PC screen blank -advice please!

[srisky]

Our Dell PC is about 7y old and this morning when I turned it on the screen remained blank. The power light on the screen is on and green. The hard drive fires up and it attempts to access the CD ROM that's in the drive but then gives up, although I can still hear the fan whirring. The lights on the attached external memory sticks/drives are lit.

I'm no computer expert (as you can prob tell from above) but it doesn't sound good. Any one have any advice on what to do next or can recommend someone who fixes these things?

Thanks

Btw, I've tried turning it on and off and shouting at it but to no avail :(

[Loz]

Check the lead running from the monitor to the computer - if that is loose you will get a blank screen.

[srisky]

Thanks Loz - I should have been clearer, the screen wasn't black (as it would be if off) but grey lit and blank.

Anyway, after repeatedly turning it on and off it's working again!! Although, advice is still welcome as something was/is not right...

[right-clicking]

Hello Have you tried a different monitor or cable? Inspect the cable and pins (15 of them ) any bent? , make sure the cable is fully screwed down. Have your tried booting in safe mode? Have you recently changed any hardware? or moved it around? Have you opened the box and checked that the RAM chips are seated properly? Is the fan on the CPU on tight? Have you tried booting from the installation cd? Yes lots of questions and lots of possible causes!! Hope this helps Be lucky!!

[Undisputedtruth]

srisky Wrote:

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> hard drive fires up and it attempts to access the

> CD ROM that's in the drive but then gives up,

Good information. The system is looking for windows hence the blank screen. Are you able to access the BIOS screen?

[srisky]

Ah, you all sound very clever, but no idea about half the stuff you said!

Right click - didn't check the cables, partly because I haven't moved any of the hardware for several months and partly because the screen was on (implying the connections were fine) but blank. Did attempt booting in the safe mode but very tricky when the screen remained blank!

Undisputedtruth - no idea how to access the BIOS screen but, again, it would be tricky if that involves seeing anything on the screen. I'm going to google BIOS screen so I know for next time!

The only thing I can think of that may have helped resolve the problem is removing the CD-R. I'm not sure why that would have caused a problem in the first place, as all it contains are some photos. The CD had been in the drive for several weeks and the computer worked fine.

[Undisputedtruth]

@srisky,

Your computer manual should have details on how to access BIOS and preferably use a keyboard with a PS/2 connection as USB ones tends to be unreliable.

Do you hear beeps when you boot the system?

If you can't see the BIOS screen then I suggest calling someone in to have a look at your system.

Edited to add: Also stick your installation disk in your cd/dvd drive to see if your system would boot fromit.

[the-e-dealer]

If a virus or malware or even a faulty file (corrupt) are present on the CD then this could cause your computer to hang. Best to set your default boot device to hard drive as a precaution against this.

[srisky]

Ok, so last night all seemed well.

However, this morning when I turned the comp on I had the following message:

'windows could not to start because the following file is missing or corrupt: windows/system/config/system.

You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the original setup CDROM.

Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.'

So I do just that and setup loads various files and drives.

However, when I press 'r' I get the following message:

'the recovery console provides system repair and recovery functionality.

Type EXIT to quit recovery console and restart comp'

If I do that, I end up back to missing/corrupt file message.

If I don't press 'r' but go to windows setup then the options I get are to:

Set up windows xp (which apparently I can't due to the lack of space)

Create a partition in the unpartioned space

Delete selected partition

Creating/deleting partitions will prob result in loss of everything on our C: drive. Although most things are backed up, it seems a bit drastic and irreversible.

Any ideas??

[the-e-dealer]

there are a few commands you can run from the recovery console

try

fixmbr.

If everything important is backed up it might be quicker/ easier just to reinstall windows.

You can install it in a new directory and therefore preserve any existing files if you first make space.

You will be able to access the drive (and make space) by plugging it into another PC with a USB adaptor.

[Undisputedtruth]

srisky Wrote:

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> Ok, so last night all seemed well.

I didn't understand what you're saying. Did the the system work last night?

[srisky]

Yes, it worked fine last night and the onlh thing I did differently was to remove a cdr with photos from the drive and rebooted. No new hardware/software had been installed since.

[the-e-dealer]

So something has messed up your Windows install. This could be a Virus /Malware on the CD you had trouble with. Something Like Norton System Tools Might Help. Or As I already said might be quicker to reinstall.

[Undisputedtruth]

It sound as though your current hard drive could well be faulty.

Okay, boot the system again using the Operating System disk in the CD/DVD drive. Once done, back up any data you wish to keep assuming you're able to access them. Next conduct a clean installation of windows. If the problem persists then buy yourself a new drive.

[right-clicking]

Once up and running bring up the command prompt type in chkdsk or if you prefer right click on the system drive in my computer ©drive then properties then tools, check now 2 options automatically fix or scan and attempt recovery of bad sectors. try the auto option 1st it will give you an idea if your drive is sick or not

[HAL9000]

Best guess - symptoms of a failing hard disk: as UDT recommends, boot from a CD (if you can) and back up your data ASAP.

[the-e-dealer]

How old is the Hard disk?

[Undisputedtruth]

You will find the answer in the poster's very first sentence on this thread.

[srisky]

Thanks all for taking time to post advice - it's much appreciated. I think I'm starting to reach the very limit of my 'expertise' and now entering dodgy territory. So time to call in an expert to have look at it. Once it's fixed (fingers crossed) I shall report back for anyone who's interested.

P.s yes, the hard drive is 7y old

[the-e-dealer]

Ok thats old enough to start dieing!

[the-e-dealer]

Undisputedtruth Wrote:

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> You will find the answer in the poster's very

> first sentence on this thread.

No it it is quite easy to replace or upgrade the hard drive. It could be 1 month old. It could even be from a previous machine.

[Undisputedtruth]

Perhaps, but unlikely in the cae of srisky bearing in mind his lack of computer expertise.

Anyway, srisky has made a decision on what's best for him. It's a shame really as it's probably cheaper to buy a new hard drive to see whether that would fix the problem.

[the-e-dealer]

But srisky may have already got someone else to replace his/her hard drive. Agree Much cheaper. But the box is 7 years old I always expect pcs to last 6 years before replacement. But Another Hard drive and bit of memory might give another 2 years of life.

[Undisputedtruth]

srisk's pc had a long life and do agree a new drive and ram will further extend its life. However, with Windows 8 due in this Autumn then at some point Microsoft will cease support for his, I think, XP operating system.

[right-clicking]

Microsoft have extended their support on XP until April 2014, Mainstream system builders are notorious for only providing enough resources to meet the current O/S's Minimum system requirements. Finding the right RAM modules might be a bit of a chore, but I did see an xp tower for sale on this forum (yesterday for a tenner!! here is a link to a m/s site to check your end of cycle date

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/