Re: Nothing on screen?

Looks like I am going to have to call someone who has more knowledge than me.
I appreciate all of your help. I have let the computer sit for more than an
hour trying to boot in safe mode. Seems to be completely frozen. I do have
another video card, and will probably try that solution before calling
someone. I have also tried to boot with the last known configuration and
that was a failure also. The hard drive diagnostics are a good choice, but
how will I do that when I have no way of seeing anything on the screen?

As a last resort I was going to try to do the repair installation of windows
with my CD that came with the computer, and that was a failure also. Totally
blank screen, and no way of knowing what to click next to repair? I am
totally giving up and calling a professional. Sounds like you are a
professional, but unfortunately I am not or I wouldn't be in this mess :) I
appreciate all of your input.

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

urbanbeginnings wrote:
I was trying to install a new monitor. Now whatever monitor I
hook up I have nothing on my screen. When I restart my computer
the monitor shows Windows XP loading, then it goes away, and my
screen is black. I have tried three different monitors with the
same thing happening every time. Any suggestions?

Shenan Stanley wrote:
Boot in Safe Mode...
Remove the Display Adapter from Device Manager...
Reboot in normal mode...
Install your display adapter's drivers over and make sure you keep
the refresh rate/resolution within the specs of the monitor...

urbanbeginnings wrote:
I am getting the blank monitor screen when I try to boot in Safe
Mode also?

Shenan Stanley wrote:
Turn off the machine - open it up.
Make sure all connections and cards are seated firmly in place.
Close machine and hook it back up to the ORIGINAL monitor (or the
largest monitor you have - the latter would be a better option.)
Turn it on.
Go into the System BIOS - can you get around in the System BIOS?
Exit System BIOS and boot the System in Safe Mode again.
(Tapping F8 once a second and choosing 'Safe Mode' from the menu
that appears - if you see the Windows XP loading screen before you
see a text menu allowing you to choose 'Safe Mode' - you missed it
- turn off the computer and try again.

The problem here is that if you cannot even see the screen in Safe
Mode - it is not a driver issue or resolution/refresh issue - which
makes no sense from your description...

urbanbeginnings wrote:
Yes, I can move around in system BIOS. I have done your
suggestions and am still getting the same result after your
suggestions. I have a 19-inch monitor hooked up. When I try to
boot in safe mode, a whole list of system 32 messages scroll on my
screen, and then seem to freeze up, and nothing happens after that.
I appreciate your help.

Booting into safe mode can take upwards of 7 to 10 minutes on some
machines...
I'd suggest waiting 20+ minutes in your case - just to be sure.

However - assuming you have waited that long - or longer - there are only a
few more things we could try...

- If you have another video card - try putting it in the machine and using
it.

- Try choosing to boot to Last Known Good Configuration... (Same method as
Safe Mode boot - different choice.)

- Obtain the hard drive diagnostic utilities for your hard disk drive
manufacturer and utilize it to do non-destructive tests on the hard disk
drive... (You'll need to know or discover the manufacturer of your hard
disk drive either in the BIOS or by opeining the machine)
Examples:
Western Digital Corp.
http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp

Maxtor
http://snipurl.com/167ev

Seagate
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools

Hitachi
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

- Verify the system RAM is okay...
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
(*makes diskette to boot from)

- Use a BartPE/Ultimate Windows Boot CD to boot with and see if you can do
that. If so - there could be a hard disk drive issue here preventing
Windows XP from loading or it still could be a simple driver issue -
although a driver issue should have been emliminated with the Safe Mode Boot
and the drive issue should have been detected with the drive diagnostics...

BartPE Builder:
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

Ultimate Windows Boot CD:


- Do a repair installation of Windows XP. Save this for a last resort.

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/kb/315341

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html



.

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