NMPCF- Vista refuses to start up.

[Wind-up Clock]

My friend's laptop cannot start up. Every time it does try to start up, it just reverts to the black "windows cannot start- repair/start normal"

The thing is, it absolutely refuses to cooperate. Last Known Good doesn't work, I cannot use a restore point, and the Recovery DVD i burned only turns up an installation error when it tires to load up.

The system is a Dell Inspiron 1525, probably with stock components, and Windows Vista 32-bit.

Any ideas, guys?