[barneyfoz]

Hello, i am new to this site. I done a system restore and now when i turn computer on i just get a black screen, i cannot even sign in, i just have a white arrow on the black screen. I am using vista. Can anyone help me please, as i have my sons holiday details on the computer which i cannot get on.

Thankyou

 

[epshatto]

How far do you get in the boot process? Are you hearing any beeps coming from the PC? Why did you need to do a System Restore?

 

[barneyfoz]

Hi, i was having problems with internet security, i couldnt uninstall or install virgiin media security so i done a system restore to an earlier point. Now when i turn on my computer it dosn't make any noise's and screen goes black and i cannot even get to windows start up, i just have a white cursor arrow. I have tried to boot in safe mode but still nothing happens. I have dell vostro.

 

[epshatto]

Okay, a few suggestions-

1) When you say you can't boot into safe mode, does that mean the Advanced Boot Options menu doesn't appear, or just that when you select Safe Mode, it makes no difference? If the Advanced Boot Options won't appear, we can try a command in the Command Prompt from the Windows CD.

2) If you have access to another PC, you can try to run antivirus software on the drive you're trying to boot from by removing the drive and connecting to another PC, then running the AV software from the other PC.

3) Try to access BIOS, if you know how. If you can, boot from your Windows disk and run Startup Repair.

4) If you can get to the Windows disk but Startup Repair doesn't work, enter the command prompt and type the following commands, rebooting after each command:

bootrec /fixboot

bootrec /fixmbr

bootrec /rebuildbcd (if the Advanced Boot Options menu doesn't appear, as referenced in suggestion 1)

chkdsk /r

sfc /scannow

5) If none of that worked, and you have access to another PC with an optical drive and internet access, try to download Data Lifeguard Diagnostics, SeaTools for DOS, or some other hard drive diagnostic software. Burn the software to a disk to create a bootable disk, then boot from CD and run the diagnostic software to check for hard drive errors.

 

[barneyfoz]

ok, not really understand your reply. The only way i can turn computer on/off is by pressing the power button. As soon as i press it i get a big blue dell logo and when i press f8 i get a message saying windows did not shut down successfully, then a list of options:

safe mode
safe mode with networking
start windows with command prompt
start windows normally.

If i click on start windows with command i get a screen sayin loading windows files with a load of white writing then screen goes black again

Please can anyone help?

 

[epshatto]

When you restart your computer, there'll be some kind of text on the bottom of the screen that indicates "Press such-and-such key for setup" or something like that. Press that key and you enter BIOS.

From there, you can select different menus. One menu will be boot order. It will probably be called the Boot menu or something like that. You can set what order of devices the computer will look to in the attempt to find the operating system. Set the first device to be your optical drive. Insert your Windows CD (if you have one), save the settings, and exit. If you don't have a Windows CD none of this will help you.

The computer will boot into the Windows CD. From the main menu of the Windows CD you can access several tools. One of them is called "Startup Repair". This is what I was referring to in Step 3.

If Startup Repair doesn't work, you can also access a Command Prompt window. This is what I referenced in Step 4.

If the CD doesn't help you, there's also hard drive diagnostic software you can use to test the drive. Examples are Data Lifeguard Diagnostics and SeaTools for DOS. To use them, you have to burn them to a bootable CD, then boot from the CD just like you would for the Windows setup CD as described earlier. You run the tests, and they report whether there are errors on the drive.

You can also run antivirus software on the drive. Doing so requires you to remove the drive from your PC and install it in another, working, PC. Then you just run the AV software and direct it to scan the malfunctioning drive.