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Resolved Boots to Black Screen

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by braddude03, 2009/12/11.

  1. 2009/12/11
    braddude03

    braddude03 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hey folks.

    It's been a while. In my books, it's a good thing, since I only post on here when I have an issue so bad that I can't fix it myself.

    Right now, I think my desktop is junked. I restarted it earlier this evening, innocuous enough, but when I went to turn it back on, it booted to a black screen. No signal going to the monitor, no keyboard response, etc. I tried rebooting it a number of times, unplugging it, etc, etc, but nothing is working. I can't get it to do anything at all. It fires up fine, as far as I can tell, but it just sits there.

    Just in case you're wondering, no, it's not my monitor. I have my laptop plugged into it now and it's working just fine.

    If it's toast, I have to swap out my motherboard, yeah?

    Cheers guys,

    Brad
     
    braddude03,
    #1
  2. 2009/12/12
    r.leale Lifetime Subscription

    r.leale Well-Known Member

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    Hi Brad,
    You don't give us any details about your operating system or machine, so any rapid help is unlikely.
    If there is no sign of life at all, not even a flashing cursor, it is possible that Explorer is not starting. If you have Vista or Windows 7, try booting from the DVD to see if a repair is available.

    Roger
     
    r.leale,
    #2


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  4. 2009/12/12
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Several posibilities ....

    PSU failiure - are the fans all spinning up, the usual lights on HD and opticals flashing, etc?

    Do you see the POST screen or does the screen remain black right from powering on?

    Can you enter the BIOS? Any BIOS beeps on startup?

    Hard drive failure .... test it using the manufacturer's disk diagnostics - DOS version from a boot CD ......

    Disk Diagnostic Software ....

    ExcelStore

    Hitachi/IBM

    Samsung

    Seagate, Maxtor, Quantum

    Western Digital
    Using the same cable?
     
    PeteC,
    #3
  5. 2009/12/12
    Admin.

    Admin. Administrator Administrator Staff

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    Brad,

    Please enter your System Details. It helps us in answering your questions!
     
    Admin.,
    #4
  6. 2009/12/12
    braddude03

    braddude03 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi folks,

    System details are purely irrelevant at this point (I filled them out years ago, though, and they haven't changed, sooo, I dunno what you're looking at). I'm dual-booting Windows 7 and XP Pro. I don't get as far as the BIOS, though, so it doesn't matter.

    But yes, I hit the power button, the fans spin up, the DVD drive and Floppy light up as they usually do during the initial boot, but that's it. It's not just a black screen, there is NO screen, the desktop is literally not sending ANY signal to my monitor, as it will go into standby about 10 seconds later.

    I'm not inclined to suspect harddrive failure, because I have multiple harddrives with multiples operating systems, as I said. If one crashed, would it really drag my entire rig down to the point where it won't even boot the BIOS?

    There is ONE beep at the very start of the boot. When I hit the button, the first thing it does is beep as it powers on. It's always done this.

    And as for the monitor, I have no way of testing this, because my desktop is the only DVI-out device that I have. Everything else I own is VGA. I think this is extremely unlikely, as the lack of keyboard input (my keyboard is completely blocked) suggests that it's definitely a problem with my desktop.
     
    braddude03,
    #5
  7. 2009/12/12
    r.leale Lifetime Subscription

    r.leale Well-Known Member

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    You obviously don't want to try it, but a boot from the DVD MIGHT show something and it's not difficult.

    Roger
     
    r.leale,
    #6
  8. 2009/12/12
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Your last post highlights the need for your system specs - how are we to know that you have multiple hard drives with a multiboot setup?

    Presumably none of the OS's will boot which I agree does not point to a hard drive failure. However .....
    and the hard drive light?

    The single BIOS beep is normal - pity there aren't any multiple beeps which might help to isolate the problem. As you hear the beep it suggests that the BIOS is operational although nothing is shown on the screen.

    Is there any evidence that the system is booting as shown by contiuous hard drive activity for a while. If this is the case I would look at the graphics card (if fitted - again system specs would answer that question) and reseat it/substitute for a known working card. If the graphics are onboard then that may suggest a motherboard failure as you originally suggested.
     
    PeteC,
    #7
  9. 2009/12/12
    braddude03

    braddude03 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Well I'll be damned.

    Booted straight into Windows 7 before I had time to select any other option. Got onto XP now. Going to run checks on the harddisk and see what's up.

    Thanks for the assistance, though it did just start working out of nowhere. Weird.
     
    braddude03,
    #8
  10. 2009/12/12
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    The Wonder of Windows? :D
     
    PeteC,
    #9
  11. 2009/12/12
    braddude03

    braddude03 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Yeah, no idea.
     
    braddude03,
    #10
  12. 2009/12/12
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    When you are happy that the problem is resolved .....

     
    PeteC,
    #11

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