JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum HELP ! - Killed By the Black Screen of Death

Hey Guys,

Here's the story....

Yesterday my son was using my computer, the one I do music on. He was on the internet, and working on a word document also.

In the background, my $#$&%! wife deecided he needed a printer ( which he didn't ) so proceeded to plug in an old moldy dust covered printer, into the printer port, power on while she fiddled at the back to connect it.

Next thing, the computer powers down, then tries to restart. It gets 5 seconds into reboot, beeps, then turns the monitor off, and won't go any further, No screen, no curser..... nothing. Yet the computer is running, just not doing anything.

I've unplugged the #%@$&^ printer, made a reboot disc from another PC ( XP SP2 ) but still no joy. I also removed and replaced it's battery, still no luck.

Please help ! All my finished material is on an external hard drive, but the current track I'm working on is the "JPF Internet Choir" thing, and I have 15 tracks of other folks work, all solidly locked away on it's hard drive.

Apart from divorcing the wife, can anyone help with any suggestions ? I'm about to loose the plot and throw it ( and the wife ) in the swimming pool.



cheers, niteshift

PS - I did get contrition and the promise of a nooky a day till it's fixed, so it's not all bad.....

what make and model is the laptop niteshift

Hey Roy,

It's not a laptop. It's a desktop/tower PC. Old one, Gateway, running XP.

cheers, niteshift

If the computer is still running, you should be able to hook up an external screen or a different laptop to it, and then access the drive from that.

Sounds like the screen has gone for a holiday. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, if that's the case, though.

when you first start and just before windows appears...

press the f8 key up and down a few times until another menu appears.

select sfae mode and see if that works.

if not

do agian and select last configuration that worked.


if not the I will talk you through another method.


Roy

Hey Magne,

No, it's not the screen. It won't boot.

cheers, niteshift

When you first power it up, does anything display on the screen? Do you see the bootup sequence, or the prompts telling you how to launch setup /bios? If nothing is displaying at all, but you can still hear your computer fans spinning, it sounds like it could be your graphic card... the beep usually indicates some kind of hardware failure. (ram, video card, power supply, etc).

If you have an add-on card, you might try pulling that out and using the onboard vga to see if you get a screen. If you only have the onboard, hmmm... might see if you could borrow a card from someone just to test.

Or, you might pull the card, then re-seat it. Maybe she knocked it loose when trying to plug in the printer.

Best of luck to you.

Thought ? Could I connect my laptop via USB, dignose and repair ?

cheers, niteshift

Thanks Tim ! No, nothing on the screen. When powering up, the monitor turns on, but black, then 5 seconds later, it shuts off to standby, no curser, no graphics, nothing.

cheers, niteshift

pull out the keyboard and mouse.

then take the side off the pc... if you can

then make sure the power to the pc is out.

release and pull out the big plug that goes to the motherboard
from the power supply.
It has a press clip at the side to release.

then wait 3 secs and put it back.

then the keyboard etc then try again

Roy

Ok Roy, I'll give it a shot.

cheers, niteshift

When this happened to my old PC we recovered most of the data by pulling out the hard drive out. Since you have internet access you will probably be able to find instructions on how to do it, its not usually that difficult. You can buy an enclosure to mount the hard drive in adn recover the data that way. It doesn't, unfortunately recover the programs...

also if the graphics is a card the move it back and forth in its slot to reassure connections and make sure its in the slot firmly

Roy

A couple of thoughts here.
Try a known good monitor.
If it's still a no go try a known good video card.

Hey Roy,

Nope, same deal. On start up, the monitor switches on, then goes to standby, I can also tell, it's just not booting, it's running, but not going through it's clicks and wrrrrrs through the start up process.

Thanks for all the suugs guys, I'll try anything at this stage.

Beer is looking like a very viable option.

cheers, niteshift

Niteshift has now got the sh^ts and is off to the mp3 board for some beer drinking and listening fun,

Stuff it. There's always tomorrow.

Any further suggs however, would be greatly appreciated,

cheers, nniteshift

Well, When all else fails Punt! I believe it is time to take it to a repair service. Your Computer may be cooked as the saying goes. A repair service may be able to save most of your files.

Couple things to try.
Regarding the monitor - if your monitor is shutting off, does the power light stay on? Does it stay green or go orange? Even without a computer on, you should be able hit the menu button on the monitor and see either your screen adjustment display or some kind of message telling you there is no signal detected. If you see those things, it's not the monitor. If you can't get anything at all to display on your monitor, I would definitely go with DakLander's advice and find a known good monitor to test it with.
I don't think it's your hard drive. If the computer hardware was working, and your hard drive had a problem, you'd get some kind of 'Boot Device not detected' or 'Drive 0' error on startup.... you'd be able to boot into the bios, or setup. You would at least see something, even if it didn't boot into your OS.
Roy's suggestion sounds good, too... to remove the graphic card and then re-seat it, just to make sure there is a solid connection. If it got bumped or is in at an angle, it would give no video signal and you'd probably get that beep that you described. If you don't have a card, and are just using the vga connection on the motherboard, it might be worth it to go out and buy a graphic card. If that doesn't end up solving the problem, you could always take it back. I have seen the on-board connections go out before, while everything else continued to work.
Best of luck and happy drinking.

Hey Ray,

Yep, it's not looking good. Hopefully the pro computer whizz's will be able to do their magic. As for the wife,......well, I'll let you know how it turns out.

cheers, niteshift

I had similar prob with an old tower. It turns out it had a bump and the card was knocked out of slot. unplugging power and checking all connections and cards are firmly in place might help. I would also try another monitor just to make sure that it is not the prob. Even if hard drive has gone you should get some error message or boot to bios.

Hey nite ..
I have no idea how to fix the problem.. but just wanted to tell you it happened to me .. i was devestated thinking i would lose everything because, of course, i did not have a backup drive ..
I took the computer to a local computer shop and he told me all was lost and nothing could be recovered but i was not ready to give up so i took it home with me a found another tech recommended by a friend , she claimed he was her computer genious. He Was!! HE SAVED ALL MY FILES!!!
I now have a backup drive .. but, my message .. don't give up ... it is not hopeless!
Good Luck
Joanne

Just wondering, is the printer port soldered into the motherboard or is it attached to a card that is inserted into the bus-bank on the M-board? If it is an inserted card, try powering everything down and removing it carefully while grounding yourself to prevent spark damage. Then carefully replace it until it firmly seats back into the slot. Also, if it is a card, does the monitor connection occur on that same device? That would be unusual, but you said it was an old Gateway.

Also, when powering up, I think you mentioned you get a black screen then nothing. During powerup, just prior to the black screen, try pressing the F8 or F9 key to see if a menu will appear. Sometimes you can try different menu options and be up and running again. Someone mentioned trying a different monitor just to see if it is a problem with the PC or with your monitor.

Finally, tell us which type & model printer your wife attempted to connect. (Serial vs. Parallel vs. USB, etc.)

I suspect your data is still in-tact. You said your op-sys was XP but is it XP Home or XP Pro? (Thank Goodness it's not Vista!)

I'll check back later to see if you've had the time or patience to answer. PCs can be a real pain when troubleshooting is involved but it's not Rocket Science.

If you have USB connections, (and I suspect you do if your machine uses XP) next time you are at a computer store of fancy office supply house, acquire a remote USB hard drive and back up your valuable stuff there. They are pretty cheap these days and most will allow you to transport the drive from one machine to another... especially if the same operating system is involved.

Good luck,

Dave

If you don't hear the hard drive hitting then it would be my guess the computer isn't booting.
The fans might be running but that's only one of the circuits.

If she was messing around with connections other than a USB or Firewire she should have unplugged the power first. It's possible she shorted the mother board or power supply.

but open up the computer and check everything around the printer port connection. Make sure everything is tightly connected. Sometimes those old pin type printer connections are hard to plug in and too much pressure could have pushed something loose.
Especially check the video graphics card. A bad or loose video card will prevent booting

I doubt the hard drive is fried. If the motherboard is toast you can plug the hard drive into another computer and retrieve the data. You will have to set it as a slave though. There are jumpers on the back of the hard drive for that. Just look at the diagram and reposition the jumper to slave.

Hi Nite,

What I want to know is, if you're going to get a nooky a day till it's fixed, what's the big rush?

Ricki

Thanks folks , still no success, so it's off to the computer store. Fingers crossed. Ricki, yes have thought of that one, but am getting worn out.

Thanks again everyone, for you suggs, I think it's time for a pro geek assesment, and I'll keeep you informed of the divorce proceedings.

cheers, niteshift

Good luck Nite! Yeah, our worst nightmare. Computer death, not divorce.

Best, John

Too true John ! I had a call out guy come around, and his response was "it's old, I can't fix it " What a croc !

I've now hauled it down to a proper repair shop. Maybe I should haul the wife to a repair shop too. I think the mind could do with a small "reset".

cheers, niteshift

hey Nite,

does your wife run on XP too
Mine runs on '95 ;DD

Kidding aside, there's always the removal of hard drives to save your data. I did that once.

My own wifey downloaded a set of cute emoticons last night. She was SO glad to have them, until I realised they screwed half our programs, LOL! 2 hours' work before I could get rid of those damn smiling things, they came from everywhere else at the same time, and kept coming back after I thought I annihilated them!
Termits give up more easily

Good luck and grab a beer (or 2)!

Yann

DON'T FIX IT! It's worth the do-over with any tracks on a new, hidden, secret computer you will quietly buy.

"Honey,,,,still can't fix it, and the tech that came here when you were out said he will get back to me about it. So, in the meantime......"

This was the easiest no-brainer solution ever!

HAVE FUN!!!

John
when trying to boot hit F8 and see if you can boot to safe mode. If you still get nothing the boot sector is corrupt .. don't fret, you data is still on the hard drive ok, I wish I lived close to you as I could get it all back for you. Worse case is the hard drive can be removed, popped into an external USB and plugged into a new computer with all you data as a slave ... you are welcome to email me dano4734@gmail.com and I can talk you through a few things

Dan

Johnny what i do suspect is you picked up a "root kit" virus
I suspect that more than a hard drive failure as these are common today and do exactly as you describe

Best of luck. You and Marc B can start a support group. Seriously, they can recover the files from the hard drive.

Tom

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the suggestions. ( Dan, thanks, I'll send you an email if I can't extract the files )

Well, the verdict is in......

The motherboard has been fried along with the memory. Being so old ( 10 yrs ) it's not worth repairing, so it's been suggested to remove the hard drive ( which has been done ) and extract the files through USB.

So...... have ordered a new Dell computer, which is on it's way, and perhaps it'll be all up and running by next week.

It sure looks quick. 3 Mhz procssor, 4 gig of RAM and 1 Tb of hard drive, ( plus a 24 inch screen ) so it may take awhile for an old geezer to get used to all the bells and whistles. Why do they have to be so quick ? Not much good for playing the blues, I reckon. I liked my old computer, and had it all set up the way I wanted. Now it's back to square one, reloading everything.

If I'm not around for a bit, I'll be sitting in the corner reading the installation manual, and cursing "modern technology" as it crashes and freezes the screen. Oh the joy !

cheers, niteshift

PS - Wifey has gone from the "oops, contrition, stage" to the "you'll thank me for making you get a better computer" stage. Geez, guess I'll be thanking her next......

Nite
That's what I figured it was. Sorry for the loss of the "Old and comfortable" computer but you will be amazed at what you can do with the new one.

The only issue might be compatibility with older programs you might be running and some drivers if you use outboard equipment. But more than likely everything will be fine.
I assume you will get Windows Seven.
If they don't send a complete set of recovery disks with the computer make sure you create the necessary recovery disks.
Many of the Manufacturers don't provide the Disks. They don't even provide the Windows Seven Disks. So be sure the first thing you do is create the restore disks because if it ever crashes you will be SOL.
My Brothers, My daughter and my Granddaughter all bought new computers that did not have the disks and both my brothers had crashes and no restore disks.

Of course if they provide the disks don't worry about it.

"If I'm not around for a bit, I'll be sitting in the corner reading the installation manual, and cursing "modern technology" as it crashes and freezes the screen. Oh the joy ! " - Nite

So.. slap a few people around, kick your dog, break a few odds & ends, give your neighbor the finger, then when the dust settles you'll be a happy camper.

It's been a pleasure for me working with a fast computer. Now you'll be able to purchase those humongous sample packages without worrying whether your computer can handle it.

Best, John

Hey Bill,

Yessiree, I made sure I ordered the Windows 7 DVD ROM boot disc, along with the computer. It cost me a whole $2.20 extra, but I reckon it will one day be the best investment ever. Why isn't it free ? Beats me, but I'm SURE I'll need it as some stage.

Hey John, yeah, you may be right. I could only run maybe 30 tracks with live effects on the old computer before it started to freeze up. Also I had to be careful when editing during playback, as it sometimes frooze. Yep, I'm now set to be an advanced button pusher, which just means "can run more sh*t and make more noise than before."

cheers, niteshift

Nite
It's a oood thing you even knew to order it. Many folks don't have a clue.
A lot of computers are sold without the buyer being told they will need the disks. The information is in the packaging and on the computer but if you don't read it you don't have a clue.
When my daughter told me she bought a new Laptop I told her to make sure she put her system disks in a safe place.
She said she didn't get any disks. I asked her how she was supposed to reboot the computer if it ever crashed or got hit by a virus? Her answer was, Of course, I don't know. What do you mean?.

I told her then to read her documentation and look for the instructions to create a restore disk. It is there. It even told her how many CD-R's she would need or how many DVD-R's she would need.
A lot of folks never do this and end up with a computer without an operating system.

Once you get over the shock of a new PC and its foibles you will be glad of the extra speed and storage space. I would suggest two things to add to your investment......an external HARD DRIVE which you should use to backup all your files etc just in case.....And a ghost image program which will let you transfer everything WITH ONE CLICK including programs setup and settings to a different PC.

Hey Bill,

Yes you're right on the "no disc" thing. Just bought my son a new laptop a couple of weeks ago ( I'm using it now ) No discs, and no way to reboot. It's pre loaded, and went through setup upon opening it, but where are the discs should it fail ?

It's legit Windows, but how does that help if it fails ? Have I misssed something here ? Perhaps I've been super ceded.

Hey Jim, yep, check on the external hard drive. I've always done that, but only once the song is finished, so I only have one song loaded, work on it, then send it to the external hard drive along with all the raw data, when it's completed.

Problem here was, I've got 15 tracks of other folks vocal takes loaded, without backup. I can extract them onto the new system, so that should be Ok.

Can you explain the "ghost image" more ? I have a new PC arriving, and a 1 Tb external hard drive also, so that shouldn't be a problem. How long does the data transfer take ? Thanks.

cheers, niteshift

Nite
If you bought a new Laptop and there are no disks look in the documentation that came with it. Or the help files. Maybe the setup section.
Somewhere there will be instructions on creating a set of recovery disks.
I wonder how many people are using their PC's and Laptops without knowing this.

I checked with my brother. He had a friend set up his recovery disks and he did it wrong or he is missing the first disk of five. He cannot reboot the PC without buying a new operating system and then he will have to go through the hassle of finding the drivers for the onboard items. Like the ATI multimedia drivers.
I had a crash on my E-Machine and had the recovery disks. I was able to use them to set up again. And they are specific to each machine. ATI drivers, etc.


BIG JIM How you feeling? Better I hope.

Congratulations as well as condolences, Nite:

Sorry the old klunker bombed-out on you but I believe you'll love the blinding speed and much imroved operating system. Thank God you did not get Microsoft's previous op sys version.

Keep us posted when convenient about file recovery plus things you like and dislike about the New Dell. I'll pass your feedback on to my son-in-law who works there.

Regards,

Dave

Hey Bill,

It has the Windows code, on a sticker, on the bottom of the laptop, but what good is that without a reboot disc ?

Am I missing something ?

cheers, niteshift

PS - yep, hope that blast of cold air up your kilt did you some good Big Jim.

Thanks Dave,

Will keep you posted and if I have any problems, I know youngster will get his ass kicked by Dad.

What a great community. I know most of us are a bit long in the tooth, but I'll take experience over youthfull ineptitude any day.

cheers ( real ones now ) niteshift

Nite
I think you are definitely missing something. I am sure you MUST create restore disks.
Try this link

http://www.dkszone.net/create-system-recovery-disc-disk-dell-pc-laptop-notebooks-windows-7

I don't understand why the manufacturers don't post it in big red letters on the top of the Laptop.

If you don't have a set of recovery disks or a recovery file on a USB flash you will have to order a set from the manufacturer. If you have to order one be sure to do it before they stop supporting that particular model.

You'd think they'd get shorter with age...never understood that...

Or no teeth at all

Hi Nite there are several progs that backup your PC and Norton Ghost is just one.....it is prob rated the best.

http://uk.norton.com/ghost/

it continually backs everything up including restore points etc and creates a ghost image of your PC contents on an external hard drive. This is not just files and data it is all your O/S plus installed programs and setting etc etc etc. So if your PC crashes and burns you can just install the ghost to restore a new PC to exactly the same as your old one. Saves hassle installing all those progs and adjusting personal settings. It is also great if you upgrade as most upgrades take you back to square one with having to reinstall everything WHICH is one of the MAIN reasons folk hesitate to buy a new PC....hate the hassle of reinstalling everything. Ghost does it all for you. I would recommend it to everybody......it is like insurance... a pain if you never use it...but a godsend if you do.

Re backup of projects.....I use Cubase and each action is stored automatically as a cubase file so any song can be resurrected at any stage if the thing crashes. I save the cubase file often and store a copy on a separate file in my external...just in case.

Thanks guys for asking about my health....I am still here...LOL but things are not much much better......I have medicine that stops the giddiness and headaches but feel they treat the symptoms only....not the illness. I am due a visit to the eye specialist soon and funnily enough am looking forward to my cataract op....it might help. I had something similar happen a few years ago with the headaches and dizziness etc and it took ages to go away it was thought to be an inner ear virus. It affected balance etc and "just had to run its course" so the docs said. Thankfully all the really serious things that cause my symptoms have been ruled out.

Hey Jim,

Perhaps you and Mike C can form the "Wobbly Musicians Support Group" ? Sorry to jest, but sometimes humour can alleviate the damn drudgery of chronic illness. Hope you get better soon.

Yes, I totally agree on the external hard drive thing. I've always had one, but only use it for completed work. This time, I will do as you suggest, and back up work in progress which is already loaded onto the PC.

I just can't believe that it crashed when I'm working on a song which has 15 tracks of OTHER peoples vocal takes. Is there a conspiracy ? Do the music gods consider this track unworthwhile and unlistenable ? It's just Murphy's Law magnified.

Anyways, working on a 24 inch screen will be a bit of fun, lots of room to romp around playing 'producers' and being able to see all the toys running at once.

cheers, niteshift

PS - perhaps I should get 2 screens just for the effect. It would impress people and make me look "professional".

I had two monitors at one time. I just made twice as many mistakes.

Big Jim.
Inner ear infections can usually be treated with antibiotics.
One trick I learned is you can relieve some of the symptoms with Benadryl. It dries you up, taking the fluid build up off the inner ear.
I get inner ear pressure once in a while and it messes with my balance and causes dizziness. I have had the problem since my early 20's. The benadryl helps. Makes you sleepy though.