Boot failed at checkpoint...

[Andrani]

So, as I said in my intro post, I have a second-hand PC that I got from my brother-in-law. It's a Dell XPS, not sure which KIND besides a few years old(My oldest nephew, who just turned 4, was I think 1 or 2 when he got the computer). It runs on Windows Vista(Which I'm not fond of, but I can't reformat down to XP as I haven't got something to back my stuff up onto yet... Which I wish I'd gotten a while ago), and has a 698 GB hard drive, as my brother-in-law is a very serious gamer that plays a lot of first-person MMOs. I haven't used even 1/4 of that yet myself. When he gave me the computer, he did a complete reformat down to the stuff that came with it by default(But I don't think he gave me the CDs, I don't recall him doing that), and I then transfered files from my prior computer to the new one, as I wasn't about to lose a lot of them. This was back in I'd say somewhere between October and early December of last year, and for the past nearly year I've had pretty much no problems besides the monitor going into sleep mode after a few minutes of idleness, but that's something that's been liveable with.

 

So that's the background of the computer during my owning it, I have no idea what problems my brother-in-law had.

 

About... July/August, I stopped leaving my computer on overnight, as I wanted to preserve the monitor's use until I could get a new one(And since then I think I've found what that problem was... Something with Vista?). In mid-August, I was shutting the computer down one night(I'd say the 24th?), when it for some reason rebooted itself and gave me an error. The message was there and gone so fast I was unable to read it.

 

A couple days prior, we had a power surge due to either heat or our power meter going bad(As it did, indeed, go bad - It was probably a couple days to even hours of serious use from either failing epically or catching fire) which caused the computers to shut down, and mine tried to boot back up almost emediately. It made the most god-aweful screaming sound, comparable to having a window seat next to a wing engine on an airplane at take-off, but not nearly as high-pitched. I had to unplug the computer to get it to shut off. It booted up fine after that, but still scared the living daylights out of me.

 

While nothing happened to my mother's computer, as it was shut down by the same power surge, a few days later(August 29), I had come home from work and went to turn it on(As I turned it off while at work, too, so it was only on when I was home and awake), and it booted up fine. I had only been on a few minutes, though, when it suddenly rebooted, stopping at the Windows loading screen. When it wouldn't go any further, I(More than likely very stupidly, as I'm no computer techie...) did a hard shut-down, then rebooted. It didn't make it past the cursor screen, where everything was black and there's just a little blinking underscore cursor. Another reboot, and it gave me this message...

 

"Boot failed at checkpoint [ithr], please..."

 

It tells me to contact Dell, but by now the computer's warranty has long expired. I was lucky to get a couple CDs for my pawnshop laptop, but I fear I may not be so lucky with this computer. I've asked my brother-in-law, who suggested Windows may have crashed, but I'm not thinking that's the problem. I hit google with the error line, and the only things I've found are for posts and things from a couple years ago D:

 

Help? TT;

 

((Also, I'm not actually sure if this is in the right place? o.o;; If it is, please forgive me TT; ))

[Seth]

Hi Andrani.

 

Keep tapping F8 as you turn on the computer and you'll get to a boot menu. use the arrow keys to choose "Last Known Good Configuration" and press enter.

 

If that doesn't work, go back to that menu and choose "Repair Your Computer" (the boot menu may not have this option). From this option try the Startup repair. If that doesn't work, try System Restore.

[Andrani]

I tried that, but it doesn't sound like the fan's running. I turn the computer on, and it starts the fan, and it emediately stops and the computer goes silent. The cursor's on the screen, but it's pretty much 'lights on, nobody home'. I can't use the keyboard, either.

[Goku]

It seems that the power surge messed up the BIOS settings. In that case, do the following:

 

1. Unplug your computer.

2. Depress the power switch for about five seconds to insulate off any latent power in the system.

3. Remove the CMOS battery. If you are unsure of doing this, you might find this guide useful.

4. Keep the battery out for 5 minutes. Then re-insert the battery and plug back the system.

 

Are you able to boot into Windows now? Let us know how it goes. Good Luck.

 

-- Goku

[RandyL]

That screaming sound is probably a fan. It's either failed or clogged with dirt. Overheating can cause the computer to shut down or reboot.

[Andrani]

Well, I tried cleaning the fan(OMG, so filthy), then restarting, but that didn't help. On the plus, the fan's clean now, at least. But I've had one problem with the CMOS battery... I can't find it. If it's there, it's probably behind the massive graphics card my brother-in-law felt the need to put in or hiding behind the casing for the fans. Either way, I don't see it when I look in there.

 

*edit*

 

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u303/discord248/blackscreen.png

 

This is pretty much what I see when I turn the computer on(Yay for MSPaint..), if it helps any.

Edited October 1, 2008 by Andrani

[Goku]

OK, it seems that you are now past the error. At least, it doesn't show in the picture you attached.

 

There is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article that concerns the problem you state. Have a read and follow the troubleshooting instructions provided and see if they resolve the problem or not.

 

Computer stops responding with a black screen when you start Windows XP

 

Also, if possible, please try my previous suggestion of resetting the BIOS as it might still be necessary. As always, let us know if it helps or not. Good Luck.

 

-- Goku

[Andrani]

Unfortunately, the guide was no help ): I have no CDs for the computer from my brother-in-law, and as soon as I turn the computer on, the keyboard dies ):

 

And I still can't find the CMOS battery to try the BIOS reset o.o; It's hiding somewhere on that Motherboard, and it's not wanting to be found...

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Turn the box off Andrani and take that graphics card out and have a proper look for the battery.

 

This is a picture of one located below the blue IDE connectors.

 

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/motherboard/epox/ep_4g4a+/4g4a+close1.jpg