BLANK SCREEN

[dhar25]

When I turn on my daughter's labtop, the widows xp sign comes up stays for a few minutes and then the whole screen goes blank OR black except for the curser.

I am not sure whether the Window's operating system is currupted or the hard drive got bad. Either way please help me to trouble shoot this and fix this problem . I have never opened a lap top so I ma not comfortable as opening a a Desktop.

Is there a way to reinstall the XP oerating system?
Again is the hard drive is easily replacable on a desk top?

Hopfully, I don't have to go to that extend.

Dhar25

 

[wolluf]

Can you get into safe mode?

If this is SP2, at the safe mode menu should be option to stop restart (I know you don't say its restarting) on failure. Try that and reboot - might get a blue screen with some info.

Try booting with XP install CD into recovery console:-

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654

run chkdsk /p

(problems like this are usually caused by corrupt filestore or corrupt system files. If the hard drive is actualy ok - if chkdsk runs it will tell you - but after chkdsk has run still won't boot, probably need to restore the system registry hives (sam, security, software and system in \windows\system32\config).

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

might help with this, though I favour using a BartPE boot disk (Google to find) to perform this task.

 

[dhar25]

Thank you,
I will try your adivice.

Dhar25

 

[lpblauen]

I have the same problem sometimes when I boot I login and get a blank screen with a mouse. I reboot and it comes back correct. Running winxp pro with sp2. Ideas short of recovery?

 

[kjv1611]

Maybe it's somethign with the display adapter? I'd check online with the laptop manufacturer's website to see if there are any hardware driver updates.

 

[UnlimCompSol]

You know I agree with KJV that I would check to make sure it is using the onboard video and not the external video. You can usually switch between them with the one of the function keys.

You can also check in the bios to see what is the primary device. I would also try to boot into safe mode and see if I can get a screen If so you know your display is configured wrong.

Hope that helps

Malik

http://www.unlimitedcomputersolutions.com

where your problems are our solutions!!

 

[dhar25]

I tried the Safe Mode and there was an option to restore the PC and tried that nothing happend. It goes to back to black screen at the end.

There was a CD that came with this laptop [emachine] and when I tried to run it, it says if I restore the system through the CD, I will lose all my files. These are my daughter's important files and I am not ready to lose them.


What is my next step?


I thought that I will take the laptop's hard drive and slave it with my desktop to download all the files. So I took all the screws on the laptop, but still it is very hard to open the cover. I am at lost as to what to do now.

 

[kjv1611]

You should be able to get the hard drive out of the laptop. To do so, I would go to the manufacturer's website, and there should be some instructions, such as "upgrading your hard drive" or similar under support for your laptop. But to use it with your desktop, you're likely going to need an adaptor. You'll need to use a USB adaptor or an adaptor for connecting a laptop hard drive to a standard IDE or SATA connection on your motherboard. I'm guessing it will end up costing at least $20 to do that.

Another option (I've done this before) that does not require working with the hardware:

Get you a free copy of a Linux Distro that will boot from the CD-Rom, and actually run from that CD-Rom. It does run slower than hard-drive based OS, but it works. Then, you'll have to mount Windows in a certain way in order to get in and look at the files on your hard drive (b/c they are otherwise totally locked from you being able to read or write to them (you can see them anytime, but can't read from them or copy them until you mount the Windows stuff). I used Gnoppix in this way, and once I found out how to mount the Windows partition, I was in business. All you have to do then is transfer the files over your network to your desktop, and then reinstall!
If you want to do this, I would first ask around to any "techy" people you know to see if they have a copy of Gnoppix, or some other free Linux distro that will boot and run from CD-Rom. If you can't find any there, I would go online, and search around, there are multiple places to download those from if you have broadband internet (dial-up would simply take too long to be practical).

If you get a copy of Linux, and are able to get it to boot and run from there, and can't find how to mount the Windows partition, post back, and I'll find that again, and put it here for you. It was actually much easier than you would think, and Linux was way easier to setup for networking than Windows was!

Let us know what you end up going with.

 

[dhar25]

Thank you kjv1611,

I am really excited to know from you that there is still hope that I can get the data back from the laptop hard drive. I just found out the hard drive just comes out on the side by just removing one screw.

I hoping to try with USB 2.0 to IDE drive Adapter which is about $59.00. Since I cannot put a price on the data I have in the hard drive, I have to go for it.

IF does not work I like to try the Linux Distro.

I already tried with a cheeper Adapter and installed my laptop hard drive as a slave, but could not boot my desk top all the way, as it could not read my slave drive.

If you have any advise on this, it will be very much appreciated. I am not sure that I am comfortable on networking but I will try.

Thank you again in advance.

 

[kjv1611]

Hmm, $59 seems a bit high for an adapter. You should be able to find a laptop notebook to USB adapter for around $20 plus maybe $10 shipping, if you get it online. But, that doesn't really matter - I just know I'd rather pay $20 or even $30 than $60.

Have you looked at these online stores?

http://www.tigerdirect.com

http://www.newegg.com

http://www.mwave.com

http://www.ecost.com

http://www.buy.com

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.ebay.com

I would think that practically all of these would carry adapters for around $20. I know for sure that you can find them on ebay.

Well, let us know how that all goes, whichever route you choose.

 

[wolluf]

dhar25,

If you can get into safe mode, you could try looking for causes of the problem.

Eg, run msconfig and click on startup tab. Select to disable all entries, reboot and see it it will load normally. If it will, its one of those entries causing the problem.

Open a command prompt (run cmd) and run chkdsk c: /f (it will prompt to run on restart - agree, and restart).

Look in the event log (run eventvwr.msc) to see if any entries giving clues as to cause of problem.

Also, if you have any network available (so you can network laptop to another machine), you can run in safe mode with networking. You should then be able to access the filestore across the network to retrieve any files.

If you need to mount laptop drive in another machine, an IDE adapter (for 2.5 inch drives) costs about £5 here in UK - I don't know if that's what you tried (they're usually a single connection - ie, laptop drive is only one, so it can't be slave, has to be master. On a PC with just IDE drives you'd need to disconnect the optical drive(s) to make room for the laptop drive IDE adaptor. If you go for usb enclosure, kjv1611 is correct - find a cheaper one.

From what you say, you haven't got an XP install Cd, so can't easily run recovery console or a repair reinstall (which would have been my next suggestion).

 

[funkytunaa]

What make/model laptop is it?

The 2.5" to 3.5" hard drive adapters can be found at most pc shops or electronics stores or they will at least know where to get one.

If there is important information on there I would pull the laptop HDD and back it up somewhere first before starting to stuff around with repairing or changing configurations.

 

[dhar25]

Thank you for all your tips on this subjects. They all were great and I appreciated all of them.

However, the Magic word for me in this was the Optical Drive from Wolluf! because first tried to back up my lap top hard drive with a $10 adaptor as a Slave to my Desk Top hard drive, but it never let me boot my Desk Top.

Then tried it on my DVD drive as a master, it clicked rightway. Oh what a relief, I am able to see all the files
from the Lap Top hard drive and able to back them up on the DeskTop of my Desk top.

The old lap top hard drive was a Toshiba brand and I read several bad revies about it. That drive was priceless for me as it was from my daughter's laptop who just graduated from major college.

In the mean time I have ordered a 2.0 USP ADAPTOR [$29.00 + $8.00 shiping] to down load the files as the last option.
I have now Sergate New Drive for the Laptop [$105[ woks great. Thanks again for all your inputon this.

 

[kjv1611]

Another short note. You said you backed up all the data on your desktop of your desktop computer. If that is really the case, you might want to make sure you put it in a folder, at the least (if you didn't already), as that could REALLY slow down your desktop pc if the files are large and/or numerous.

 

[dhar25]

Youre right, It slowed my desktop down and it seem like what ever virus the laptop hard drive had messed up my Desktop also

Fortunately, I was able to cut most of the files into two DVDs and save the the same on an external 200Gig, drive.

I thinking of going for new hard drive for Desktop and copy back all my programs and files back to it. This always worked better for than starttingout with an old hard drive.

I think I have learned something form all these.

Thanks for the tips again.

 

[Johnthephoneguy]

if you have a virus you need to take care of that before installing any backed up files. you could very well back up the virus and then reinstall it on a new machine/hard drive etc.