New screen resolution killed windows

On an older E-Machins computer I changed the screen resolution from 800x600 to 1280x1024
and the screen went blank and now will not boot into Windows (XP).
It beeps once and displays the bios screen but stops at
"Searching for Boot Record from IDE-0..OK ". I can enter the bios with the
delete button but not safe mode with F-8. How do I change the screen resolution back?

 

Changing the resolution isn't going to be your quest right now. From that error it would appear that there is some serious damage to your boot loader files or MBR.

Let's try something easy first to eliminate all the bootloader files.

If you have a floppy drive, download this Boot Floppy Creator. Double click it and follow the screen directions to create the boot floppy.

Boot the ailing machine with that floppy in the drive. You may need to reset the boot order so that it checks the floppy first.

If it boots to Window with that, we have hope. Post back your results.

If it doesn't boot with that floppy the next step would be to try booting to the XP install CD and running some commands. Post back if you need to do that and we'll go from there.

 

Thanks Surferdude2,

I'll try the floppy. I Did try a new windows install, without success.
It stalled at the same place in the bios.

 

can't you F-2 restore defaults ?

 

Surferdude2,

Success! I had just connected this thing to a 19" LCD and turned it on for the first time when I changed the resolution and killed it.
Now I see why: Cyrix 6x86MX and on-board video. It's an antique, and painfully slow, but someone might get some use out of it.

 

Surferdude2,

Well, sort of success. I still can't find the boot problem. It will boot into Windows with the floppy but not without.
It also won't boot into the Windows install CD. Screen resolution reverted back to 800x600 and everything seems OK.
Is it a problem in Windows or the bios

 

The boot floppy substitutes its own copies of the files that are normally found on the root of the C: drive. It also allows for booting without having to read the MBR since a floppy has no MBR.

So, your approach now would be to boot with the floppy and copy the two files from the floppy to the root of your C: drive, replacing the existing if that be the case. Those are files:

ntldr
ntdetect.com

Then try rebooting without the floppy. If still no joy, another possibility is that your boot.ini file is corrupt. It's a hidden file on the root of the C: also. It's a text file so open it with Notepad and post the contents here or review it yourself for possible error. It should match the ARC path of whatever selection you used on the boot floppy.

If still no joy after that, it's quite likely that your MBR is corrupt. You can reset by running the the Repair Console but you'll need to be able to boot to the install CD to do that. You'll need to change the boot sequence in the bios/cmos setup so that the CD-ROM is checked before the HD. Just place it at the #1 spot and save/reboot with the install disk in the bay. Select the first "R" option to repair an existing install. Then run the fixmbr command from the command line you get.

Post back your results and any progress or strange happenings that you didn't expect or any difficulties with carrying out those instructions.