Computer wont boot up

My mothers Dell desktop is 2yrs old and won't boot up. It comes to a black page and says "Loading PBR for descriptor 2...done, disk read error, press Ctrl+ALt+Delete". If I press CAD it just sends me right back to the same message. I've tried f11 and nothing I do helps. It won't allow a fixboot or safe mode. I'm sure I am going about this all wrong. Can someone give me a step by step of possible solutions? I understand it may be a problem with the hard drive and I would like to check all other possibilities before I go that route.

Thanks in advance,

Lynn

Have a read here Lynn

http://www.cyberspacesupport.com/question....uestion_id=2401

I strongly suggest you read all the thread before doing anything.

Thank you for your quick response. I appreciate your help. If you come up with any other suggestions, please let me know.

Lynn