System won't boot - Help Please!

[goceltics34]

Hello all, this is my first post so forgive me if this is the wrong forum.

I have a major problem and I can't figure out what exactly is causing the problem.

Windows XP will not start up. When I reboot the system I see the initial diagnostics screen and logo and can even get into the bios. However when I let it continue to the operating system my monitor then displays that there is no image to display. Windows never begins, the screen just stays black.

Do you think this is a hard drive issue and that a possible reformat is needed or could it be something else? I would hate to have to reformat all over again, and will try all other options before I have to do so.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[PC eye]

If the hard drive failed you would most likely see a failure to find boot device error at the end of the post tests. Have you reciently installed anything new like going for updated board or device drivers? The wrong version or bad install of a driver set can stall Windows like this or end up seeing a BSOD.

One way to try and save the currrent installation would be to try the Windows F8 boot menu and choose the Safe Mode/Command Prompt Only option found there. You could try manually starting the system restore feature to see if that will bring the system back a few days. At the prompt simply type in "
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe " to manually start the restore feature acccording the MS article seen at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304449

Two other methods for correcting startup problems will require an installation disk for Windows. The first is the use of the recovery console to enter the two commands "Fixboot" and "Fixmbr" pressing the enter key after each one to rewrite the boot information. When all else fails the option to perform a repair install of Windows is available in XP. This method replaces the main system files without deletion of any other files or folders. On some occasions a quick reinstall of video and sound drivers may be needed. http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm