PC gone black???

danmon_81

danmon_81

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Instead of messing round trying to search on google i thought i'd try here:

My PC has stopped loading up...it starts fine gets past windows logo and freezes on a black screen.
I've started in safe mode and ran a virus scan with nothing showing
I've also restored to last save point a few hours ago.....No luck

Any ideas?

The last time it was on it had froze and the screen had gone purple-ish.
A graphics issue??

any help would be great.....tech team powers unite!!

cheers

Dan
 
XP, Vista, 7?

if it boots fine into safe mode my first port of call would be hardware/driver related as safe mode loads a restricted set of drivers.

have you updated any recently? do you update them via windows update?
 
Video driver or more likely video card would be my guess if it runs in VGA but not full resolution.
 
All of above. Also most pc's come with on board graphics as well as a graphics card. So to rule out the graphics card as the problem, open up the pc, remove the graphics card, then plug monitor into the motherboards digital/vga connector (this is the on-board graphics).

If you are not comfortable messing around inside your computer-then I'd suggest asking someone with experience to take a look at it.

If your computer is windows 7-there is another option.

Get your windows 7 DVD. Put it in your drive and boot up. You may need to go into your bios settings to set your cd drive as the first boot device. When your computer starts to boot from the cd-it will ask you if you want to install windows. Obviously you dont, but under the install option is "repair your computer". Select this, then select your hard drive that has windows on it. The cd will then examine the drive and fix any errors. This has got me out of lots of weird problems in the past.

Hope this helps.
 
Its vista...there was a recent windows update (which i dont often run unless it does it automatically)...I've restore it to the last point.
I'm going to run it in safe networking mode and update graphics drivers see if that helps.

cheers Matt...only problem is its a dell and i dont have a windows vista disk...may have a boot disk somewhere tho.
 
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pity-vista is crap! I wouldnt bother with the dell disk-unless they have changed in the last couple of years, dell discs used to just restore your computer to how it was "straight out of the box". So they would delete all your personal files!
 
partyof5 said:
pity-vista is crap!
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oh dear, here we go again.. :nono:

I wouldnt bother with the dell disk-unless they have changed in the last couple of years, dell discs used to just restore your computer to how it was "straight out of the box". So they would delete all your personal files!
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depends.. some come with OEM windows disks, others just come with a driver disk. should be clear from the face of the disk what it is, theyre usually well labelled.
 
danmon_81 said:
Think i'll be upgrading in the next 6 months...its running a bit slow.
Click to expand...

what spec is it?

If i haven't installed the windows current update could that have affected it?
im always dubious about the updates, some are fine some are worthless and slow things down.
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doubt it, id put money on it being hardware (physical or driver) related than windows update related (unless WI updated the driver, personally dont let it update drivers).

cant say ive had too much bother with updates, generally theyre security fixes these days so its a good idea to get them done.
 
neil_g said:
oh dear, here we go again.. :nono:

eh? whats your problem?



depends.. some come with OEM windows disks, others just come with a driver disk. should be clear from the face of the disk what it is, theyre usually well labelled.
Click to expand...

good one- might be worth looking into, as it does sound more of a graphics issue.
 
neil_g said:
no problem, just fed up of needless vista bashing.
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ok fair nuf. I used to be in charge of installing and maintaining vista on 500+ machines, so I have experience of its problems-so wasnt a flippant comment I assure you.

As much as I hate to say it about a microsoft product-Windows 7 is actually pretty good! It still has a few issues, far from perfect, but has to be the best windows yet.
 
As suggested in post #5 above... does your motherboard have built in graphics? There will be a monitor connection port along with the other sockets on the back if it does.

If it does, remove the existing graphics card and connect the monitor to the on board. You may need to go into the bios and enable the on board graphics.

If no on board option can you borrow a graphics card from someone?
 
RobertP said:
As suggested in post #5 above... does your motherboard have built in graphics? There will be a monitor connection port along with the other sockets on the back if it does.

If it does, remove the existing graphics card and connect the monitor to the on board. You may need to go into the bios and enable the on board graphics.

If no on board option can you borrow a graphics card from someone?
Click to expand...

Aye, graphics problem gets my vote too.
 
did you uninstall the graphics driver or just load a new one over the top?

try uninstalling first. also the reseat of the graphics card may help, it may have come slightly disconnected.

also does the card have a power connector? if so what is the card and what PSU do you have?
 
Boot up beep codes in linky
 
As Neil says just putting the graphics card back in might make it work if the connections were the problem.

If it doesn't work still and with nothing to lose, and the possibility that it is a dry solder joint on the card, you could try cooking it
 
once is usually normal, means its posted (i.e completed checks and is ready to load from a boot devices such as a hard disk or CD)

if it was but its now not beeping but its trying to load windows thats a bit odd
 
Edit:

Too late to the party. :lol: Didn't read thread fully.
 
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What I originally posted would only apply if you didn't know it's the graphics card - which it seems to be. Although, try using recdisc.exe to create a system repair disc. Type it in a cmd prompt, depending on the version of Vista you have it should prompt you to create a system repair disc which can be used to enter the advanced boot options.

Try cooking the card as suggested earlier - sounds like a good trick for fixing solder issues.
 
gonna have to leave it for now...is getting on my nerves....cheers so far everyone!! anything more advise would be great and get me back to work!!!

ps the graphics card isn't showing up anymore in the device manager...its showing Nvidia GEforce 8300GS which i assume is the MOBO graphics

looks like a new card...anyway of knowing before i go buy one?
 
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Presume by "loaded up" your PC works using the mobo graphics?

If so,what do you need to use the PC for that requires a new graphics card?
 
it does work fully with the mobo graphics card...tbh its not the greatest, it almost looks like safe mode quality...

running PS4 and editing photos wont be the same its also a lot more sluggish, just not the same!

Any ideas why it might have 'gone' in the 1st place? Donyt want to get a new card and it happen again! The fan was very dusty when i took it out.

I've looked at something like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005TOP2EQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A32H7K3SSVI1B

there's so much choice out there...also do i need to consider the PSU? if im right its on 300w, which does sound like a lot? i could run a new card with a power supply lead?
 
Any ideas why it might have 'gone' in the 1st place?
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Most broken electronics just need cleaning - which includes re-soldering joints.
 
Clean any dust of first, then try it. It shouldn't do any damage to the card - which can usually withstand higher temperatures than 200C, but it will melt and reflow the solder. If you've got to replace the card anyway, you've got nothing to lose anyway.
 
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