Microsoft problem on Dell computer

Question

Turned on computer and DELL came on screen then black screen then DELl again over and over. Then went to checking Dell and said no issues with the Dell Computer. Something to do with system loosing the Microsoft operating system? How can I fix this?

Answer 1

Hi! Let me help you with this issue.

If the computer keeps restarting and cannot load Windows, you can try using Windows Startup Repair to fix the problem. First, turn on the computer and wait until you see the Dell logo. When it starts loading, press and hold the power button to force the computer to turn off. Repeat this process about 2–3 times until the system enters the Windows Recovery Environment.

Once you see the recovery screen, select Troubleshoot, then click Advanced options, and choose Startup Repair. The system will automatically check for problems with Windows and try to repair them.

If Startup Repair does not fix the issue, you can go back to Advanced options and try System Restore or Reset this PC as other recovery options. These tools can help repair or reinstall Windows so the computer can start normally again.

Answer 2

The symptoms indicate a startup/boot failure, often caused by corruption of the boot records or Windows boot files.

Try these steps in order:

1. Check if Windows is still detected
   Enter the BIOS/UEFI (usually by pressing F2, F12, Esc, or Del at the Dell logo) and confirm that the internal drive is listed. If the drive is not detected, contact Dell hardware support.
2. Boot from Windows installation or recovery media
   Use a Windows installation USB/DVD or a Windows recovery drive:
   • Insert the media and power on the PC.
   • Press the key for the boot menu (often F12 on Dell) and boot from the USB/DVD.
   • Choose language, then select Repair your computer (not Install).
3. Run Startup Repair / System Restore
   In the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE):
   • Select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Repair and let it attempt to fix boot problems.
   • If that does not work and restore points exist, select System Restore and restore to a date before the issue started. (See the System Restore steps in the Vista article; the flow is similar in newer Windows versions.)
4. Repair boot files if “Operating system not found” or similar appears
   If the device shows errors like “An operating system wasn’t found” when booting from recovery media, use the documented BCD repair steps:
   • From Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Command Prompt, run diskpart to identify the System partition, assign it a drive letter, then rebuild the boot files with bcdboot as shown in the “An operating system wasn’t found” article.
5. If the screen stays black immediately after POST
   This can be caused by corruption of the MBR/boot sector/NTLDR (on older systems):
   • Boot from a Windows or MS-DOS boot disk.
   • Back up important data if Windows starts.
   • Use the documented steps to repair the MBR/boot sector (for example, FDISK /MBR on older systems, or the Repair options in Windows Setup).
6. If none of the above works
   If Startup Repair, System Restore, and boot repair all fail but the drive is detected and passes Dell diagnostics, the remaining option is usually to reinstall Windows from installation media and then restore files from backup.

Because these steps can affect partitions and data, back up any important files as soon as Windows is accessible.

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References:

• Black screen on boot
• “An operating system wasn’t found” error when booting Windows
• Your computer may freeze or it may restart to a black screen that has an 0xc0000034 error message after you install a Windows Vista service pack