Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

[Guest operaflute]

I've got XP Pro on my Dell Inspiron 8600 (SP 2 but same problem after I got

SP3)

 

I upgraded the hard drive with a 160GB Western Digital Scorpio Drive in

November 2007. All sources called it compatible and all had been well until

now.

New RAM card a month ago - again confirmed compatible, and, to date, not

implicated.

 

Problem: after shutting down, computer will not reboot. After the Dell

splash screen, I get a black screen with a blinking cursor and I can not type.

 

Quick diagnostics give me the error:

DST Short Test Fail

Error 1000-0142

Unit 4: Drive Self Test Failed Status byte 79

 

Repeats of the above test now tell me:

 

DST Short Test Fail

Error Code: 1000-0146

Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

 

 

Google tells me the hard disk is probably dying.

 

I run the longer Dell Diagnostic Tests on the hard drive and all tests pass!

(listed below).

 

IDE Disk:

Device Self Test

Seek test

S.M.A.R.T. Test

Verify Test

Confidence Test

 

 

I can not boot into safe mode (I'm trying to use F8 to do so.)

 

I WAS able to restore everything with my back up (which I've done 2 or 3

times in the past week) but as soon as I shut down, I can't reboot and I have

to restore all over again. But as of today, even that won't work.

 

Using the XP CD chkdsk C: /p /r tells me "chkdsk found and fixed one or more

errors on the volume" but still same problem.

MBRFIX - no help

I tried the western digital diagnostic utility but it will not boot from the

western dig CD

 

I'm currently trying to restore again after chkdsk procedure. If it doesn't

go, I'll try restoring with an older image. IF no go, I'll reinstall XP with

the CD (old! SP!) and see what I get.

 

This started last week when I still had SP2. SInce then the SP3 came out,

but no change.

I did for a short time have the WINOFF program installed, but got rid of it

since it was my initial suspect. Sorry can't get the link without losing

this message... stupid cafe computer!

 

Help!

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

 

"operaflute" <operaflute@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:9D1ADD0B-AF2E-4E32-9704-086518669122@microsoft.com...

> I've got XP Pro on my Dell Inspiron 8600 (SP 2 but same problem after I

> got

> SP3)

>

> I upgraded the hard drive with a 160GB Western Digital Scorpio Drive in

> November 2007. All sources called it compatible and all had been well

> until

> now.

> New RAM card a month ago - again confirmed compatible, and, to date, not

> implicated.

>

> Problem: after shutting down, computer will not reboot. After the Dell

> splash screen, I get a black screen with a blinking cursor and I can not

> type.

>

> Quick diagnostics give me the error:

> DST Short Test Fail

> Error 1000-0142

> Unit 4: Drive Self Test Failed Status byte 79

>

> Repeats of the above test now tell me:

>

> DST Short Test Fail

> Error Code: 1000-0146

> Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

>

>

> Google tells me the hard disk is probably dying.

>

> I run the longer Dell Diagnostic Tests on the hard drive and all tests

> pass!

> (listed below).

>

> IDE Disk:

> Device Self Test

> Seek test

> S.M.A.R.T. Test

> Verify Test

> Confidence Test

>

>

> I can not boot into safe mode (I'm trying to use F8 to do so.)

>

> I WAS able to restore everything with my back up (which I've done 2 or 3

> times in the past week) but as soon as I shut down, I can't reboot and I

> have

> to restore all over again. But as of today, even that won't work.

>

> Using the XP CD chkdsk C: /p /r tells me "chkdsk found and fixed one or

> more

> errors on the volume" but still same problem.

> MBRFIX - no help

> I tried the western digital diagnostic utility but it will not boot from

> the

> western dig CD

>

> I'm currently trying to restore again after chkdsk procedure. If it

> doesn't

> go, I'll try restoring with an older image. IF no go, I'll reinstall XP

> with

> the CD (old! SP!) and see what I get.

>

> This started last week when I still had SP2. SInce then the SP3 came out,

> but no change.

> I did for a short time have the WINOFF program installed, but got rid of

> it

> since it was my initial suspect. Sorry can't get the link without losing

> this message... stupid cafe computer!

>

> Help!

 

Disconnect the drive and see if you can boot into the XP Setup CD. You

should be able to get to the point where Setup looks for drives to install

to, then it will give up. At this point, you can be reasonably sure that

(most of) the rest of the hardware is still good.

 

If the drive is failing, there is less than no point in attempting to

reinstall to it. You should put in a new drive before this one fails

*entirely*. Failing drives have time-limited life spans, and it's better

to use that time for data recovery. Remove the old drive, put in a new

drive, install XP to it, and when done reattach the old drive and copy your

data back into place.

 

Installing to a new drive will also help you determine if the old drive is

failing or not. If the problem persists, it isn't the drive. If it goes

away, it was the drive.

 

HTH

-pk

[Guest Daave]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

"operaflute" <operaflute@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:9D1ADD0B-AF2E-4E32-9704-086518669122@microsoft.com...

> I've got XP Pro on my Dell Inspiron 8600 (SP 2 but same problem after

> I got

> SP3)

>

> I upgraded the hard drive with a 160GB Western Digital Scorpio Drive

> in

> November 2007. All sources called it compatible and all had been well

> until

> now.

> New RAM card a month ago - again confirmed compatible, and, to date,

> not

> implicated.

>

> Problem: after shutting down, computer will not reboot. After the

> Dell

> splash screen, I get a black screen with a blinking cursor and I can

> not type.

>

> Quick diagnostics give me the error:

> DST Short Test Fail

> Error 1000-0142

> Unit 4: Drive Self Test Failed Status byte 79

>

> Repeats of the above test now tell me:

>

> DST Short Test Fail

> Error Code: 1000-0146

> Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

>

>

> Google tells me the hard disk is probably dying.

>

> I run the longer Dell Diagnostic Tests on the hard drive and all tests

> pass!

> (listed below).

>

> IDE Disk:

> Device Self Test

> Seek test

> S.M.A.R.T. Test

> Verify Test

> Confidence Test

>

>

> I can not boot into safe mode (I'm trying to use F8 to do so.)

>

> I WAS able to restore everything with my back up (which I've done 2

> or 3

> times in the past week) but as soon as I shut down, I can't reboot and

> I have

> to restore all over again. But as of today, even that won't work.

>

> Using the XP CD chkdsk C: /p /r tells me "chkdsk found and fixed one

> or more

> errors on the volume" but still same problem.

> MBRFIX - no help

> I tried the western digital diagnostic utility but it will not boot

> from the

> western dig CD

>

> I'm currently trying to restore again after chkdsk procedure. If it

> doesn't

> go, I'll try restoring with an older image. IF no go, I'll reinstall

> XP with

> the CD (old! SP!) and see what I get.

>

> This started last week when I still had SP2. SInce then the SP3 came

> out,

> but no change.

> I did for a short time have the WINOFF program installed, but got rid

> of it

> since it was my initial suspect. Sorry can't get the link without

> losing

> this message... stupid cafe computer!

 

It sounds like your drive (which is unfortunately less than a year old)

is pretty much shot and the Dell Diagnostic Test is failing to confirm

this for some reason. Your drive should still be under warranty. Contact

WD to see what your next step should be.

 

Regarding the inability of your WD diagnostic CD, did you configure the

BIOS to boot off the optical drive?

 

At any rate, stop trying software methods to fix a hardware issue. Is

all your data backed up? If not, that would be the very first thing you

should do.

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

I'm all backed up, so no worries there. And the drive is under warranty, so

no problem there, either. I just wanted to confirm my diagnosis before

shipping this back/getting new one shipped to me. It seemed odd that I

couldn't confirm the problem with the Dell Diagnostic...

 

Interesting thing - I just restored using a back up made a few days before

the initial occurance, and I'm in. I haven't shut down/restarted yet, but it

gives me the opportunity to run a virus scan, and the Western Dig

diagnostic...

 

"Daave" wrote:

> "operaflute" <operaflute@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:9D1ADD0B-AF2E-4E32-9704-086518669122@microsoft.com...

> > I've got XP Pro on my Dell Inspiron 8600 (SP 2 but same problem after

> > I got

> > SP3)

> >

> > I upgraded the hard drive with a 160GB Western Digital Scorpio Drive

> > in

> > November 2007. All sources called it compatible and all had been well

> > until

> > now.

> > New RAM card a month ago - again confirmed compatible, and, to date,

> > not

> > implicated.

> >

> > Problem: after shutting down, computer will not reboot. After the

> > Dell

> > splash screen, I get a black screen with a blinking cursor and I can

> > not type.

> >

> > Quick diagnostics give me the error:

> > DST Short Test Fail

> > Error 1000-0142

> > Unit 4: Drive Self Test Failed Status byte 79

> >

> > Repeats of the above test now tell me:

> >

> > DST Short Test Fail

> > Error Code: 1000-0146

> > Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

> >

> >

> > Google tells me the hard disk is probably dying.

> >

> > I run the longer Dell Diagnostic Tests on the hard drive and all tests

> > pass!

> > (listed below).

> >

> > IDE Disk:

> > Device Self Test

> > Seek test

> > S.M.A.R.T. Test

> > Verify Test

> > Confidence Test

> >

> >

> > I can not boot into safe mode (I'm trying to use F8 to do so.)

> >

> > I WAS able to restore everything with my back up (which I've done 2

> > or 3

> > times in the past week) but as soon as I shut down, I can't reboot and

> > I have

> > to restore all over again. But as of today, even that won't work.

> >

> > Using the XP CD chkdsk C: /p /r tells me "chkdsk found and fixed one

> > or more

> > errors on the volume" but still same problem.

> > MBRFIX - no help

> > I tried the western digital diagnostic utility but it will not boot

> > from the

> > western dig CD

> >

> > I'm currently trying to restore again after chkdsk procedure. If it

> > doesn't

> > go, I'll try restoring with an older image. IF no go, I'll reinstall

> > XP with

> > the CD (old! SP!) and see what I get.

> >

> > This started last week when I still had SP2. SInce then the SP3 came

> > out,

> > but no change.

> > I did for a short time have the WINOFF program installed, but got rid

> > of it

> > since it was my initial suspect. Sorry can't get the link without

> > losing

> > this message... stupid cafe computer!

>

> It sounds like your drive (which is unfortunately less than a year old)

> is pretty much shot and the Dell Diagnostic Test is failing to confirm

> this for some reason. Your drive should still be under warranty. Contact

> WD to see what your next step should be.

>

> Regarding the inability of your WD diagnostic CD, did you configure the

> BIOS to boot off the optical drive?

>

> At any rate, stop trying software methods to fix a hardware issue. Is

> all your data backed up? If not, that would be the very first thing you

> should do.

>

>

>

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

 

Hmm - the Western Dig utility won't confirm a disk problem either, and the

mother of all virus scans comes up clean.

[Guest Daave]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

operaflute wrote:

> Hmm - the Western Dig utility won't confirm a disk problem either,

> and the mother of all virus scans comes up clean.

 

Weird.

 

I would still replace the drive. Then you'll know for sure!

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Is there a way to clear the log on the diagnostics? I'm referring to this

error message I had been getting on repeat testing:

 

 

 

Repeats of the above test now tell me:

 

DST Short Test Fail

Error Code: 1000-0146

Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

[Guest Daave]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

"operaflute" <operaflute@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:2CE3DB71-9F32-4BAF-971A-A4CA84920746@microsoft.com...

> Is there a way to clear the log on the diagnostics? I'm referring to

> this

> error message I had been getting on repeat testing:

>

>

>

> Repeats of the above test now tell me:

>

> DST Short Test Fail

> Error Code: 1000-0146

> Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

 

Try posting in a hardware group like microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware

..

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Ah good point.

 

"Daave" wrote:

> "operaflute" <operaflute@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:2CE3DB71-9F32-4BAF-971A-A4CA84920746@microsoft.com...

> > Is there a way to clear the log on the diagnostics? I'm referring to

> > this

> > error message I had been getting on repeat testing:

> >

> >

> >

> > Repeats of the above test now tell me:

> >

> > DST Short Test Fail

> > Error Code: 1000-0146

> > Msg: Unit 0: DST Log contains previous error(s)

>

> Try posting in a hardware group like microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware

> ..

>

>

>

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Okay, folks, I guess I need more help! I gave up for a while, because I got

SO sick of restoring from back up constantly, and just didn't turn off my

computer. (If I don't turn it off, then I don't run into problems turning it

back on!) Obviously this defeats the purpose of a lap top...

 

I just replaced the hard drive yesterday and...

 

SAME PROBLEM! ARRRRRGH! Basically, if I shut down, I can't start up. I

get the first splash screen where I can get to the simple diagnostics, or

boot from CD, but before windows loads, I just get a black screen with

blinking cursor from which I can do nothing. Can't boot into safe mode,

either.

 

I can't take it any more... it's been a month!

[Guest Bob I]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

 

operaflute wrote:

> Okay, folks, I guess I need more help! I gave up for a while, because I got

> SO sick of restoring from back up constantly, and just didn't turn off my

> computer. (If I don't turn it off, then I don't run into problems turning it

> back on!) Obviously this defeats the purpose of a lap top...

>

> I just replaced the hard drive yesterday and...

>

> SAME PROBLEM! ARRRRRGH! Basically, if I shut down, I can't start up. I

> get the first splash screen where I can get to the simple diagnostics, or

> boot from CD, but before windows loads, I just get a black screen with

> blinking cursor from which I can do nothing. Can't boot into safe mode,

> either.

>

> I can't take it any more... it's been a month!

>

>

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Did it myself - bought a compatible Western Digital 160GB drive.

 

"Bob I" wrote:

> What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

>

[Guest Bob I]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

If the drive isn't seen on a cold boot, I think you have a reset

problem. Will it pick it up on a CTRL-ALT-DEL?

 

operaflute wrote:

> Did it myself - bought a compatible Western Digital 160GB drive.

>

> "Bob I" wrote:

>

>

>>What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

>>

>

>

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

If I hit Ctrl-ALt-Del at the blinking cursor screen, yes it will try to

reboot again (and fail again.) Does that answer the question?

Also - ran MemTest over night last night - no error msgs.

 

"Bob I" wrote:

> If the drive isn't seen on a cold boot, I think you have a reset

> problem. Will it pick it up on a CTRL-ALT-DEL?

>

> operaflute wrote:

> > Did it myself - bought a compatible Western Digital 160GB drive.

> >

> > "Bob I" wrote:

> >

> >

> >>What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

> >>

> >

> >

>

>

[Guest Bob I]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

does it have a master boot record on it

 

FIXMBR

 

operaflute wrote:

> If I hit Ctrl-ALt-Del at the blinking cursor screen, yes it will try to

> reboot again (and fail again.) Does that answer the question?

> Also - ran MemTest over night last night - no error msgs.

>

> "Bob I" wrote:

>

>

>>If the drive isn't seen on a cold boot, I think you have a reset

>>problem. Will it pick it up on a CTRL-ALT-DEL?

>>

>>operaflute wrote:

>>

>>>Did it myself - bought a compatible Western Digital 160GB drive.

>>>

>>>"Bob I" wrote:

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>>>What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

>>>>

>>>

>>>

>>

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

neither fixmbr or fixboot did anything

 

"Bob I" wrote:

> does it have a master boot record on it

>

> FIXMBR

>

> operaflute wrote:

>

> > If I hit Ctrl-ALt-Del at the blinking cursor screen, yes it will try to

> > reboot again (and fail again.) Does that answer the question?

> > Also - ran MemTest over night last night - no error msgs.

> >

> > "Bob I" wrote:

> >

> >

> >>If the drive isn't seen on a cold boot, I think you have a reset

> >>problem. Will it pick it up on a CTRL-ALT-DEL?

> >>

> >>operaflute wrote:

> >>

> >>>Did it myself - bought a compatible Western Digital 160GB drive.

> >>>

> >>>"Bob I" wrote:

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>>What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

> >>>>

> >>>

> >>>

> >>

>

>

[Guest Bob I]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Think I would just replace it then.

 

operaflute wrote:

> neither fixmbr or fixboot did anything

>

> "Bob I" wrote:

>

>

>>does it have a master boot record on it

>>

>>FIXMBR

>>

>>operaflute wrote:

>>

>>

>>>If I hit Ctrl-ALt-Del at the blinking cursor screen, yes it will try to

>>>reboot again (and fail again.) Does that answer the question?

>>>Also - ran MemTest over night last night - no error msgs.

>>>

>>>"Bob I" wrote:

>>>

>>>

>>>

>>>>If the drive isn't seen on a cold boot, I think you have a reset

>>>>problem. Will it pick it up on a CTRL-ALT-DEL?

>>>>

>>>>operaflute wrote:

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>>Did it myself - bought a compatible Western Digital 160GB drive.

>>>>>

>>>>>"Bob I" wrote:

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>>What shop did you take it to to have the hard drive replaced?

>>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

replace what? the drive? I just did and it didn't solve the issue!

 

"Bob I" wrote:

> Think I would just replace it then.

>

[Guest Daave]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

"operaflute" <operaflute@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:A43BB76C-7698-48DC-BE5C-EBD8E9FA24AF@microsoft.com...

> Okay, folks, I guess I need more help! I gave up for a while, because

> I got

> SO sick of restoring from back up constantly, and just didn't turn off

> my

> computer. (If I don't turn it off, then I don't run into problems

> turning it

> back on!) Obviously this defeats the purpose of a lap top...

>

> I just replaced the hard drive yesterday and...

>

> SAME PROBLEM! ARRRRRGH! Basically, if I shut down, I can't start up.

> I

> get the first splash screen where I can get to the simple diagnostics,

> or

> boot from CD, but before windows loads, I just get a black screen with

> blinking cursor from which I can do nothing. Can't boot into safe

> mode,

> either.

 

It's possible that your new hard drive is also shot, but I highly doubt

it.

 

We still need to determine if this is a hardware or software issue.

 

When you replaced the hard drive, did you perform a clean install of XP?

Or did you clone the contents of your old hard drive onto it? Or is it

still just a brand new blank hard drive? :-)

 

Or you can just bypass the hard drive altogether and boot off something

like:

 

Bart PE or Ultimate Boot CD for Windows

Knoppix Live CD

[Guest jafstraycat@gmail.com]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Hey operaflute...

 

Your hard drive is fine. Your system is fine. FIXMBR and FIXBOOT won't

work unless you have an x86 based processor (P3 or earlier). But that

isn't your problem either.

 

The real problem is that your BIOS will only allow up to a 137Gb HDD.

Windows doesn't have a problem with over-extending your BIOS limit. It

will even show your full capacity. The problem arises when data is

written past the BIOS' limit... then the HDD becomes "invisible" to

the BIOS. All of your data is still there and just fine. If you used a

program like PUPPY LINUX 4.1 (which boots from RAM) you would be able

to see that all of your data is in perfect order.

 

What you need to do is use a partition manager to shrink your C:

partition below the 137Gb limit and then reboot. You will be amazed to

see that EVERYTHING will be back to normal... with the small exception

that your C drive will be smaller. No problem, because now you'll have

a D drive with the remaining space available to use as back-up or

whatever you decide to use it for!!

 

Take care,

David

[Guest jafstraycat@gmail.com]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Here's a post-script for you...

 

I would suggest shrinking your partition to 128Gb or less... or better

yet, just split it in two.

 

And as a possible temporary fix, try slaving off the drive to another

computer and defragging it. My theory is that you might get all of

your data back inside the crucial cut-off point of the partition and

be able to boot from it again. Just thinking out loud on this one,

though.

 

Good luck,

David

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

Sorry folks - i missed all these replies. Here's an update.

I'm told my Dell can handle up to 160 GB drive.

I did not do a clean install to the new hard drive, but I tried awfully hard

to use a backup image that would boot fine. That being said...

 

I made a boot disc to try the next time I shut down and wouldn't you know

it, the dang thing has restarted normally a good 5 times now! I wonder if

when I installed the new hard drive I inadvertently transferred some bad

files to it... I really made a point not to do that, but after all the

repeated backing up/restoring I could have lost track. I'm out of town now,

and not brave enough to shut it down now, but if the problem recurs, I'll

certainly be back here!

Weird.

As always, many thanks to all!

 

 

"jafstraycat@gmail.com" wrote:

> Here's a post-script for you...

>

> I would suggest shrinking your partition to 128Gb or less... or better

> yet, just split it in two.

>

> And as a possible temporary fix, try slaving off the drive to another

> computer and defragging it. My theory is that you might get all of

> your data back inside the crucial cut-off point of the partition and

> be able to boot from it again. Just thinking out loud on this one,

> though.

>

> Good luck,

> David

>

[Guest jafstraycat@gmail.com]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

I'm not sure why Dell does it, but I recently had the same problem

with a Dimension 4550 that Dell sold with a 250GB hard drive. That's

all fine and dandy except it had BIOS version A03. Not until version

A04 did they add UDMA support for 48-bit LBA hard drives larger than

137GB. I was talking to two Dell techs who were completely oblivious

to this problem... go figure!! So whatever Dell tells you... take with

a grain of salt.

[Guest operaflute]

Re: Can't boot - black screen blinking cursor

 

The drive worked fine for 10 months, so I don't think it was a BIOS

incompatibility. I did end up putting in a new drive last week or so, and

then had the same problem. But now it's working fine (go figure) so I think

I inadvertantly transferred some bad files the first go around. (as much as

I meant not to, after a month of backing up and restoring I guess it's easy

to get mixed up.)

Now if only I could get SP3 installed without wrecking everything...

 

 

"jafstraycat@gmail.com" wrote:

> I'm not sure why Dell does it, but I recently had the same problem

> with a Dimension 4550 that Dell sold with a 250GB hard drive. That's

> all fine and dandy except it had BIOS version A03. Not until version

> A04 did they add UDMA support for 48-bit LBA hard drives larger than

> 137GB. I was talking to two Dell techs who were completely oblivious

> to this problem... go figure!! So whatever Dell tells you... take with

> a grain of salt.

>