Latitude XT2 booting problems

Hello. Well before I begin, I want to say that I am really bad with computers, meaning I do not really know the hardware and locations of programs needed for repair in the laptop, if even available.

Well the issue I am having is that when i turn on my computer, it ends up with a black screen. Like it does not even show the loading screen at all, just black. In order for it to work, I have to use the actual power button and turn it off and on until the screen finally turns on. Now i know this is probably really bad, but I have not figured out any other ways to be able to have it turn on and show the screen.

Usually when it turns on, it works just fine, however, I have had times where it shuts off by itself. So i just want to know what could be causing all of this to happen? Like I said, when it is up and running, everything runs smooth.. Any help is appreciated, this is driving me crazy because I have no experience with computers.. Thanks again

 

Hi, rramir27. Welcome to Major Geeks.

On your Dell, there should be a Recovery partition. To boot from it, press F12 when the POST screen shows (screen with progress bar when you first turn on the computer) and select the Recovery volume and then the option to repair. If there is no Recovery volume, report back here.

 

Sorry for the late reply, but when I press f12 all i see are : internal HDD (IRRT), onboard NIC, BIOS setup, and diagnostics options in the screen.

 

I'm running Vista Ultimate 32-bit on my Dell Precision M70. Your Latitude XT2 is quite a bit newer so, I expect that Dell would have placed a Recovery partition on the hard drive.

Could you download and install LightShot (a screen capture utility) and take a screenshot of Disk Management (Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management) like the one I've attached so I can take a look at it?

 

I hope this is the thing you were asking for because the instructions for control panel did not show any administrative tools. So I just searched disc management and this is what popped up. Hopefully the attachment shows up as well..

 

If you go to Classic View on the left in Control Panel Home it will show as attached. But, regardless, that's the screen I was talking about. The System Reserved partition is the Recovery Partition. But, before we use it, I want to be absolutely certain that it's not just simply taking a very long time to get to your Desktop screen. Vista Ultimate was taking a long time on my Dell Precision M70 until I made some changes.

 

Oh good to know. Thanks. And yes, the problem I am having is that when I turn it on, it does not even show the post screen where the bar loads up. I have left it there, with a black screen and it will stay that way until I have to shut it down. I have to end up pressing the power button until it eventually turns on, and then it will also run fine. However, now that you mention it, the loading does take a while to go into the desktop as well when i get past the black screen.

 

Hmmm, if the POSY screen isn't even showing after the computer has been shut off for a while, there may be a hardware issue that only Dell or a service center can help you with (like the Power switch needs replacing). The fact that the computer works "normally" once you do get it to turn on means we won't have to do a factory restore, which is exactly what would have been done if the computer had been sent to the "System Reserved" partition and you would have lost the apps you installed and any data.

 

Oh okay well thank you. I was just trying to get atleast some knowledge about what may be wrong since I was clueless, and now I atleast know it may be a hardware problem, which sounds right now that i think of it. I will probably call them and see what is wrong with it, but thank you and I really appreciate your great help!