Can someone help me with my laptop please?

[17leftfeet]

Dd has presented my with the laptop saying 'its gone funny'

It has a message saying.....

'A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer

If this is the first time you have seen this stop error screen restart the computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps :

Disable or uninstall any anti-virus, disk defragmentation or back up utilities. Check your hard drive configuration, and check for any updated drivers. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

Technical information:
* STOP: 0x00000024 (0x00190445,0x841604C8,0xC0000102,0x00000000)

I have no idea what any of this means?
I've restarted and it brings me to the same screen
I can't leave this screen without turning it off

It's buggered isn't it?

There is a way to trigger the screen where you have the option to start in safe mode, by continually pressing one of the f keys but I can't remember which one! Hopefully someone who knows more than me will come along to help in the morning

It's fixable. I'm not enough of a Windows expert to guide you through the process, but I'm sure someone who is will be along shortly.

Can anyone help -I've got as far as pressing f8 and bringing up to boot menu but no idea after that?

What make and model is it?
What operating system is it running?
Can you get into safe mode?

It's a dell inspiron 1525 operating windows vista

You turn it on, the dell screen comes on the you get the little windows loading bar then the error message comes on

If I press f8 before the windows loading bar appears then it gives me the screen that lets me select safe mode, I then get the windows loading bar again and it takes me back to the error screen

(Sorry I'm not very techy)

When you press F8,which gives you the boot menu,does it give you "last known configuration",if so it may be worth your while trying that.

Do you have anything on the hard disc that must be saved,if not it may be worth considering a factory recovery,that is if it has a factory image installed or you have the original discs.

Do you have the original discs for Windows Vista? If you do, it may well be possible to perform a repair with those (the CHKDSK utility your error message is referring to). The error message is most likely indicating that a section of your hard drive has become corrupted (or it could be a driver error of some sort, but as it's not booting at all, I'm guessing some sort of corruption). The utility can repair that.

If the laptop did not come with the discs, it almost certainly has a hidden 'recovery partition' that would allow you to simply reinstall the operating system. This is a bit of a nuclear option as you will lose all the files on it; it will restore it to factory default. However, if you're not particularly attached to anything on there, it's a good option. There will be instructions on how to access and use it in the manual; if you don't have the manual, you can probably download that from Dell's website or call their support line for help.

Naoko is on the right track - whenever I've seen that 0x00000024 stop error it's been down to disk corruption on an NTFS partition.

If you're lucky it's just corruption that can be corrected with chkdsk C: /R (the /F is implied if you use the /R switch)

If you're unlucky, your hard drive will need replacing...

When you press F8 and get the menu that allows you to select Safe Mode, is another of the options to "Repair your computer"...? If so, you need to select that and then using the advanced repair options, bring up a command prompt and that's where you'd run the chkdsk C: /R

If "Repair your computer" isn't offered, let me know and I'll revise the instructions. :)