BLACK SCREEN WHITE CURSOR

[darklink986]

Black screen with cursor?
Hello, I have a Gateway laptop, with 300 Gb on HDD and 4 Gb on ram, with Win7 x64. I stop using it for about a week that I was traveling. I installed an usb internet modem, watched some emails and turned it off. Next day I turned it on, and walk away, when I came back it was off. I turned it on again, and it got stocked after the Windows Splash screen, nothing happened so I restarted it with a button. Then it said that it needed to do a Start Up Recovery, it began and it never finished. Again I had to force it to turn off. Try to turn it on again and then it just go to a black screen with a cursor, it gives me the option to start windows normally or do an start up repair, and it just goes again there, I've tried pressing F8 but nothing happens, and with my Win7 installation DVD couldn't do anything, it does the same thing, it start loading the files but then it goes to the same black screen with the cursor. Ctrl+Alt+Spr doesn't work either. Now after I press F8 it goes to the BSoD in a flash, I recorded it and it says NON BOOTABLE DEVICE. PLEASSSEEE!!! HELP. I do not know what else can I do? Will Linux Live CD or instead of a DVD using a bootable DVD?? Or can I access my laptop from another laptop??
Thank You In Advance
2 hours ago - 4 days left to

 

[vacunita]

Sounds like the Hard drive is toast. So it can't boot, and it can't fix it.

Try a Linux live CD to boot from, and see if it can successfully mount your hard drive. If it can you may want to plug in a usb drive and try to copy over any files you may want backed up.

After that is done, go the manufacturers website for the HD and download their bootable diagnostic utility. It should have you create a bootable CD to scan the hard drive.

Alternatively go to the Ultimate Boot CD website, and download the UBCD. It will also prompt you to create a bootable CD or DVD. From thee you can run several diagnostic utilities on your hard drive.


----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.

http://behindtheweb.blogspot.com/

 

[darklink986]

Thank you Vacunita! I already downloaded two Linux applications, one is Knoppix Live CD and in another flash drive System Rescue CD, which I´ve heard are good on this situations. I'm going to try and then hopefully can do the diagnosis! I'll keep you posted.
Thanx a lot!

 

[linney]

Is the laptop on battery power or mains? Does it make any difference if you pull out and then put back the battery?


See what this says about the matter including Laptop adapters for connecting to another machine.

Laptop will not boot
thread1583-1522023

 

[tlcscousin]

Did you unplug the USB modem and try booting?

 

[darklink986]

@Linney: I rarely use my battery, I have it plugged to the wall without the battery, so it wouldn't overcharge, but I already tried and I doesn't make a difference. But thanx.

@Tlcscousin: Yes, I booted it without any usb plugged.

Well, I got F8 "safe boot" running but it didn't pass some windows so it just stood there. I did ran Knoppix from an USB, and it did worked so I already backed up all my information. Thanx Vacunitas for that. Now, I'm trying to fix it, with UBCD, but I haven't been able to. Toshiba is my hard drive brand, so I may try their tool, but I think they just have for Fuijitsu brands, they do not have one of their one, as far as I know. I'll look for that. In the meantime, if I wipe or format all the data in my hard drive, as a knew hard drive it can overwrite the segments, would I be able to reinstall a clean Windows 7, or it would not work anymore.

Thank You in advance.

 

[linney]

The next logical step is to try the reinstall to the factory defaults with the supplied recovery media (recommended) or a clean install with your Retail DVD, The latter method may have you chasing Toshiba for drivers. So what recovery methods come with the laptop?

 

[darklink986]

Well, the problem is that my gateway HHD crashed 6 months ago, so I bought this new Toshiba HardDrive and I upgraded Vista to Win7. My laptop is a Gateway p705u FX, the recovery disk will upload Vista. I tried with the Win7 Recovery Disk and the Win7 DVD installation Disk, and it would be the same as trying to boot it from the HDD, it would just go at the black screen with the cursor and stay there (I tried from the DVD and from an External HHD).

I downloaded the Toshiba Diagnostic Tool and it would run either from Windows or DOS, as I cannot start Windows, I would do it from DOS, but I cannot load the recovery steps, so Command Prompt is not available (it would just go to the black screen). The UBCD (which I'm running from an 8gb USB) has that FreeDOS, but from some problems that I had with the UBCD, any app that runs with FreeDOS will have problems with USB bigger than 256 mb, it wouldn't be able to create batch files, it would always say "missing xxxx.bat check CD" (it wouldn't recognize USB as a drive).

So, what I'm going to try is to burn UBCD to a CD-Room and run it from there, see if there is any difference.

With my last question I ment: If I zero-clean-wipe my hard drive, can I use it / Install windows again, as a last resort?? I don't mind downloading again my laptop drives.

Thank You

 

[linney]

If you have a Retail DVD then that is able to be used to Create, Format, any partition, and then install Windows onto said partition. Of course no one can give you a cast iron assurance of such a procedure actually working on any machine, only that it should, and most probably will, with the proviso there is no underlying serious problem with your hardware.


Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Microsoft's Windows 7 Ultimate Fresh/clean Install Guide step by step

http://windows7ultimate.windowsreinstall.com/windows7installguides/indexfullpage.htm

Have you looked at the Bios settings on this machine, is the Boot order putting your removable drives and CD's, DVD's, ahead of the hard drive so that you are nor always booting from the hard drive?

Does setting the Bios to Safe Defaults, or looking for any available Bios update help you?

 

[BadBigBen]

1. Have you tested the HDD at all?

if yes then skip to 2 otherwise test the drive using the UBCD and the SeaTools from Seagate (it will test any HDD if it can find them (some SATA controllers are not detected))...

2. if the HDD passed the tests, and only then, go ahead and wipe the drive and start a fresh install...

if it did not pass the test, then get another HDD and start a fresh install...






Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[darklink986]

Ok, @Liney: as I said before, sadly I cannot boot any cd, I tried using my Win7 DVD, but it "loads" windows files, and after that it just stays at the black screen with the cursor, I already tried my gateway recovery disk and it happened the same thing .

@BadBigBen: Well, that's why I've been trying to do with all the apps.

Now, I got finally FJDT working (fujitsu diagnostic tool), I had to go from isolinux to grub4dos, and after I run the aplication (FJDT), and it had opened the FreeDOS application, it takes me to the MemDisk menu, the only one which I had been able to work with is UMBPCI semi defensive, the other options, which are:
Clean boot, UMBPCI (silent - semi defensive - defensive), EMM386 (silent - semi defensive), No UMB (defensive - Ultra Defensive) 'll start loading and it'd stop at "autorun3.cab" (while loading files) and it will send me the message "xxxx.bat not found check cd" (whatever the application is, it replaces the xxxx. with the name of the app: it can be mbrtool, fjdt, any DOS app) ... Anyway, So, I got FJDT working, buut, when I load it, and I agree to it, it says that "IT CANNOT FIND A HARD DRIVE", it says that I may check if its pluggled and other three options. But the other apps that check for the HHD they do work. What can be wrong with it, is it probably that I'm running throught the UMBPCI, shoud I do it, "clean", "EMM386", or "no umb"??? Or maybe burn it to a CD (an USB problem maybe?? )

Thank you!!

 

[BadBigBen]

that is the reason why I mentioned Seagate's SeaTools and the little note on Controllers...

or you may try the DFT tool instead...

http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/?linkto=QL#DFT

you can download a bootable ISO for creating a CD!...




Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[darklink986]

Well, I tried it already and it says that I has problems that can be repair, and it won't repair them because is not a Seagate HDD (I read that problem before, the scan it no repair it :/ ) ... that's why I'm trying FJDT app... I'll let you know with the link you sent me.

Thanx!!!

 

[darklink986]

Ok, so here I am again!

Something new happened, now the pc won't stop at the black screen with the cursor when I boot from the HDD, it would go to the error screen:

"Windows failed to start. A Recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer.
2. Choose your langugae settings, and then click next
3. Click "repair your computer."

Status: 0xc000000e
Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible"

Another thing happened, as I told you before, even If I loaded a repair/installation Win7 DVD or CD it would go to the black screen too... BUT NOW, is booting, I mean, it loads the files and it did open the options. I got the two options, and when I press repair windows, and it gives me the option to fix the start up, and when I press Start Up repair, it would said that it cannot fix it and this is what it shows me:

StartupRepairOffline
Problem Firms
01: 6.1.7600.16385
02: 6.1.7600.16385
03: unknown
04: -1
05: externalmedia
06: 1
07: noosinstalled
OS version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Regional ID config: 3082

I was gonna look for other options and when the DVD was looking for a bootable drive (C, the first time it told me that it was gonna fix this:

Windows 7 Ultimate,
Windows recovery
Recoveru\87194dZ-8feb-11df-8b80-be6f5d343935\Winre.wim

And it restarted. Then, at the same part it was looking again for the bootable windows drive, it told me that it was gonna fix this other thing:

Windows Boot Manager
9D2EA862C - 5CDD - 4E70 - ACC1 - F32B344D4795

And it restarted. Now it would find the drive and the hdd capacity, but when I press the C: HDD it said that I need to load a DVD with the same OS than the one installed ... BUT, is the same I used the time I installed Win7 Ultimate x64 (I tried loading through a repair USB but is the same)... so I got stucked there.

----------------------------------------

Anyway... I tried GATEWAY diagnostic tool from UBCD, because that's my laptop brand (but my HDD is a toshiba / which the fujitsu diagnostic tool can't find) ! It finds my HDD, and Quick Scan, it says that everything is fine, but when I run the Extensive Test, it says:
GATEWAY
Sector Relocation Error
Error Statys Code 0226.

Soooo.. that's where I am right now :/ ... but at least Win DVD is booting.

Thank you

 

[BadBigBen]

See if this is of any help at all...

Windows 7 Boot Error - Status: 0xc000000e Info: The boot selection failed

http://www.petri.co.il/forums/showthread.php?t=42099

I don't know the Gateway tools (hard to find a Gateway PC in Germany), but from reading what is written on the NET, I would gather that the drive is on its way south...

meaning you probably have to replace said drive and start a clean install...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"