In my experience, 90%+ of BSOD issues are memory related. I wouldn't be too quick to start re-installing software, if I were you, until I'd poked around a bit more. It's probably worth taking a few minutes to verify that your cooling fan is working, that your memory module(s) are fully seated, that your battery isn't causing problems, and that your power cord isn't either.

Pay attention to the BSOD diagnostic messages. For one thing, the BSOD messages have meaning that you can frequently tag into through Google; make an effort to copy them, perhaps by taking a picture of them if they're only appearing for a couple of seconds before the screen goes to black, and you have a camera handy. Otherwise, try to grab the hexadecimal error code and quickly write it down, to guide your search for support docs.

Another thing to try is to see if you can get into BIOS Setup (by pressing F2 or whatever key combo your Dell wants for BIOS access). If you can do that, you might be able to temporarily reset the boot order to boot from CD first, and use a Knoppix or Ubuntu LiveCD to mount a basic Linux desktop for further use in troubleshooting your machine. Some laptops have a special key combo which, if pressed during start up, allow you to choose your boot device on the fly, but I'm thinking that in Inspirons, you have to do this through BIOS.

It's generally worth the time involved to look up and to work the Dell troubleshooting tips for your model, for problems as basic as this.

I had a server that used to do this one me once every so often. It was running unix though, the basic problem was memory & heat combined. So what paulsc says makes a lot of sense, develop your speedwriting skills now some of those messages just flash by. Make coffe, stay stubborn and good luck - you'll make it through to the other side.

Well, C0000218 registry failure, or something like that. This indicates a hard drive failure, possibly. Gonna try to boot it up from the CD and see what happens. I have some files (wife's current writing) on the hard drive and I am now in the mode of wondering if I can salvage that off the apparently damaged hard drive.

In microsoft's documentation, it advises to replace a bunch of files. Here is part of the string:

md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak

when I typed in the string that contains the word "software," I get a message "could not copy file." Of course, Microsoft does not allow for that possibility, or at least they don't mention it.

Is there a way around that?

Yeah, if you have data, do what you need to salvage the data first. If your HDD is dying you don't want to waste time (and cycles) reinstalling software.

Use Knoppix or swap the drive into another machine if you can to copy the critical stuff off NOW. Do not pass Go, etc.

Once that's done, do a scandisk from the command prompt. It could just be a corrupted registry file (e.g. powerdown at the wrong moment), or it could be a bad spot on the disk, or it could be a bad memory chip where the registry needs to load.

How to Troubleshoot a Stop 0xC0000218 Error Message
How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

That copy command -- enter the line by itself. If it can't copy, try this instead:
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bk1
then
dir c:\windows\tmp\software*
and see what you have.

If that works then:
attrib -rsh software.bak
del software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak

should get to the point where your instructions say you should be.