Windows failed to start ???

Yesterday, I powered on my laptop, "Dell Inspiron", and it seems Windows 7 refuses to load properly.
Instead, I am staring at a black screen displaying this message:
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
1 Launch Startup Repair (recommended)
2 Start windows Normally

So, I went ahead and selected Launch Startup Repair, but after waiting for several minutes, I was met with this rather discouraging message:

“Windows cannot repair this computer automatically”

At that point, I thought to myself, "Well, there's really nothing left to do but reinstall Windows entirely."
I proceeded to insert DVD into the drive, entered the BIOS, and under the Boot menu, I chose CD/DVD before hitting f10 to save settings.
However, after a short while, the exact same error screen pops right back up: Windows failed to start .........
It keeps looping me right back to that initial screen over and over again.
I am truly at my wit's end here—does anyone happen to know how I might resolve this issue?

Could be a dead HDD. Try booting up from a CD/DVD or even a USB drive—maybe run Hiren's or some Linux—just to see what it says about your hardware, RAM, HDD, and all that stuff.

I find it quite difficult to believe that my hard drive has actually given up the ghost just yet! Somehow, through a bit of sheer persistence, I managed to break into the Command Prompt and execute the CHKDSK C: /F /R command, which then proceeded to display the diagnostic data for me.
It specifically states "0 kb in bad sectors".

There is one particular detail that continues to baffle me
I have my Linux installation ready on a USB drive, and I've gone through the motions of inserting it into my computer and selecting that specific USB drive as the primary boot device within the BIOS. However, instead of booting into Linux, the system stubbornly loops back to that same, dreaded black screen every single time.
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
1 Launch Startup Repair (recommended)
2 Start windows Normally

The exact same frustrating cycle occurs even when I attempt to use a DVDHirens BootCD. It just won't budge!

Have you tried pulling the battery? On a desktop, cutting the power definitely resets things, but on a laptop... man, that’s a whole different headache.

I’ve even gone as far as pulling the battery out, but absolutely nothing is working.
I am quite perplexed as to why I simply cannot boot from my USB drive (Linux) or a DVD (Hiren's BootCD), even though I have specifically gone into the BIOS and set them as the primary boot device.

There is also another matter that has left me feeling rather stumped; I was attempting to access the Command Prompt. After restarting, I held down F8 and selected Safe Mode with Command Prompt, yet the system just brings me right back to where I started.

In both instances, I am repeatedly redirected to this exact screen:
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
1 Launch Startup Repair (recommended)
2 Start windows Normally

You probably only checked that tiny 100MB partition, but there's gotta be more in there... I mean, the C: drive definitely should have them, assuming nothing wiped them out yet.

Carol Harris9 said:I’ve even gone as far as pulling the battery out, but absolutely nothing is working.
I am quite perplexed as to why I simply cannot boot from my USB drive (Linux) or a DVD (Hiren's BootCD), even though I have specifically gone into the BIOS and set them as the primary boot device.

There is also another matter that has left me feeling rather stumped; I was attempting to access the Command Prompt. After restarting, I held down F8 and selected Safe Mode with Command Prompt, yet the system just brings me right back to where I started.

In both instances, I am repeatedly redirected to this exact screen:
Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause.
1 Launch Startup Repair (recommended)
2 Start windows Normally

Sometimes the BIOS or UEFI just won't respect the boot order right away.
Maybe check if the CD/DVD is actually set as the priority.

Here, please take a look at this brief video I recorded
I went into the BIOS and configured the system to boot from a USB stick (Linux), but for the life of me, it just won't work; it simply refuses
The exact same thing happens when I insert a Windows DVD or Hiren's BootCD
It completely ignores the boot source I specifically assigned to it within the BIOS settings
I am quite perplexed by this, as I have always understood from various online forums that even if the hard drive is completely fried, you should always be able to boot from an external source, whether it's a USB or a DVD

Video

Uuuf, I finally managed to get the system to boot from the Windows DVD and successfully complete the reinstallation
My sincere thanks to everyone