hard drive issues?

My sister has been having issues with her computer. where last night she was on a website just minding her own business pretty much then all of a sudden her computer locks up. Where she had to give a hard boot then. Well when restarting computer,it'll go through the whole process with that loading bar. once it got to a certain point it would stop then a screen comes up that gives 2 options to either use start up repair option or start normal. when clicking on the start normally,it eventually goes back to that screen again with the 2 options while trying the start up repair option. would act like it would want to go to the next but goes back to the screen with the 2 options. where as when I don't do anything meaning not click on either option where theirs a count down. Something that should take a minute to load takes 5 minutes or so. where the screen turns gray,mouse pointer comes up...eventually the screen appears with multiple options like repair computer,restart computer in a last best config option and so on..pretty much when I tried those options it wouldn't do anything. I eventually had to go to the option for Dell factory image restore to restore the entire computer and end up losing everything,which I didn't have a choice here that nothing was working. Would think something like this should take what 45 minutes to an hour. I'm going on 8 hours now and it all does is the same thing where it'll show the loading bar loading then it'll repeat that process.

 

It maybe too late now as you have started a re-install??

When you put the factory disk (do you have one?) it will give you the option to repair.If you are using the Dell recovery system it may be compromised and that is why it is taking so long.

I suggest if you have a disk or can borrow one insert it in the optical drive and start with a fresh install, you will be able to use the original number for the dell as long as you are installing the same OS as the original (XP/VISTA) and the same version (home basic/pro/ultimate) the numberis on the case.

How to identify the product key
Microsoft product keys contain 25 characters that are typically divided into groups of 5.
Where to locate the product key
The product key is typically located on an orange or yellow sticker on the back of the CD case or the DVD case. If the Windows operating system that you are using was preinstalled by your computer manufacturer, you may find the Windows product key sticker on the computer.

Make sure that you store the product key together with the product CD or DVD in a safe location in case you have to reinstall the product in the future. The product cannot be reinstalled without both the product key and the CD or DVD.

Product keys are specific to their software products. For example, you cannot use a Windows product key to unlock a Microsoft Office product.
How to obtain a replacement product key
To replace a Microsoft product key, you must contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support. To locate the appropriate telephone number, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;cntactms)

 

Well I found the Windows Vista cd that came with the laptop. I put it in and restarted the computer and pressed F12 I think it was for boot up and chose the option for that. well then windows loads files then the screen goes black yet the mouse pointer is showing. doesn't do anything else.