In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

In reply to a post by Titus:

Quite. Which is why, right at the beginning, I asked if Vista can be booted into safe mode, and if so, how, and whether that would enable the hard drive to be checked, and if so, how.

So far, no-one has told me.

During the initial boot sequence press F8 repeatedly, this should bring up the Safe Mode options menu.

Thank you, but pressing F8 during boot up does nothing whatever. That was just about the first thing I suggested. Which was why I came here and asked whether or not you actually can boot Vista into safe mode, and if so, how.

The lady has been resourceful enough to try pressing all sorts of keys during boot up in an attempt to get into "safe mode". She has not suceeded. She scrupulously followed the guidance of two Dell employees and still didn't get into safe mode.

She got a page offering various diagnostic tests by pressing F12 and she tried all the tests, some of them lengthy. All reported "satisfactory".

A piece of sound advice offered here was "Consult a local repairer", which she did after giving up hope of Dell being able to cure the problem. She reports that he tried all the same things with the same lack of results, even after running all sorts of lengthy tests (just like Dell did), and he was just as baffled as many people here seem to be, so he kept the computer to work on it.

Latest reports are that he has now got it working and that the operating sytem had been badly screwed up and the registry corrupted, but no indication as to how or why. One day it all worked fine: next day, on boot up - no Windows. It seems the HD itself was OK physically.

If I find out anything more, I'll report back. Thank you all for your helpful suggestions and adivice so far.

blah blah blah

In reply to a post by AEP:

Go to a local computer repairer.

Hoep you get ripped off too.

Well, that's that then!

Did you try the <F8> for Windows Boot Menu on your own PC first (it's standard Windows procedure) so you could guide her thro' it?

You were also advised on how to get free Windows recovery disks, which is most likely what your local repairer used. Now she's gonna have to pay for it.

In reply to a post by 12eason:

blah blah blah

In reply to a post by AEP:

Go to a local computer repairer.

Hoep you get ripped off too.

Thaank you for your valuable contribution.

She could have gone to a local repairer from the start. You could have googled to find the information you actually used and told her straight away that you didn't understand enough to help.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

... Did you try the <F8> for Windows Boot Menu on your own PC first (it's standard Windows procedure) so you could guide her thro' it?

Of course I have done that, many times, on the half-dozen or so computers which I own and/or have built. It is the very first thing I suggested and the first thing she tried.

None of my computers used Vista and none of them were Dell, however, which is why, when pressing F8 did nothing whatever on her computer, I asked here for suggestions.

Can anyone confirm, please: in the case of a Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop, sold in 2007: can such a computer definitely be booted into "safe" mode, and if so, how? If this is supposed to be possible by pressing F8, what kind of fault is likely to stop this working?

Google it. You are wasting our time.

Take it to someone who knows.

This has already been suggested several times, and you have accepted that it is the best solution. Messing about when neither of you really know what you are doing is likely to make any situation worse than it already is.

I'm afraid that if you don't know how to boot Windows into Safe Mode, or even know if it is possible, then you are not competent to advise someone, over the phone, how to repair the computer. Parroting answers given here will make neither of you more competent.

As I stated earlier, <F8> for Windows Boot Menu is a standard Windows procedure and works on all versions, incl. Vista, regardless of PC manufacturer.

In reply to a post by john2007:

She could have gone to a local repairer from the start. You could have googled to find the information you actually used and told her straight away that you didn't understand enough to help.

I have always made it clear to her that I was not an expert.

I suggested that she try booting into "safe" mode. Was this the wrong thing to do? It is what several people here have suggested. It is when she was unable to boot into safe mode that I enquired here, and also suggested that she tried contacting Dell who ought to know more about her computer than anyone else. Was that the wrong advice?

It is interesting that comments here range from "She coiuld have gone to a local repairer at the start" to "I hope she gets ripped off".

Which is right? Go to a local repairere straight away, or stay away from local repairers altogether?