Re: I need Help. "No Safe Mode" and...? Possibly an opportunity to recover.

From: Chad Harris (ddram32_nospam_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 08/26/04 

Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 12:04:46 -0400

What do you do when *you can't get into Safe Mode John*? Lay it on me.
Because if that box will turn on, she might be able to change her bios order
to boot from a CD."Debbie can't even get into Safemode!" *So what she
can't get into Safe Mode?* The fat lady ain't done sung because of that
piece of info--or has she for you when that happens?What do you do when *you
can't get into Safe Mode John*? Lay it on me. Until I know "fer sure", I
can't assume that the box won't turn on, nor that the advice I gave her
isn't viable.

People can't get into safe mode but can recover a high percent of the time.
See:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Hthegator&ie=UTF-8&hl=en

I think the point is whether she can boot from the CD or she has a dead
box--whether there is a software problem that can be repaired or a hardware
problem where she and her friend will have to summon help. I don't know for
certain, because I'm not in Debbieland right now. That's *why we have
these groups John*. Until we know whether she can turn the box on and see a
firmware or POST screen and enter the bios, then boot from the CD--the fact
that she sees a blank screen that's blue or dark gray or black doesn't rule
that out. I've seen plenty of "blank screens" where you pushed the button,
got into bios setup, changed the boot order, and booted from a CD of some
type and repaired the OS.

I've been reading posts like hers for years, and much of the time
restoration was possible via a repair or parallel install and even rarely
and I mean rarely via Last Known Good, and a sketchy post like that may
mean a wide gamut of things from hardware failure to the possibility that if
she hard button starts, she can boot from the CD. I don't know if nothing
will come up when she tries to manually restart her friend's computer or
not. I'm not Carnack the Magician, and I can only prompt people for more
information they should have given me in the first place.

I see scores of posts on these groups where the version of Office or flavor
of the OS is needed and never given not to mention other relevant pieces of
history?

BTW, what does "can't get into Safe Mode" mean to you? I'd be really
interested. It certainly doesn't mean that she's never going to see Windows
on that machine does it my man? Take a look at some recent posts I've
helped with on the XP General group?

Is there a point I'm missing in can't get up to Safe Mode? How about an
inplace upgrade booting from the CD? We don't really know if her box is a
door stop at this point or she still has some booting ability, and after
posting 35 or so exclamation points since 5:34AM Debbie hasn't favored us
with more helpful information.

The worst that could happen is that she tries every which way to Christmas
to tap to the bios setup and can't and then gets a "hands on" help. But
until then, my man, we don't know.

Would you assume everytime a doctor sees an isoelectric EKG on a street or
in a hospital room or a living room that the person is just dead and
non-resuscible, or that there might be moves that can get things back to
normal--or that it might even be fine fib masking as a straight line? If a
person is lying fairly still does that mean they're dead--leave them alone?

I don't know whether that box will turn on and you don't either--and I can't
press the button for her.

I don't know whether she has an XP CD or her friend does or her friend's
friend does? I can only work with the hand that's dealt me. If she does
get some action out of the box, maybe I'll here from her. Some people post
and then decide to throw the box in their car and take it some where. I can
only work with what I see.

She and some other people also have a decent blue print for what to try when
they can't get into Safe Mode, and I have something I can paste to help the
next person, when in a few hours or days from now someone else can't get
into safe mode but can boot from the CD.

Best,

Chad Harris
_______________________________________________________________

"johnf" <john_f@bigREMOVEpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:uoI2VA3iEHA.3664@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
Chad, read her post again carefully.
"now the screen is completely blank. Nothing comes up".
IOW, it NOW doesn't do anything, Debbie can't even get into Safemode!
Definitely sounds like a hands on job, not something that can be advised on
via a NG. 

--
johnf
> Debbie--
>
> "We have tried rebooting insafe mode and everything"  Do you have an XP
> CD-ROM?  I want you to boot from the CD-ROM if you cannot F8 to a screen
> with options.  If you can boot to the screen with options (and it
> doesn't sound like it), try Safe Mode and then System Restore or as a
> last ditch try Last Known Good Configuration--two disadvantages--it
> goes to the last time you booted which could have been many settings
> ago, and it seldom works.
> I'm not sure what else you have tried.   I don't know if the "and
> everything" is a figure of speech  or stands for other things you tried
> you haven't told me.   If you can't F8 to the Windows Advanced Options
> screen that includes trying to boot into Safe Mode, then depending on
> who is the maker of your bios find out what key you tap to get into the
> bios setup. Find out from your friend's computer manual or maker
> website who makes  the bios or what key to enter.   You can usually get
> a screen with the maker of your computer, the Firmware or POST screen
> that will tell you on the top or the bottom what key to press.  If you
> don't have that screen or a manual, and don't know, you can use this to
> find out who makes the bios--hit the red download hyperlink:
>
> http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
>
> After you download this, clicking the icon will give you a listing of
> your hardware and software and you'll know the bios maker.  Then you
> can use one of these to find out what key to tap when you turn on your
> computer.  See if pressing the button will give you the firmware screen
> or start any screen at all and tap the key these advise to use:
>
> http://www.usbman.com/Guides/bios_update_sites.htm
>
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_b.htm
>
> Change the order so that you can boot from your friend's XP CD.  Then
> follow the directions here to do an inplace upgrade.  This will not
> format or lose information, but should get you back into setting up XP
> with your data and settings intact.  Then you can try to download and
> install SP2 after your friend is thorougly backed up.
>
> How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>
> How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q315341
>
> Doug Knox on Repair Install
> http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm
>
> Here are some screenshots of the repair/upgrade no format install to
> help you context--whether you have Home or Pro it's going to be the
> same.
> http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winxppro/installxpcdrepair/index.htm
>
> Also as a general reference for Emergency Recovery:
>
> Resources for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308041&Product=winxp
>
> A Repair Install will replace the system files with the files on the XP
> CD used for the Repair Install. It will leave your applications and
> settings intact, but Windows updates will need to be reapplied.
>
> If the inplace upgrade does not work, and it should, then you can do a
> parallel install of XP to another folder or partition, but that is
> considerably more time consuming because it entails extracting your data
> from the other partition.  A parallel install is detailed here:
>
> How to install or upgrade to Windows XP
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316941&Product=winxp
>
> hth,
>
> Chad Harris
> ______________________________________________________________
>
>
> "Debbie" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:079501c48b4f$d9fefae0$a301280a@phx.gbl...
> We downloaded the service pack on our friends computer
> and then she started having trouble with the reboot it
> would only come to the first screen it would not even get
> to the window xp screen but a message on along the bottom
> showed up with hit tab for exit and hit delete for setup.
> I went into the setup section by accident and hit
> something now the screen is completely blank. Nothing
> comes up. We have tried rebooting insafe mode and
> everything PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Deb
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