computer help

[RKnarr01]

My computer wont fully load windows most of the time when i finally do get it to start up it flashes and goes to a black screen and i cant see nothing then when i go to restart it 99% of the time it wont load windows and doesnt allow me to access anything it just shows me my dell symbol and loads half way then stops anyone have any idea? My luck with computers lately is terrible

[Tulsa]

Press the F8 key when first loading. This will halt the load process and allow you to choose to load it up in safe mode. First see if you can do this before trying anything else.

[RKnarr01]

ive loaded it in safe mode and the same thing happens i get booted to a plain black screen. What gets me is i paid 1500 for this laptop 15 months ago and 3 months after my 12 month warrant and they try getting 700 out of me. 400 for a motherboard and 300 for a harddrive. next time ill go to IBM. so far ive been online now about 20 mins and havent gotten booted off of the comp so me me slapping the computer around my room has fixed the problem

[ssdcinc]

RKnarr01,

it could be many things, 1st off what OS are you using WINXP ?
..if so one of the first things try to to do a "boot from last known
configuration", this can be accessed by holding down the F8
key before windows boots, then selectng it from the menu.

If this doesnt help (and it usually doesnt, but you got nothing to
lose by trying it), you can try booting in safe mode, same as above
but "select Safe Mode" from menu.

Its Possible that you got one of the many many Virus, worms etc...
or as normal for WINDOWS O.S's it just got corrupted and a
reinstall usually fixes this.

...if you do get the computer back up and running, here's something
to try to see if any SPYWARE etc is running inthe background.

from the start-menu, select RUN and type (in the text box)
MSCONFIG, then select the startup tab, take a look at
some of the stuff it lists, look for things that are out of place
(ie: things like "nslo.exe") look at both the name and the location
(you problery have to expand the columns by dragging the column maker)
a little ****hing and you can usually find things that are not correct)

if you do find things uncheck them ad restart the computer,
most case this will solve alot of popup, slowdown problems.

good luck
sorry for the long message, alot to cover

[quote=My computer wont fully load windows most of the time when i finally do get it to start up it flashes and goes to a black screen and i cant see nothing then when i go to restart it 99% of the time it wont load windows and doesnt allow me to access anything it just shows me my dell symbol and loads half way then stops anyone have any idea? My luck with computers lately is terrible [/quote]

[RKnarr01]

thanks for the help guys this thing is driving me crazy ive spent numerous hours on tech support with dell and all they say is well send us $400 for a mother board and that should fix it and if thats not it most likely its the hard drive for $300

[coldluck]

whenever someone asks me to fix a misbehaving computer like yours, I ask them to save whatever is important to them and than I just do a reformat and do a clean install. 95 % of the time (no make that 98 %) that fixes all the problems. you should have the means to do a full restore, either the disks or more likely a partitioned harddrive with a image locked in.look at your manual if you have one or check your menue. you could also try the xp restore function, quit often if you go back a few months it can fix things but iI imagin the techs had you try that option. your best to wipe the drive.

somtimes computers make you want to

[RKnarr01]

how would i format it? Also then do i just insert the disk with the OS after the re format?

[coldluck]

I looked back and see you have a dell, 15 months old. not being sure how many disks you have you do mention at least one...try to boot up than insert the disk and restart, from there you can follow your nose just read carfully your options and push your choices slowly! you should see options to format and do a clean install. somtimes a option to save certain files and documents will be offered. good luck

[luckydog]

When I got my new HP i made up the 8 cd recovery set of cd's.

I've been lucky I haven't had to use them in the last 2 years.

[SteveFoxUK]

What sort of Dell laptop is it - can you let me have the model number and I will search the Knowledgebase for you? Sometimes, if you start these laptops up, get a big DELL logo and the bar stops moving along BEFORE you get the the Windows XP loading screen it could be because the memory has come partially unseated inside. In some Dells this is accessed through a small panel in the bottom. Just unscrew it and make sure that the chip is properly seated in its connector underneath. (Make sure that your hands are clean and dry, the battery and mains cable have been removed and that you are away from static devices such as TVs etc.)

The other thing you could try is to remove this chip and run a pencil eraser along both sides of the gold connector to clean it up and remove oxides from it. Then seat the chip at a 45 degree angle back into the socket and click it back down into place. (Some laptops may have two chips instead of one inside!)

Let me know how you get on!

Cheers,

Foxy

[SteveFoxUK]

Funnily enough, Ive had a Dell Latitude on the bench today doing the same thing! Turned out to be a fault with the Hard Disk - it was Blue Screening in Windows for a tiny fraction of a second upon GUI startup and then resetting the machine back to the BIOS POST test. I ran a HDD regen to get the users data off and the drive failed completely on me about an hour later - had to swap the entire part out in the end. (Note: Apparently badly seated RAM chips CAN do the same thing!)

I hate computers, I need a career change.... how I long to be on a windswept moor with my hand up a cows backside. But enough about my private life..... (B'dum tishhhh!)

Cheers,

Foxy

[Sid]

Funnily enough, Ive had a Dell Latitude on the bench today doing the same thing! Turned out to be a fault with the Hard Disk - it was Blue Screening in Windows for a tiny fraction of a second upon GUI startup and then resetting the machine back to the BIOS POST test. I ran a HDD regen to get the users data off and the drive failed completely on me about an hour later - had to swap the entire part out in the end. (Note: Apparently badly seated RAM chips CAN do the same thing!)

I hate computers, I need a career change.... how I long to be on a windswept moor with my hand up a cows backside. But enough about my private life..... (B'dum tishhhh!)

Cheers,

Foxy

Interesting personel life you lead there Steve...

got to love your hobbies too..