Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (
More info?)
Thanks to you all for your valuable advice.
Sent the whole conversation thread to him.
I hope it will help him to get back his computer in action.
"R. C. White" <rc@corridor.net> wrote in message
news:et#BgWAAFHA.960@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> Hi, J.C.
>
> Yes, there's a big difference between a BSOD and a black screen.
>
> Whenever a "crash" is caused by software (an application program, or a
> utility, or a device driver - or by the operating system itself), WinXP
> writes a coded explanation of just what the problem seemed to be. It
writes
> this into a log on your hard drive. The log is quite long and detailed
and
> indecipherable to most of us lamen. It also puts a one-page explanation
on
> our monitor, using bright white text on a blue background. We call this
the
> Blue Screen of Death because (a) it's blue and (b) the computer is halted
> (dead) at this point and must be restarted; there's no way to continue or
> even to recover unsaved work. This screen is also cryptic to the
> uninformed, but it usually is a great help to experts - and even to
> non-expert experienced users of Windows.
>
> There is a setting within WinXP for what the computer should do on "System
> failure". By default, this is set to "Automatically restart". Unless we
> change it, the BSOD appears and disappears so quickly that we never get to
> see it before the reboot. To change it, go to System Properties |
Advanced
> | Startup and Recovery/Settings and remove the check from the
Automatically
> restart box. Next time, the computer will halt with the BSOD onscreen.
> You'll still have to reboot, but you'll have all the time you need to copy
> down those codes so that you can look them up yourself or post them here
> where some guru (not me!) can point you in the right direction.
>
> If the "crash" is caused by a hardware problem, then WinXP doesn't get a
> chance to write the BSOD - just like if you had abruptly "pulled the
plug".
> That's when we usually see a black screen. Black screens also can happen
> during the boot process when an unmanageable problem occurs before WinXP
> gets loaded to the point where it can produce the error codes. These
black
> screens can be caused by either hardware or operating system errors.
That's
> why we often ask users reporting such problems to tell us, step by step,
> what happens from the time they turn on the power switch until the black
> screen appears, so that we can figure out whether the problem is in
Windows
> or in the hardware and BIOS before Windows even starts to load.
>
> Hardware problems run the full gamut: electrical shorts, perhaps in
cables
> and connectors; heat buildup; improper switch and jumper settings; failed
> video cards; bad power supplies - and many others. There's nothing
> Microsoft or Windows can do about these problems, of course. Either the
> user or the hardware vendor must solve them, but we can sometimes suggest
> where to look to diagnose the situation.
>
> Your first post said the problem happened when your friend "went for
system
> restore", but you didn't say why a SR was thought to be needed. What kind
> of problem made him think SR would help? Might it have been a clue as to
> why the black screen happened on the reboot? Perhaps the SR had nothing
to
> do with the crash, which was just waiting to happen on the next boot, no
> matter what.
>
> You said you visited Michael Stevens' page "and went through it". You
> didn't say you actually tried the reinstall. Did you? If you can do
that,
> it should completely reinstall WinXP. But if there is a hardware problem,
> you may not be able to do it.
>
> Will that computer boot from the CD-ROM now? If so, put the WinXP CD-ROM
> in, boot from it, and follow the prompts, as I said before. If it will
not
> boot from the CD, then post back with a step-by-step description of what
> happens.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@corridor.net
> Microsoft Windows MVP
>
> "J.C.De" <jcd16@refid.com> wrote in message
> news:e0COpS9$EHA.1400@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> >
> > As per your advice visited
> >
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> > and went through it. I also went through the article by Charlie White's
> > 'Windows XP Crashed ?' The crash was referred as BSOD (Blue Screen of
> > Death)
> > in the article.
> > Is there any difference between Blue screen and black screen because
> > my friends screen has turned black and not blue.
> > Regards.
> >
> >
> >
> > "R. C. White" <rc@corridor.net> wrote in message
> > news:#65XByp$EHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> >> Hi, J.C.
> >>
> >> > In that case I will be highly obliged if somebody will advice me how
to
> >> > reinstall xp step by step,so that I can help him to reinstall.
> >>
> >> That's easy enough...
> >> Step 1: Boot from the WinXP CD-ROM and follow the prompts.
> >>
> >> There is no Step 2 - except to visit Windows Update as soon as possible
> >> after you get your firewall and antivirus working to be sure that you
> >> have
> >> SP2 and the latest protective fixes. And to reinstall all your
friend's
> >> applications from their CDs or other original media, and restore his
data
> >> from backups. He DOES have backups, doesn't he?
> >>
> >> But that might not be necessary; you probably should try a few other
> > things
> >> first. A clean install can reformat the HD, wiping out all your
friend's
> >> files, including perhaps irreplaceable data. Before doing that, at
least
> >> try an "in-place upgrade", which will reinstall WinXP itself, but
> >> preserve
> >> installed applications and data - and most of the tweaks. For official
> >> instructions for how to do this, see this KB article:
> >> How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
> >>
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q315341
> >>
> >> You might prefer this version of the same instructions by MVP Michael
> >> Stevens:
> >> How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
> >>
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> >>
> >> Note that this reinstalls the version of WinXP that is on the CD used;
if
> >> the CD does not have SP2 integrated, then you will need to add SP2
after
> > the
> >> installation.
> >>
> >> If the in-place upgrade doesn't work, THEN you can reinstall from
> >> scratch.
> >>
> >> RC
> >>
> >> "J.C.De" <jcd16@refid.com> wrote in message
> >> news:%23HLkdop$EHA.2584@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> >> > My friend after using his computer (windows xp pro) for a while, went
> > for
> >> > system restore. Suddenly his computer monitor turned to a black
screen
> >> > with
> >> > a frozen cursor.
> >> > He could not come out of black screen by any means. Finally he had to
> >> > close
> >> > down the computer via power switch. Restarting the computer results
in
> > the
> >> > same result. Trying with safe boot also yields no result. After
> >> > welcome,
> >> > screen turns black with hung cursor.
> >> > He also does not have his xp cd.
> >> > Is there any way he can come out of this problem?
> >> > Help will be highly appreciated.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > In case problem cannot be solved he will have to freshly install with
> > new
> >> > cd.
> >> > In that case I will be highly obliged if somebody will advice me how
to
> >> > reinstall xp step by step,so that I can help him to reinstall.
>
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