[XP won't start... black screen... flashing cursor]

I'm having this issue on my Dell D800... Latitude Note Book.

XP won't start... black screen... flashing cursor. (for days).
I AM CONFIDENT it is NOT a hardware issue.

On my D800... things are fairly simple (dead).

XP window never appears.

All of Dell's EXTENDED HARDWARE diagnostics:
The system hardware tests good... all tests pass.

I have run all the non destructive recovery console "repair" games: to no avail (all progresses nice & uneventful... no reports of any kind... but No XP start up on boot).

I have NOT done a HARD RELOAD... I figured I'd investigate simple solutions before getting rough with my system.

Something nice & easy... Please.

I figure if I have to do a full XP OVERLOAD I'd attempt to use my old <30g> HARD DISC drive for a full RELOAD... or play with the Acronis USB HDD...

Don't want to CHANCE ruining my Acronis "duplicate USB" HDD without professional guidance (yes, I made the Acronis Recovery CD Disc too (free sample Acronis: expired, several months old)).

The MicroSoft "solution" for BLACK SCREEN w/flashing cursor" is to remove the "virtual machine" <integration troubles?> entries from BIOS...

Reference URL:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...r/thread/5C1CF016-773C-4304-9BE3-45B615E04D82

files with extensions... *.vmc & *.vhd... which magically regenerate themselves on boot... sounds harmless enough.

I am assuming this is supposed to be done at DOS level. I just don't know.

If you have such a snappy answer, PLEASE, I’d really like to hear it...

Otherwise I’m very afraid of losing my backup!
(tell me how to salvage my real data... or back up my back up and I’ll be as rough as desired).

I've worked w/MSFT techs on the other side of the planet for months (last year... unsuccessfully).

Rather than try that painfully unsuccessful route again... (an unrelated hijack issue).

I can get into "setup" level for the BIOS ... (A09: original... never updated)... All seems well.

with F2 at startup...

but it has been to many years to even attempt to remember how to invoke the right DOS commands... (to attempt MicroSoft’s *.vmc & *.vhd... "solution" mentioned above) let alone... I can't seem to get the CD to even recognize what I thought was a boot disc (CD)...

Besides the fact that all this is probably a rabbit trail any way!!


System Specs.

Dell Latitude D800, Mother bd Dell 1054, part# x1029
OEM ( "refurbished "... (old MB failed: stuck bit in USB register))
Intel Pentium M 2.0GHz
1.99GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5650
160 GB, WDC WD1600BEVE-11UYT0
MicroSoft Windows XP Professional 2002, Sp3... IE8 (w/Office)


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Another thought: Only recent system change:

I recently added UNIBLUE'S full suite to this system.

 

When I come across the flashing cursor, I start checking what the system is trying to boot to. It might be trying to boot to the CD/DVD drive, the network, a removable drive like USB, etc. The HDD might be missing from the boot list. You should be able to get the boot list by pressing F12 at startup.

 

I re-posted this issue correctly as Arie directed...

The HDD is in the boot sequence and hardware configuration... and all hardware tests run with the only issue being my fat fingers on the keyboard test...
Re-ran fine!

Sorry!

 

For a fact... The software was stopping before it gave me a chance to invoke any start-up mode... Safe or otherwise (On this Dell, D800 that's "F8 ").

After reading re-reading my own drivel... I decided to attemp another "repair" using my OEM CD (disc, XP, Sp2, IE6, 2003 system).

No luck.

When I went further to see... what overload options were available..
I found a third option... non-destructive overload... but because I wanted to try it on my old HDD I tried to exit the process using the prescribed "F3 "... upon which...

The system started the load... and told me to go away for 39 minutes...

29 minutes later it rebooted into windows... (?) running on IE 6 (SP2. formerly IE8, SP3)... What was on the "Re-installation CD "

and gave me a message "prl_stat.exe - Unable to start "... which I'm going to ignor until enlightenment strikes

UNIBLUE reported my regular gross of registry errors...

What do you think... reload Internet Explorer 8, SP3...?

(perhaps I should close this... and try to figure which bugs, virus, debris and infections are on my system before I repost?).

Suggestions?

 

Whatever locked you out before might still be hanging around. Windows is going again, but that doesn't mean it can't happen again. I would rather reformat than be constantly worried that the system could easily break down again. If you think there might be bugs, viruses, debris, etc, why don't you take the opportunity to rebuild the system.

I don't keep a full system backup any more. If my system "blows up" I am happy to reformat and get rid of anything that might be lurking around. (I keep my data backed up, of course.) A nice new installation of Windows, just like day one. From there you can go straight to SP3 (get updated drivers first) which upgrades IE anyway.

I don't know Uniblue, have you checked that it doesn't give false positives? I avoid registry "cleaners" (actively).

Matt

 

You are absolutely right...

This UNIBLUE Power Suite keeps things running... but it requires more attention and time than a Beauty Queen Trophy Wife!

I have to kill it just to access the system quickly.

Yes... FORMAT-Clean Load!

I can think of no finer idea! I just need a few clever pointers ... like

Would Acronis be good enough to rebuild the system... or would I be sewing the evil seeds... reloading...

I just don't know.

I do know... I would like to flash my BIOS... because I'm stone cold positive that is where the evil spawns from (having repeatedly flushed everything else).

It is A09, 2005 for a Precision M60... and CURRENTLY seems to be keeping me from upgrading... "Not SUPPORTED by DELL "...

It says it is "newer" and Dell doesn't recommend flashing to an older version.

The only legitimate reason I might have affected it's "newness" was changing the asset tag number when I replaced the <Dell> refurbished M-board (frankly I can't believe that would affect the BIOS Rev. level... but I'm not really a PC guy).

Do you see any danger/harm in attempting to flash with the BIOS <I think> I'm running on?

A09...

 

Did it run fine with the refurb MOBO? If so, how long? I have seen people flash the BIOS and make a boat anchor out of the PC.
And I have seen it done with no ill effects.
Your choice.

 

But you say the laptop is a D800, so I hope it has been refurbished properly.

From what I see at Dell, if you go into the BIOS at startup, the information at the top of the screen tells you about the system model and the BIOS version.

You can try running (flashing) the same BIOS version, and check it is exactly the same version, but look for one that runs from CD (they might talk about running it from a floppy disk). If you run it under Windows and Windows is unstable, you could end up with that boat anchor.

If the system is running "OK" now and doesn't have any basic faults, I would not flash/re-flash a BIOS. Try to keep it as a last resort.

Acronis, when did you make the image? Was it when the system was running at peak performance? [For me, that is after a fresh install, all the drivers are installed/updated, and the latest Windows service pack and updates are installed, BUT no programs ] You can install the Acronis image and see what it is like, if it has "symptoms ", reformat and start afresh.

If a fresh installation of Windows has the symptoms, it might well be a BIOS problem.

If your motherboard was changed from a D800 to a Precision M60, Windows needs to be "migrated" to the new motherboard. What are the details of the change-over? I wonder if you have restored/rebuilt a D800 Windows installation onto a different motherboard and it could be running the wrong drivers. The D800 installation or rebuild will only have D800 drivers, no others.

Matt

 

Boat anchor... yeaaaah... That's why I was asking.

The MoBo Dell Part number was an exact match... and the Intel Centrino was my own original...

The only issue was the TAG number was empty... rematched OK.

Ran perfectly fine for a couple of years!

"Precision M60" was information I just received from Dell...
Meaning: confidence very low

The system ran fine... or should I say... ran as good as it ever did with Norton.. but I'm old... and was getting much older waiting for Norton to give me back my PC...

So I ripped it out... and tried to put in McAfee...

In so doing released all kinds of evil things in the system...

hijacking my every attempt to do any internet search.

Everytime I go back to the Dell Site... their utilities track back nicely to Dell D800 latitude... All my <very extensive> Dell hardware diagnostics run perfectly!

I dunno.

I guess its time to figure out how to get into the BIOS myself... and actually look around.

I'm really a UNIX guy so simple things like concatenating a file eludes me in DOS.

I told it to "print" a file... it went away... came back later... and told me it was doing it...

Where... is for somebody smarter than me!

I'll go do the BIOS thing right now... If my semi-pornographic memory HAS FAILED ME... & it is NOT "A09 "... I'll report back immediately with the correction.

Thanks!

 

Here are the manuals for a Latitude D800.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd800/en/index.htm

The User Guide downloads as a Zip file. You double-click the file and it asks where you want to put the unzipped file, it's default is C:\dell\docs\4Y332.

In the User Guide, information about the BIOS is under the section "Using the System Setup Program ". You press (tap.tap.tap) the F2 key when you see the first screens at startup.

Look for an option to reset to Default settings. Try that.

I really think you should be vary wary about upgrading the BIOS, all this D800/M60 uncertainty would make me tread very carefully. Apart from what I said about "unstable Windows ", if you install the BIOS from the wrong motherboard it will again just turn out to be a boat anchor.

You said you wanted a second backup and you would be prepared to reformat and reinstall the whole system. The areas you need to back up are your My Documents folder, the Favorites folder and the Desktop folder. You can just copy them to another drive as long as it has enough space. You have an external hard disk drive, right? You can copy them there as long as there is enough space. Some programs might put the files in their own folder, so if you have some important files, like photos, videos, etc, that you could not afford to lose, make sure they are copied to the other drive.

If you have trouble finding the folders, go to Start -> Search and put in the terms, like Documents, Favorites or Desktop.

Windows XP does not run on DOS, it is the NTFS file system. You can run most of the DOS commands which were common on the DOS-based Windows systems (Windows 3, 95, 98, ME), but the new systems are not based on DOS.

You probably won't find many relationships to UNIX, go to Start -> Help and Support if you want to find out basic information, that's where I always start. Using DOS commands in Windows XP is for very HEAVY DUTY manipulation. You need to research what you are doing. You can seriously damage the system if you don't.

Matt

 

Thanks for the sage advice Matt... It is not my desire to be heavy handed.

I think I knew I would have to gather up meaningful documents...

and flush the whole thing but I needed it said.

Thank you for laying it out for me. I surely would have tossed all my favorites.

I will set about to cherry pick my treasured files (including my favorites)... I did it before ((less my favorites)... a short while back... and even with my massive picture files I had it all on a 16 gig stick with about 5 gig to spare).

I wasn't that bad.

Still didn't have the courage to pull the chain... You have made me more confident.

I'm going to refer my BIOS trick to Dell... I don't think it is related... and the only imaginative thing that was done to this system was their refurbished board...

Who knows... maybe that's not my foot... in it (??).

If I ever get it figured out I'll drop you a line.

Thanks again & very best regards!