When i turn on my dell xps 400 windows tries to load but never does then it will

Hello, Recently inherited a six year old Dell Xps 400. Apparently it had become so virused up that it completely crashed. When it is turned on from the power button on the front it starts up begins trying to load windows but never does. Then the only way to turn it off is to unplug it. I cant get passed this point to try and do anything else like cleaning and reformatting. Any suggestions. Thanks, John

I had the exact same situation with an hp board about two months ago. The board posted with distorted video and windows would get partway through loading then crash. I gave the board away. It may have had bad capacitors. I suggest if the problem persists, start looking for a regular board. If your board is btx format and you're using a dell case, I would sell it and get a regular atx case.

If you're not busy, you can experiment around all you like, but after spending six hours trying every which way to get windows loaded, I gave up. It's a good learning experience if nothing else.