Can't reinstall Vista because it won't recognize driver

[galensaysyes]

I'm trying to reinstall Vista and can't. My Dell Inspiron 530 won't boot up after the initial screen. The F8 key doesn't work, so I can't do a system restore. I'm trying to reinstall Vista from disc, but I can't get any farther than the choice of language. Then I get an instruction to load a driver. Which driver isn't specified, so I load all the drivers from the resource disc. At least it sounds like they're loading, though I get no confirmation. Then nothing else happens. So I restart the installation and get the same request for the driver. Either it really loading or Vista isn't finding it. What should I do?

[awaj]

I think in Vista and Windows 7, there's an option to load drivers, but usually aren't needed. If you need to install a specific driver at this point, you probably will know what to do (I haven't yet figured out what it's for...) have you tried to skip that step?

[Paul Komski]

Can you indicate more history of why you are needing to attempt a reinstallation or repair?

There is something intrinsically wrong if F8 doesn't give you any options.

Can you get into the BIOS setup (usually F2 on a Dell) or get the boot menu options (usually F12 on a Dell)?

Indeed - is your keyboard functional? And ... is the Installation DVD one that came with the Desktop?