Inspirion 1501 wont boot tech info: STOP: 0X000000F7

I do network and desktop administration and have run into similar issues. I was able to fix the issue by performing a couple of tasks.



1. boot in safe mode and run Ad-aware and remove all spyware it finds. (if it is not on the machine you can load it on a USB drive from another computer and run it from the USB drive on the computer with the problem). Ad-aware can be found for free on www.downloads.com)



2. While in safe mode also run "Free windows registry repair" which is another free download you can get at the link below. Typically from what I have seen this issue is caused by a bad registry setting or corrupt driver. This program will help remove or repair the problem. (http://www.download.com/Free-Window-Registry-Repair/3000-2086_4-10677651.html)



After these steps are done you should be able to re-boot into the last known good configuration and the computer should work fine. There is one extra step I like to take afterward though to ensure the OS is in good shape. I use the system resource disk to run a repair function on the OS. In my case this is windows XP pro.



To run chkdsk /r, you need to boot the computer in what is called the recovery console. To do this, put in a Windows XP CD and get the computer to boot from the CD (On Dell computers this F12 and other computers F8 usually). Once the CD has loaded, you will be prompted to recover windows by pressing the ‘R’ key. Press the ‘R’ key and you will be put in a mode that looks like dos. Typically you will have to type in 1 for C drive check. Once in there, follow the prompts on the screen to get access to the console. Once you’re in, you then can type chkdsk /r. This will repair any problems with the disk drive and also attempt to repair any inconsistencies with the OS.



Good luck.