Hello, I'm a bit of a novice so I figure it'd be best to ask you guys (the experts) about how I might go about fixing my problem. I have a Dell computer (I'm not sure of the make or model but it's a flatscreen and about 3-5 years old I think). It's installed with Windows XP. Recently my desktop has not been working properly, it hasn't been showing my background image and it's incredibly annoying. So I went to change it (Right click/properties/desktop) and it wouldn't work. So then I went into the "settings" and fooled with some things to see if they would help but to no avail. So lastly I went to change the screen resolution and put it at it's highest settings. I pressed "OKAY" in the bottom right corner and the screen immediately went black. In the center of the screen, moving around a bit was a wite box with text inside, it said something like: "Input not satisfactory", it wasn't that but it was something similar. Then when I turned it on the blue HP screen comes up, and then the loading XP thing comes up and then the screen would go black and display the same message. Then I restarted it and when the blue HP screen came up I pressed "F1" to go into the settings. I changed one thing, which I think was the "reset" type of thing and then I saved and exited and the computer restarted. When it came back on it once again did the blue screen and then went directly to a black screen that said something like: "Non-Disk... blah blah blah, press key when you have completed blah blah blah." I'm sorry I don't have more complete evidence of what's happening but I am at the public library and I do not have my computer on hand. Thank you all so very much, and please help me!

Firstly, if this is a Dell, it shouldn't have an HP start screen, and the model number would be right on the front of the computer tower, NOT the monitor, but the actual case. Reboot the machine, press F1 to get into the BIOS, and reverse the change you made there. Then, reboot the machine again, and press F8 to get into Safe Mode. Go back into your Display options and change the Resolution back to a reasonable view. Click Apply rather than OK so that you can actually see what the screen will look like. If that's acceptable, then click OK. Life's more painless for the brainless.

I'm sorry it's not a dell, its an HP pavilion vf15. I did as you said, but when I clicked F1 and went into "Setup" there was nothing there to change. If I'm not mistaken I have already changed everything back. As for pressing F8, I did so and nothing happened. Seeing as how I believe I've changed everything back, but it says something wrong. Could you perhaps post what the settings SHOULD be at, so I can make all changes accordingly? Also when I turn it on after the blue HP screen, it says: "Non-system disk or disk error Replace and strike any key when ready."

anyone? this is really important

>>>"Seeing as how I believe I've changed everything back, but it says something wrong. Could you perhaps post what the settings SHOULD be at, so I can make all changes accordingly?"<<< If you changed everything back to the original settings (when the PC was working) and still get: >>>"Non-system disk or disk error Replace and strike any key when ready."<<< then almost certainly your hard drive has gone bad. I suspect that there's something that you've likely overlooked (such as hard-drive geometry). Without more specifics about the machine and the exact problems/things you did, it would be almost impossible to diagnose accurately over this helpline (though it could be something as simple as a floppy disk inserted in the drive when booting)...

Go back into the BIOS (Settings) which comes up when you press F1. What information is showing in the "Boot Options" and what is showing in the Hard Drive Configuration? Did you press F8 after the black and white screen shows? Life's more painless for the brainless.