Ok, lets talk a minute about your windows xp load on your hard drive... How old is it? I mean how long have you been running this install of Windows xp? How did it run? Any viruses or issues with file curruptions now or in the past? How did it (your laptop) function just before all this happened?
Assuming your xp is microsoft legit, I would attempt to reinstall Windows and system drivers.. Yup, a full reformat and reload of your hard drive... The benefits here is that during the format portion in this procedure, the format tool will check your hard drive health by looking for dead sectors... If you have too many dead sectors Windows install will come to a hault, this is a sign that your hard drives life span has come to an end.... But if you have no hard drive bad sector issues you might just need a full, fresh, install of Windows...
I give this advice not knowing some key details like how old your system is, any previous problems with your systems windows health or previous hardware issues... Also, my advisery aboved is based on the fact that you are still unable to get your current windows to load and run...
If you don't know or you are unfamiliar with re-loading Windows and system drivers you should either research it, and also make sure you have all the software you will need, atleast your Windows xp cd and you Nic/ethernet drivers... Dell is pretty good at providing online drivers, or see a pc tech/ or a pc store if this is too much for you...
I hope you let us know how you make out, and I wish you good luck..
You know what? just thinking about all of this again, did you try to boot up Windows in safe mode???
Try that first, have it boot in safe mode, yes its a bit slower to boot up, (if it boots up at all) , but you want to get to your desk top and than try and check your hard drives health by going to: my computer > tools tab > scan now (check both boxes and reboot)...
Again this is assuming you are able to boot up in "safe mode".. If not see the top portion of this post
