Why do i get a black screen when my computer boots up

[chriswan]

Hey there, i need an urgent reply for this...

One day i was on my computer downloading a game, i finished my download and started the game, but it just got stuck, so i went onto my task manager and canceled the process. after about 10 to 20 minutes later Norton ( my anti-virus) showed that i had a virus and my computer was insecure, i didn't have time to read what virus it was because all of a sudden another window popped up for a second and my computer turned off.

Then I tried to switch my computer back on and it worked until it made the boot 'beep' sound and the monitor just went black ( in other words, the monitor went black just before the windows startup screen ). The monitor does not state that there is no signal.

My computer specs: OS- windows xp home edition sp3
Graphics Card- Nvidia gts 450 1GB(not overclocked)
cpu- intel pentium dual core 2.6 ghz(overclocked from 2 ghz)
Hard drive- seagate 500GB
monitor- Acer v193hq 18.5"
Ram- 3GB( 2 sticks )(not overclocked)

Please give me advice on how to fix my computer a quick as possible.

 

[Ubrales]

Start the computer in "Safe Mode" by tapping the F8 (or appropriate) key repeatedly as soon as you turn the computer ON. Then run the anti virus program. After that, shut down and re-boot normally.

 

[chriswan]

it doesn't even switch on in "safe mode"

 

[ssddx]

often antivirus applications let you run an antivirus scan from "boot from cd" so startup your computer with the disk in the drive and run from cd. do a virus scan, and go from there.

 

[chriswan]

Thanx for your idea 'ssddx' but i found out that i dont have a virus (or my anti-virus didn't pick it up). So any other plan? anyone?

 

[Ubrales]

Wear an anti-static wrist band and open the computer case. Remove the RTC battery from the motherboard (CR2032 Lithium). Set the battery aside for 10 minutes. Then re-install the battery. (This will reset the BIOS to factory defaults). Re-start the computer in Safe Mode. Run the anti virus program. Shut down and re-start.

 

[chriswan]

I reseted the BIOS and then it said that i had to select the date and time, so i pressed 'delete'(to enter the BIOS) and i put in the date and time, then i also changed the boot device priority to- 'first boot device- cd/dvd drive'
'second boot device- harddrive'
'third boot device- first floppy'

 

[chriswan]

Oh i forgot- after i finished at the BIOS i continued with the computer in normal mode and it didn't work, so i tried again in safe mode and it still didnt work.



P.S. when i go on safe mode it asks me weather i want to start the computer with "win XP" or "Win XP(tuneup Backup)". both dont work

 

[Ubrales]

You are further ahead than before. Now you have your BIOS working. This is good. If you cannot proceed, consider re-installing the OS. You cannot use it like it is anyway, so why not try this. Since XP is not working, maybe the OS is corrupt. Re-install.

 

[ssddx]

i dont think this will work but have you tried cycling through the inputs?

that said: sometimes a monitor will not turn on until after you reach the login screen. have you tried giving it a minute or so to boot up fully? (does it act like its booting up? windows "startup" sounds play?) if not then maybe you arent even booting into windows (turn your volume up if its off)

if a complete reinstall phases you you might want to think about a repair installation instead. fresh installs are better but you would lose your data if it is on the same partition (since its always best to format before installs)

 

[chriswan]

I have given the computer over an hour hoping it will work but it didnt , and windows xp doesn't have a startup sound. What does a repair installation do exactly?

 

[chriswan]

... And how do i do a repair installation?

 

[ssddx]

when you put your windows xp disk in the drive (the one you originally installed from) and you boot from cd it will launch the setup menu. from said menu there are two installation options, repair and new (and with new there are options to reformat,etc).

what repair does is attempt to fix/replace any core system files that might be damaged. i never use the repair function myself so I can not vouche for it working well or not. typically i reformat & fresh install (though you lose all data typically). sometimes if you *do not* reformat and just fresh install your original "my documents" and other such "user data" folders will still be in the file system (though if you had a log on password they will be unnaccessable).

if you decide to reformat & fresh install you could always hook this hard drive up to another computer as a slave drive & pull all information off the drive (provided you didnt password protect the account with data in my docs/photos although all other data should be easy enough to locate. just remember to be careful of virus on the other computer. this way you could wipe the drive during xp install and get a truley fresh start.

IMPORTANT NOTE: READ!

if you do not have a windows xp disk and only have a "system/backup disk" from a computer retailer (ie hp, dell, etc) you might only be able to use said disk to revert back to their "default" disk image (with all the normal crapware installed). this might not give any options for formatting your drive, etc directly from the disk in this case. you could always right click, format the drive if it is hooked up to another pc as a slave (after you take the data off!) in this case. before you go reformating load the disk up to make sure that you ***CAN*** revert to the original disk image first.

you know, the whole measure twice cut once thing.

 

[Ubrales]

... And how do i do a repair installation?

Do not try the 'repair' approach. It will only frustrate you further! I know this from personal experience.

Do a complete new install after formatting (NTFS) the hard disk. You will have to re-install all programs too. I realize that this is a lot of work, but it is better than constant frustration.

 

[chriswan]

Im scared of doing a repair install, and I definately dont want to do a fresh install because i dont want to lose my data, so any other ideas?

 

[Ubrales]

Im scared of doing a repair install, and I definately dont want to do a fresh install because i dont want to lose my data, so any other ideas?

Backup all your data to an external hard disk. Then you will not lose any data.

 

[ssddx]

as i stated, if you hooked the drive up to another computer to back up all the data the only thing that you would "lose" are any programs that you have installed currently. you would have to reinstall and customize practically everything but this isn't a huge hurdle as long as you have the software disks.

doing a repair should only touch core files and not anything else on your disk so your data *should* be ok. as always, no matter how sure you are of something, play it safe and back it up anyways.

 

[chriswan]

I dont have all the disks for all my software so i still need another plan, theres gotta be another way.

 

[ssddx]

the trouble is, without knowing exactly what is causing said black screen it's hard to recommend a solution. seeing as how your display ceases upon windows starting up it seems to be software based. that said, there are many things it could be but without being able to use the monitor after the windows loading starts is quite an obstacle. the more information that we get, the better our answers will be. that said, there are quite a few things that can be trouble to figure out and something as simple as a reinstall fixes practically any software issue. as such, this is often offered as a resolution when we aren't quite sure what the issue could be. perhaps with more information the problem can be figured out but without said information we are as much in the dark as you are.

we still don't know a few basic things, which severely hamper our ability to offer any advice:

-does the computer actually start up and proceed to launch into windows (or at least the welcome screen) but there is no display on the monitor? no display and no startup are two completely different issues. (ie, do you see the loading bar start before it kicks off) we need to know you get past the bios at the least.

-did you try all the simple things like using the other video output on your video card? how about cycling the inputs like i said? how about turning the monitor off and on once you're sure its at the login screen? how about trying a different monitor?

-did this problem ever occur in the past? any previous strange issues revolving around display?

-the file you were downloading was it legit? (steam, other..) or otherwise? if otherwise then it could definitely have been all sorts of nasty. its also a known fact that norton antivirus, although better than nothing, is a far cry from being good.

 

[chriswan]

i do get the beep sound, but i dont see the Windows loading bar.

Yes, i did try those simple things you listed.

Yes, there was a similar problem before, when i used my integrated graphics display, when i switched the comp on, you could hear it was on but there was no display on the monitor whatsoever, but we replaced the motherboard and the computer worked again. After that we replaced alot of things in the computer including the HardDrive so i doubt it has any thing to do with that(btw this happend last year may).

Ok, i forgot the game i downloaded and im not sure weather it was legit or not, but i downloaded it fro 'the piratebay' so it probably did have a virus.

By the way, theres one more thing i need to tell you, when norton showed that i had a virus it might have been saying that it deleted the virus, because i didnt have alot of time to read what it said. The reson i think this is because my friend told me about a virus that destroys your computer when you delete it.

 

[Ubrales]

Re-install the OS!

 

[ssddx]

since you get video feed @ bios it most likely isnt your integrated graphics again. if you got nothing at all then i would have looked into it.

TPB... chances are it had something. i've never heard of said virus but all one would need to do is change a few very minor things to wreak havok. you might want to look into kapersky av&is or nod32 av.

if you get one single beep then it might just be a normal beep after POST. if it happens at around the same time the bios runs some lines (or you see your motherboard icon on screen) then this is most likely the case. if the beep happens right about when your display shuts off then it could be an error report.

---

afraid i'm out of simple fixes for you then, i'll have to stick with the others on this. back up your data, reformat, fresh install windows. or if you have no other computers to back up with then you could always just get a second hard drive and fresh install on that then attatch this one (while machine is off) after you get a proper antivirus set up. this is all assuming you have a windows xp disk.

 

[Ubrales]

Kaspersky Internet Security is good! This is my 4th. year using Kaspersky. Switched to Kaspersky after 4 years with Norton, and after repeated problems with Norton.

 

[chriswan]

i do have the windows xp disk, dont worry. I was thinking about buying BitDefender, but last time i baught it it braught in a process that made my computer really slow. So i have to buy a harddrive then... hope it works

 

[Ubrales]

For hard drives, look into these. I have both of these running for over a year. Very satisfied.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433