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Difficulty turning on computer

10 years ago

Dell laptop running Win 10. When I turn computer on, I get the Dell logo then the dotted circle which never ends. Round and round. Windows is not loading.

This laptop is about 2 years old was updated to Win 10 from Win 8. Has worked fine since I updated it 6 months ago.

Im typing on my phone, apologize if not clear.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Jane

This is what I see for hours!

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Comments (7)

zep516
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Hold the power button in for 30 seconds , it could help but I doubt it. Disconnect anything that might be connected to it.
mikie_gw
10 years ago
Two win10 laptops here both do that when not shut down properly & usually I just hold the power button in for the 5 seconds it takes to force it off is all that is needed. Next time powered on things starts up normal.
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Wow, there is a lot of good information here. Glad I posted with my problem, now I have something new to try out. Thanks owbist. ravencajun, thanks for the compliment but I only had the first half of it figured out and cboy came to the rescue and helped me with the last half of it. I can't take all the credit. "Smiles" Then zep516 came in catching the fact that System Restore wasn't working right and gave me great information on how to correct that. This was the first time that I've had problems with my desktop, but I have changed the backround on it before and I remembered that and I thought why not check it out and see if I could get it to change and that is when I discovered that the backround had been changed and all I had to do was to put it back like I had it, but then I didn't know how to get the icons back and that's when cboy posted the solution for me. If that ever happens to me again I will know exactly what to do. Thanks owbist for telling me how to move the icons down to the taskbar. I will try that on Wednesday, I will have more time to try it out then. thirdfrt!!!
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First, you should know that to unplug the machine to turn it off is only making things worse. If you continue, eventually it may not start at all. Second, your lack of knowledge and lack of available help severely limits your options. Therefore whether you like it or not, correcting this situation will involve spending some money. As I see it, here are your choices (assuming, of course that the machine has no hardware problems): OPTION #1: Pay someone to completely reinstall Windows 7 on this computer. This will wipe out everything that is currently on the machine and return it to the way it was when it was brand new. This would also involve doing multiple Windows Updates and when finished you would have a good-running machine with an operating system that is already outdated and soon to be unsupported (no more security updates). If you're lucky and the machine has a RECOVERY PARTITION, you wouldn't have to buy a new copy of Win 7. This is probably the cheapest way to fix Windows 7. OPTION #2: Pay someone to install Windows 10 on this machine....if it can be done. It would look different than what you're used to and would probably seem to run slower, but it would be much better than the way things are now. This might cost more than fixing Win 7 but hopefully not too much. OPTION #3: Buy a new computer with Windows 10. What you have posted so far leads me to think your only use of a computer is to access the Internet. You'd be much better off if you would use your efforts to become familiar with the current version of Windows. If you shop carefully, you could find a good basic desktop for under $500...maybe less. Keep in mind that if you run into any problems fixing the old machine, repairing it could easily exceed the cost of a new one. A local store would be your best bet, especially if they also provide service and maybe an extra warranty. One thing I WOULD NOT DO is use your Win 7 computer to buy something over the Internet because I'll bet it is already severely infected.
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jane__ny
Original Author
10 years ago
It worked!! Heaven knows why but it did.

I held down the button for a long time, disconnected everything. Powered it up again and there it was! What the heck?

Thanks guys, I would never have figured that out myself.

Bravo...

Jane
zep516
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
"It worked!! Heaven knows why but it did."

"It removes the power from all components the affect of this is that the software interfaces between the BIOS and the hardware are severed and then the BIOS reestablishes those software interfaces between the BIOS and hardware when the computer is reconnected to power. This is coupled with the clearing of the computer's temporary memory. That way, if one of the software interfaces between the BIOS and hardware is malfunctioning, it is reset."
azinoh
10 years ago
I also have a Dell (a desktop) so this might benefit you and any other Dell user who might read it. I learned (the hard way) that whenever this machine receives a Windows Update to not allow it to RESTART, despite having that restart button conveniently there ready for you. From now on, I will always use >>START>>POWER>>UPDATE AND SHUT DOWN. After that, you can turn the machine back on whenever you want to. In addition, I will occasionally do a manual check for updates instead of letting them happen automatically. Updates are usually available on or soon after the first Tuesday of the month and I prefer to get them done when it's convenient for me and not when I'm busy using the machine for some other important task. That's my $.02.
jane__ny
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you Zep! I have no idea what you were explaining but believe in you totally!!

Azinoh, thank you for the suggestion. I always do my updates manually so I don't believe that was the problem. Somehow I think the computer was not shut down properly.

I have the computer to sleep after 5 hours but many times I turn it on in the morning and don't get back to it until the evening. I am assuming that is what messed it up although I did tell it to shut down. But holding the power button down for a minute did the trick.

Jane
mtvhike
10 years ago
Just remember that after you do an update and shut down, the process is not complete. When you turn it back on, the update process will finish, which may take a long time. So, I always shut down after the update, wait a few minutes, and start up again. After the final update is finished, then shut down again.

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