Win XP Home Black screen after boot

[Guest Nigel Andrews (ITCanHelp)]

PC starts OK, but after the Win XP progress bar it quickly goes to a

black screen.

 

Boots in Safe Mode, and I have done a number of Restore's, back a few

days to no effect.

 

Whilst I had some problems yesterday (1xBSOD, and some program errors)

I suspect the video card may now have failed. But as it does display

in Safe Mode am I wrong?

 

I have tried setting the Boot to VGA but still no display,

 

Can anyone advise me?

 

Thanks

 

Nigel

[Guest Malke]

Re: Win XP Home Black screen after boot

 

Nigel Andrews (ITCanHelp) wrote:

> PC starts OK, but after the Win XP progress bar it quickly goes to a

> black screen.

>

> Boots in Safe Mode, and I have done a number of Restore's, back a few

> days to no effect.

>

> Whilst I had some problems yesterday (1xBSOD, and some program errors)

> I suspect the video card may now have failed. But as it does display

> in Safe Mode am I wrong?

>

> I have tried setting the Boot to VGA but still no display,

 

Without knowing the text of the Stop Errors (BSOD), I can't give you any

specific answers. If you suspect the video card has failed, uninstall it in

Safe Mode and swap it out for a known-working one. Just because it displays

in Safe Mode doesn't mean it isn't faulty.

 

However, those troubleshooting steps are just conjecture. We really need to

know what the Stop Errors were and the answer to The First Question Of

Troubleshooting: what changed between the time things worked and the time

they didn't? Install any drivers? If yes, then this would be a software

issue and not hardware (video card).

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Nigel Andrews]

Re: Win XP Home Black screen after boot

 

Malke,

 

I am sorry for my slow reply, but the problem extended to a point I

thought I had it fixed. The BIOS reported it had reduced the memory!

So I diagnosed failed memory, bought more memory and replaced it and

it booted O.K.

The computer has run continuously for 2 days BUT.

 

I needed to reboot after doing various 'housekeeping' jobs and I am

back to the 'black screen on boot' again!

 

I have installed some MS updates since I added the memory, the same

ones that I installed before the last event. But I have now restored

back to before the first occurence of the problem, run CHKDSK /F and

still no change. Checked Event Viewer and there are no errors which

are not just related to running in Safe Mode and nothing coincident

with the time of any Normal start attempt (in fact I don't think it

gets as far as that)

It boots in Safe Mode OK (tho' when I first tried I logged in as Admin

and it seemed to stall) along 'with Networking' I can access the Net,

so it can't be too bad.

Trying to boot in Normal mode the scrolling 'train' seems to disappear

very early and I can't then detect any disk activity afterwards.

I have tried holding down the control key at boot, which I believe

should stop drivers loading, but no change.

 

Please can you advise me more, even tho' I ignored you at first!?

 

Thanks

Nigel

 

 

 

 

On 24 Jul, 13:58, Malke <ma...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> Nigel Andrews (ITCanHelp) wrote:

> > PC starts OK, but after the Win XP progress bar it quickly goes to a

> > black screen.

>

> > Boots in Safe Mode, and I have done a number of Restore's, back a few

> > days to no effect.

>

> > Whilst I had some problems yesterday (1xBSOD, and some program errors)

> > I suspect the video card may now have failed. But as it does display

> > in Safe  Mode am I wrong?

>

> > I have tried setting the Boot to VGA but still no display,

>

> Without knowing the text of the Stop Errors (BSOD), I can't give you any

> specific answers. If you suspect the video card has failed, uninstall it in

> Safe Mode and swap it out for a known-working one. Just because it displays

> in Safe Mode doesn't mean it isn't faulty.

>

> However, those troubleshooting steps are just conjecture. We really need to

> know what the Stop Errors were and the answer to The First Question Of

> Troubleshooting: what changed between the time things worked and the time

> they didn't? Install any drivers? If yes, then this would be a software

> issue and not hardware (video card).

>

> Malke

> --

> MS-MVP

> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

> FAQ -http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Malke]

Re: Win XP Home Black screen after boot

 

Nigel Andrews wrote:

> Malke,

>

> I am sorry for my slow reply, but the problem extended to a point I

> thought I had it fixed. The BIOS reported it had reduced the memory!

> So I diagnosed failed memory, bought more memory and replaced it and

> it booted O.K.

> The computer has run continuously for 2 days BUT.

>

> I needed to reboot after doing various 'housekeeping' jobs and I am

> back to the 'black screen on boot' again!

>

> I have installed some MS updates since I added the memory, the same

> ones that I installed before the last event. But I have now restored

> back to before the first occurence of the problem, run CHKDSK /F and

> still no change. Checked Event Viewer and there are no errors which

> are not just related to running in Safe Mode and nothing coincident

> with the time of any Normal start attempt (in fact I don't think it

> gets as far as that)

> It boots in Safe Mode OK (tho' when I first tried I logged in as Admin

> and it seemed to stall) along 'with Networking' I can access the Net,

> so it can't be too bad.

> Trying to boot in Normal mode the scrolling 'train' seems to disappear

> very early and I can't then detect any disk activity afterwards.

> I have tried holding down the control key at boot, which I believe

> should stop drivers loading, but no change.

 

Sounds like hardware failure. Either do the hardware troubleshooting

yourself or take the machine to a competent local computer professional. I

don't recommend using a Big ComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. If the

computer is still under warranty and is OEM, contact the OEM's tech support

for repair/replacement.

 

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

 

If you do the troubleshooting yourself, start by uninstalling the video card

and trying a known-working one as I previously suggested.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Nigel Andrews]

Re: Win XP Home Black screen after boot

 

Malke,

 

Thanks for that extra.

 

I will think about doing the diags myself as I should be able to. It

is about 5 years old so well out of warranty!

 

I am puzzeled a) why it worked after the memory was knocked down (from

1Gb) to around 250mb and b) why it worked still when I started it

after putting in the 2Gb?

I had it running with no problem for around 36 hours (it is usually on

24/7) and the only reason for rebooting it then was needing to after

running 'housekeeping'. Also Outlook Express kept locking up, But

otherwise everything was running great and even a bit faster with 2Gb

instead of just 1Gb,

It runs OK in Safe Mode with Networking except of course I can only do

basic email and web browsing.

 

Thanks again

 

Nigel

P.S. Am I right about holding Control down to prevent drivers from

loading?

 

 

 

On 31 Jul, 13:20, Malke <ma...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> Nigel Andrews wrote:

> > Malke,

>

> > I am sorry for my slow reply, but the problem extended to a point I

> > thought I had it fixed. The BIOS reported it had reduced the memory!

> > So I diagnosed failed memory, bought more memory and replaced it and

> > it booted O.K.

> > The computer has run continuously for 2 days BUT.

>

> > I needed to reboot after doing various 'housekeeping' jobs and I am

> > back to the 'black screen on boot' again!

>

> > I have installed some MS updates since I added the memory, the same

> > ones that I installed before the last event. But I have now restored

> > back to before the first occurence of the problem, run CHKDSK /F and

> > still no change. Checked Event Viewer and there are no errors which

> > are not just related to running in Safe Mode and nothing coincident

> > with the time of any Normal start attempt (in fact I don't think it

> > gets as far as that)

> > It boots in Safe Mode OK (tho' when I first tried I logged in as Admin

> > and it seemed to stall) along 'with Networking' I can access the Net,

> > so it can't be too bad.

> > Trying to boot in Normal mode the scrolling 'train' seems to disappear

> > very early and I can't then detect any disk activity afterwards.

> > I have tried holding down the control key at boot, which I believe

> > should stop drivers loading, but no change.

>

> Sounds like hardware failure. Either do the hardware troubleshooting

> yourself or take the machine to a competent local computer professional. I

> don't recommend using a Big ComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. If the

> computer is still under warranty and is OEM, contact the OEM's tech support

> for repair/replacement.

>

> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

>

> If you do the troubleshooting yourself, start by uninstalling the video card

> and trying a known-working one as I previously suggested.

>

> Malke

> --

> MS-MVP

> Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

> FAQ -http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ- Hide quoted text -

>

> - Show quoted text -

[Guest Nigel Andrews]

Re: Win XP Home Black screen after boot

 

Malke,

 

I have now run the diagnostic Tufftest Lite as suggested by the

website you pointed me to and all those tests ran OK.

 

So I am inclined to think now that there is some problem with Windows

XP.

 

I would like to find the way to stop the drivers loading at start up

or at least step thru' them and accept or decline as one used to with

Win 98.

Also how I could run a WinXP repair when the PC does not have a floppy

drive.

 

One difference I have noticed in the booting, when starting (i.e., not

rebooting) the BIOS progress bar moves more slowly than it used to or

does when rebooting.

 

Thanks again

 

Nigel

 

On 31 Jul, 18:57, Nigel Andrews <nigel.d.andr...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

> Malke,

>

> Thanks for that extra.

>

> I will think about doing the diags myself as I should be able to. It

> is about 5 years old so well out of warranty!

>

> I am puzzeled a) why it worked after the memory was knocked down (from

> 1Gb) to around 250mb and b) why it worked still when I started it

> after putting in the 2Gb?

> I had it running with no problem for around 36 hours (it is usually on

> 24/7) and the only reason for rebooting it then was needing to after

> running 'housekeeping'. Also Outlook Express kept locking up, But

> otherwise everything was running great and even a bit faster with 2Gb

> instead of just 1Gb,

> It runs OK in Safe Mode with Networking except of course I can only do

> basic email and web browsing.

>

> Thanks again

>

> Nigel

> P.S. Am I right about holding Control down to prevent drivers from

> loading?

>

> On 31 Jul, 13:20, Malke <ma...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>

>

>

> > Nigel Andrews wrote:

> > > Malke,

>

> > > I am sorry for my slow reply, but the problem extended to a point I

> > > thought I had it fixed. The BIOS reported it had reduced the memory!

> > > So I diagnosed failed memory, bought more memory and replaced it and

> > > it booted O.K.

> > > The computer has run continuously for 2 days BUT.

>

> > > I needed to reboot after doing various 'housekeeping' jobs and I am

> > > back to the 'black screen on boot' again!

>

> > > I have installed some MS updates since I added the memory, the same

> > > ones that I installed before the last event. But I have now restored

> > > back to before the first occurence of the problem, run CHKDSK /F and

> > > still no change. Checked Event Viewer and there are no errors which

> > > are not just related to running in Safe Mode and nothing coincident

> > > with the time of any Normal start attempt (in fact I don't think it

> > > gets as far as that)

> > > It boots in Safe Mode OK (tho' when I first tried I logged in as Admin

> > > and it seemed to stall) along 'with Networking' I can access the Net,

> > > so it can't be too bad.

> > > Trying to boot in Normal mode the scrolling 'train' seems to disappear

> > > very early and I can't then detect any disk activity afterwards.

> > > I have tried holding down the control key at boot, which I believe

> > > should stop drivers loading, but no change.

>

> > Sounds like hardware failure. Either do the hardware troubleshooting

> > yourself or take the machine to a competent local computer professional. I

> > don't recommend using a Big ComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. If the

> > computer is still under warranty and is OEM, contact the OEM's tech support

> > for repair/replacement.

>

> >http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

>

> > If you do the troubleshooting yourself, start by uninstalling the video card

> > and trying a known-working one as I previously suggested.

>

> > Malke

> > --

> > MS-MVP

> > Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

> > FAQ -http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ-Hide quoted text -

>

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

>

> - Show quoted text -

[Guest Malke]

Re: Win XP Home Black screen after boot

 

Nigel Andrews wrote:

> Malke,

>

> I have now run the diagnostic Tufftest Lite as suggested by the

> website you pointed me to and all those tests ran OK.

>

> So I am inclined to think now that there is some problem with Windows

> XP.

>

> I would like to find the way to stop the drivers loading at start up

> or at least step thru' them and accept or decline as one used to with

> Win 98.

> Also how I could run a WinXP repair when the PC does not have a floppy

> drive.

>

> One difference I have noticed in the booting, when starting (i.e., not

> rebooting) the BIOS progress bar moves more slowly than it used to or

> does when rebooting.

 

I really can't give you a good diagnosis without seeing the machine.

Tufftest Lite isn't definitive, but as I said - I cannot really guess

what's going on with your computer.

 

As for the drivers, AFAIK there is no way to step through. You can try a

clean boot.

 

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

 

You don't need a floppy drive to do an XP repair. The XP cd is bootable.

 

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm - Repair Install

How-To

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What

you will need on-hand

 

Good luck. I'm sorry I was unable to help you with this problem.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ