Laptop Will Not Boot

n3shm · 09. Oct 2009, 06:39 AM

i need a piece of software to help in making my laptop boot. i just get a black screen when i boot. maybe a disk checker, or a boot disk. your suggestions...

Anupam · 09. Oct 2009, 07:19 AM

There is no software particularly made to help in such situation. But yes, we can make suggestions, which will help in diagnosis of the problem.

The OS is Win XP, or Vista?

The black screen comes immediately after power-on and POST screen, OR, does it follow the boot procedure, and then gets a black screen when it reaches desktop?

MidnightCowboy · 09. Oct 2009, 12:20 PM

It would also help if you could tell us about any Windows error or warning messages which might have appeared before this situation with the black screen started.

It's also possible that your laptop is booting but that the screen is dead. Most laptops have a tiny battery source which powers the screen display and if this fails it stays black. Unfortunately, in some cases these are not replaceable, depends on the make and the age of the machine. To check this, switch on and then either shine a powerful torch onto your screen or take the laptop to a really bright window. If you can see a feint shadow of things on the screen then it's the screen itself and not the system.

Drongo · 09. Oct 2009, 10:07 PM

Beg or borrow or build a boot disk and start it with that if still no screen, your screen is likely dead. This assumes that when you press the start button you're still getting the green lights indicating it's on and hard drive activity has started etc.

If you do not have a boot disk but you have an XP setup CD you can try booting with that and then shutting it off rather than going through the install. Also if you ever made an antivirus recovery cd, or one with an imaging program or partitioning program, you could boot with that to see if your screen works.

If the screen is truly dead then you have to weigh the costs of replacing the screen (not hard at all if you're mechanically inclined although the screws are tiny) versus the cost of simply replacing the whole laptop.

09. Oct 2009, 06:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
n3shm Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1	Laptop Will Not Boot i need a piece of software to help in making my laptop boot. i just get a black screen when i boot. maybe a disk checker, or a boot disk. your suggestions...

09. Oct 2009, 07:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
Anupam Super Moderator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 15,277	There is no software particularly made to help in such situation. But yes, we can make suggestions, which will help in diagnosis of the problem. The OS is Win XP, or Vista? The black screen comes immediately after power-on and POST screen, OR, does it follow the boot procedure, and then gets a black screen when it reaches desktop? __________________ Anupam

09. Oct 2009, 12:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 15,190	It would also help if you could tell us about any Windows error or warning messages which might have appeared before this situation with the black screen started. It's also possible that your laptop is booting but that the screen is dead. Most laptops have a tiny battery source which powers the screen display and if this fails it stays black. Unfortunately, in some cases these are not replaceable, depends on the make and the age of the machine. To check this, switch on and then either shine a powerful torch onto your screen or take the laptop to a really bright window. If you can see a feint shadow of things on the screen then it's the screen itself and not the system. __________________ Buy a Hoover and prove technology sucks.

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09. Oct 2009, 10:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
Drongo Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 15	Beg or borrow or build a boot disk and start it with that if still no screen, your screen is likely dead. This assumes that when you press the start button you're still getting the green lights indicating it's on and hard drive activity has started etc. If you do not have a boot disk but you have an XP setup CD you can try booting with that and then shutting it off rather than going through the install. Also if you ever made an antivirus recovery cd, or one with an imaging program or partitioning program, you could boot with that to see if your screen works. If the screen is truly dead then you have to weigh the costs of replacing the screen (not hard at all if you're mechanically inclined although the screws are tiny) versus the cost of simply replacing the whole laptop.