'Error loading operating system' at startup, recurring problem Inspiron 5100

Question

My laptop has suddenly decided to be evil and cause me grief the last few days. (It would start this at midterms)   Yesterday, I turned my laptop on, and immediately after POST completed and the Dell splash went away, I got the 'Error loading operating system' message. I turned the computer off and rebooted with the Windows XP CD. I went into the Recovery Console and used 'fixmbr' and 'fixboot' then rebooted. This fixed my problem, and Windows loaded with no glitches. However, this morning when I turned my laptop on, it happened again. 'Error loading operating system' and I had to use the XP CD to get into Windows.   Basically, I've discovered that my MBR and boot sector are being corrupted somehow. Any ideas on what could be causing this repeated issue would be greatly appreciated.     Jonathan Holman Dell Inspiron 5100 Windows XP Home Edition SP2

ejn63 · Answer

Most likely, a failing hard drive. Power on, press F12, load the Dell diagnostics and do a full test of the hard drive.

jonboy7788 · Answer

Alright, I did a complete diagnostic test on the hard drive and I found no errors. When I started up the computer this evening, it did the same thing with the Error loading operating system. I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullett and completely reformat the hard drive this weekend. ><  I really didn't want to, but it looks like it will have to be done... that is, unless anyone else has any ideas?

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"Error loading operating system" at startup, recurring problem Inspiron 5100

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