell Diagnostics from the <F12> boot menu. System Response was:

No boot device available:
SATA0: Installed
SATA1: Installed
SATA2: None
SATA3: None

On another computer I created a CD with an iso of the Dell Diagnostics. Using CDROM as the boot device, system shows Dell logo and then very shortly responds with the above message.

Best I could find researching the problem, most likely causes were a bad clock battery (so replaced it following instructions in Dell's manual) or loose power or SATA cables to HDD (re-seated them). No change in system response.

Next step was loading a bootable BartPE disc in CDROM - and it booted!

Ran Chkdsk - Steps 1 thru 4 had no issues, Step 5 found some errors (not a lot).

Next best alternative I found was to try System File Checker. Booted with the BartPE disc, when I try to run the file c:\windows\system32\sfc.exe, the system responds that the file is not a valid 32bit application.

I've found a lot of forum threads with similar issues, but they are generally not occurring every time and the users can still get logged on and use some of their own OS tools. This PC never gets to a log-on stage.

What can I do?
(short of: doing a Dell Factory Restore - assuming it would work - which wipes out all user data; putting the HDD in a Windows 7 PC as a secondary so the Windows 7 OS tools can be used, assuming they would work for this; or, installing a new HDD - friend is cash-strapped)

Welcome
Install Ubuntu to back up your stuff. If you cant install, it means you have a hardware issue. If you can install, worst case scenario we go back to factory settings, but you do not lose your stuff. Talk to you tomorrow.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/

Thanks for the advice. Sadly it bore no fruit.

Downloaded and iso'd Ubuntu, but the Dell Inspiron 531 does not recognize it as a bootable disc.

I pulled out the HDD and installed it as a secondary in my PC and was able to defrag and copy user data. Reinstalled it in Dell Inspiron 531 - still no love.

So the next step was to try Dell Factory Image Restore, except the <F8> on boot menus do not match the Dell on-line manual. I am supposed to see an option for "Repair Your Computer" and then select "System Recovery Options" - instead I get these options:
So I tried the closest thing on the menu to "Repair" -Directory Services Restore Mode - which reported the HDD is clean, and then it went on its merry black-screen way. Still no love.

Also tried an iso'd Windows Vista Repair (download from NeoSmart at High Speed System Recovery Disc Downloads) and it does not recognize that either.

And it still boots from my BartPE disc.

What could be unique about BartPE that it will boot but no other will?

So, finally decided to take the plunge and try going straight to a Windows 7 upgrade.

To my surprise - it booted from the disc! Then using the Windows 7 installer option to "Repair your computer" - found out it had conflicting system records of the OS version, which the installer could not repair. Windows 7 then installed with no issues, got all its updates, added Norton 360, and everyone seems good to go.

Problem solved (though the cause may never be known).

Thanks for trying to help!

Glad that you got your problem sorted, good luck.