Chosen Solution

My dell is 5 years old and won’t boot long enough for me to transfer to my hp. What can I do so I don’t lose files or have to replace hard drive?

Probably your easiest option is to remove the drive from the laptop and outboard it to a USB port on a working computer via a device like this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/SATA-PATA-IDE… That may prove fruitless if the drive itself is failing however.