Hello Alan D,
I've run into the same issue with my wife's Dell Inspiron 18z. Before I read this thread, I found another thread on Google (this one: http://www.itworld.com/answers/topic/operating-systems/question/windows-8-won-t-boot-what-can-i-do ) which I tried. But using Shift + F8 brought me straight to the ePSA Pre-boot System Assessment. I have let the system run its own diagnosis and it did not find any errors. I tried your instructions with the SATA operation and unfortunately it did not fix the problem either.
By the way, did you mean something specific by 'reboot' or is the normal restart after F10 sufficient?
The problem with the PC in detail: the issue came up after I switched off the PC when the system completely froze in the middle of some web surfing. Everything (mouse, keyboard and system buttons) stopped working and the PC was stuck in the same screen where it stopped. I switched it off using the power button and i've never seen the Windows environment ever since. If I attempt to start the PC now, it goes on to a blue screen (after the black Dell logo screen) where it says there's a problem and the system will collect data and reboot. Then it reboots and gets stuck on the black Dell logo screen.
Could you please help me out? At this moment I have started another ePSA Pre-boot System Assessment and i've passed the point where it says there were no errors. This time, I continued with the thorough test mode as recommended in the pop up screen after the initial test.
Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.