Getting out of the initial set up

try to use otehr usb ports on your computer. check if the light on the bottom of the mouse lit up. open device manager. under mouse - delete otehr mouse components then restart computer.

Check to see what your power functions (in the control panel) are set to--it might be set to turn off or sleep after a certain amount of time (but this does not sound like the problem). I am thinking it is more of a heat problem--as that is what usually caused freezing. The thing is, if it is a heat problem, then you would experience the freezing while working.

At this time, because we really do not know what is happening, I would clean out the dust by blowing it out through the vent holes.
Now look in the control panel and see what your settings are for power. If you are running Windows Vista, turn off the hibernation mode.

Run the msconfig command from the "Run" menu item. Uncheck any programs that do not need to be running (leave your antivirus programs and things like that checked) Now try it out.

The system is in a reboot loop. Possible causes are:

Corrupt installation of Windows
Bad Hard Drive
Bad RAM
Bad Motherboard.

Try booting to the Windows XP CD, see if you can access recovery console and run CHKDSK /R If that doesn't resolve, boot to the resource CD, and run diagnostics on the HDD

If you can't, boot to the XP CD or Resource CD, try removing the HDD and booting to the CD. If the system boots then, the HDD is most likely bad.

If you can't boot to any device, try RAM modules individually, see if system boots with only 1 module installed. If no change, then motherboard is bad. On a system this age, I do not recommend replacing a motherboard as it is not cost effective

http://www.user-guides.co.uk/cddownload/Dell/DellLatitude/Dell-Latitude-C400-XP-Driver-Recovery-CD-Restore-Disk-1420.html
at this location you will find and be able to download an cd in image format ..probably ISO ..you have to burn it on a cd ..and use it al the time you reinstall ..I understood that there are all the drivers you need for your model Good luck!

Unfortunately, I have seen this many times. One of the major problems with the C400 model was the USB port failing. I have had many of them replaced under warranty, and I have repaired some. The USB port breaks loose from the mother board and stops working. It is possible to SOMETIMES disassemble the laptop enough to get to the port and re-solder the USB port connections. But is is a slow process for experienced people. And it does not work all of the time. i know that this is not the answer that you wanted.

Good luck with it.

~ Spoem

Hello,

If you hit F11 you will get the restore option. Once this runs it will ask you whether you want to restore (which will keep your existing personal files) or format the drive to bring it back to factory settings, just as you received it without your added programs or files. You can cancel at any time before the format takes place, because formatting will erase everything before loading your new operating system. Hope this helps you.......

simple prombelm of this is this computer wasn't made to start from xp ,it need start from a ealier system like windows 95/98 see the 386 file is prombally missing that why it wont boot up. lala linda

First check the sound settings, it could just need adjusting. If the settings are correct, then you have a driver glitch, uninstall the sound drivers from the device manager, then reboot. The machine will find the sound card and reinstall the drivers automatically. Then check Dell's support site for updated sound drivers.

Boot into BIOS and go to the Video card setting, that sould fix it

Go to the Dell website and download the XP video and display drivers:- http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/devices.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&SystemID=LAT_PNT_P3_C400&os=WW1&osl=EN