Windows PC - black screen with white dash

[srisky]

Advice needed or recommendation for someone who can help...

...downloaded the sonos software yesterday. When trying to access music folder for the sonos library update I kept getting the message along the lines of: computer [name] will not allow access. Ended up trying all sorts of things including right clicking music folder to share with sonos; checked firewall but didn't change.

Yesterday evening I turned the computer off, I can't remember if I fully shut down or not (usually I do the former but have had to force shut down in the past).

Now, if I turn on the computer I get a black screen with a white horizontal cursor/line in the top left hand corner. Holding F8 or F12 doesn't work; disconnected everything; unplugged and held power button down to drain but nothing has worked.

Any suggestions what else I can try? I am not expert enough to take apart the hard drive etc.

Thanks!

[rendelharris]

It would be nice if it was this simple: instead of holding down F8 or F10 keeping on pressing them repeatedly during startup instead (try one then the other) should get you into setup mode. It used to be that holding them down was the thing, but for some reason now it seems repeated presses are needed. Good luck!

[DulwichFox]

As a Start, try removing any USB devices you may have connected.

Remove if you can any Disks you have in your CD Drive.

DulwichFox

[ianr]

Rubbish deleted.

[srisky]

Thanks both - have done these but with no luck

[Loz]

.

[ianr]

I seriously doubt that none of the prescribed buttons (there can be system variations: have you tried eg F4? What machine and OS are you using?), for accessing startup or boot management will function. What you're describing sounds to me like an interrupted attempt to boot. It sometimes happens to me when I've left a second system disk externally attached to the system, which the BIOS then grasps at as the device to boot from. In your case I'm wondering if one of your optical drives still has a disc in it that's causing the trouble. Or possibly the "the sonos software", whatever that is, has commandeered the boot process for its installation, with maybe a virtual drive installed somewhere?

Do you have no recovery disk? Another possibility is that your boot sector has got corrupted and needs resetting.

[Inbound]

I would also try resetting the bios, remove the battery or if the motherboard has jumpers use them. If you can get to bios check that it is set to boot 1st from your primary © drive.

With all PC problems, it is a case of prooving items work rather than looking for things that do not!!

[srisky]

Thanks all - pressing the function keys doesn't lead anywhere and so I am unable to reset anything. Have ended up taking the hard drive for recovery of data +/- repair.

[JohnL]

Could you boot from a USB drive (oh for the old boot floppy I carried everywhere - virus checked too it was)

or is it trying to do same :)

[JohnL]

on a google (remembering the Master Boot Record getting corrupt in XP) could be something in this link (all windows) - anyway you have to boot from a rescue disk or a Windows disk

https://neosmart.net/wiki/fix-mbr/

[Sue]

You have my sincere sympathies (I realise that won't help).

I have spent all day trying to get my laptop sorted since a Windows 10 update yesterday sent it haywire, and then John Lewis technical experts (hollow laugh) finished the job by walking me through what turned out to be a factory reset instead of a system restore, despite my frequent queries as to whether they were absolutely sure that this was going to take it back to where it was at 9am yesterday.

They assured me it would and that all my saved passwords etc would still be there (another hollow laugh).

They are giving me twenty pounds compensation, which hardly compensates for the nightmare day I have had (still ongoing). At least I keep clues to all my many passwords on a spreadsheet, GRRRRRRRRR.

[srisky]

Thanks all - we have decided at approx. 10y old it's time to upgrade.

Sue - I completely empathise!

[Loz]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> At least I keep clues to all my many passwords on a spreadsheet,

> GRRRRRRRRR.

Being Captain Hindsight here Sue, but try keeping password in a password manager. I use Keepass and hold the encrypted file on my OneDrive/GoogleDrive. But there is also Lastpass, which is completely cloud based (so all your passwords are held on their servers).

At least when the worst happens with your computer, your passwords are safe.

[se22cat]

Sounds like you are best off using a Linux Live CD or bootable USB drive to recover your files and reformat in all honesty. Pretty easy to do.

[Sue]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > At least I keep clues to all my many passwords

> on a spreadsheet,

> > GRRRRRRRRR.

>

> Being Captain Hindsight here Sue, but try keeping

> password in a password manager. I use Keepass and

> hold the encrypted file on my

> OneDrive/GoogleDrive. But there is also Lastpass,

> which is completely cloud based (so all your

> passwords are held on their servers).

>

> At least when the worst happens with your

> computer, your passwords are safe.

Would the passwords be miraculously saved in their relevant places after a factory reset, which is what the effing stupid woman did instead of a system restore?

I've had to put them all back in manually, one by one grrrrrr.

[Sue]

Sorry posted twice by mistake.

[JohnL]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> You have my sincere sympathies (I realise that

> won't help).

>

> I have spent all day trying to get my laptop

> sorted since a Windows 10 update yesterday sent it

> haywire, and then John Lewis technical experts

> (hollow laugh) finished the job by walking me

> through what turned out to be a factory reset

> instead of a system restore, despite my frequent

> queries as to whether they were absolutely sure

> that this was going to take it back to where it

> was at 9am yesterday.

>

> They assured me it would and that all my saved

> passwords etc would still be there (another hollow

> laugh).

>

> They are giving me twenty pounds compensation,

> which hardly compensates for the nightmare day I

> have had (still ongoing). At least I keep clues

> to all my many passwords on a spreadsheet,

> GRRRRRRRRR.

complain to @johnlewis - it's some guy in the states - he might be better than @johnlewisretail.

[Loz]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Would the passwords be miraculously saved in their

> relevant places after a factory reset, which is

> what the effing stupid woman did instead of a

> system restore?

Not as such, but they both have hotkeys that automatically pass the login and password to the browser (or whatever).

Besides, the browser password save system is notoriously insecure - you shouldn't use it for any passwords for important/financial stuff.

[JohnL]

Yes - I use password safe. Useful and backed up to USB.

I clear out my browser etc. regularly (not that I've got much to hide)

[Sue]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Besides, the browser password save system is

> notoriously insecure - you shouldn't use it for

> any passwords for important/financial stuff.

You wouldn't be able to for financial sites I think, even if you wanted to, because they ask for random characters from the password rather than the whole password.