HELP!! Black Screen after BIOS flash screen

Question

My dimension 4550 will boot up and load the BIOS screen (The dell logo) and then show a cursor for a second and then go black.  I called dell tech support and they told me it was my mother board.  However, the light on the motherboard is on so there is power to the mother board.  The LED's on the back of my dell are all green, and the fans' come on.  I took my harddrive out and hooked it up using an external case to another computer and it works fine.  So what could be the issue?  Could it be an BIOS issue?  Or cable problem? ANY IDEAS, i need to figure this out

denyboy · Answer

First try clearing the NVRAM.  By clearing the NVRAM the system will redetect all the installed hardware and thus insure there are no conflicts between that hardware and the newly installed BIOS version.  To clear the NVRAM just do this... Reboot system and enter the BIOS Setup by pressing F2.  Turn on Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and  Num Lock. Press ALT + E then ALT + F (should hear beep) then ALT + B

denyboy · Answer

Try clearing your NVRAM in the bios and see if that helps

zimmzimm · Answer

How do I go about doing that?

zimmzimm · Answer

I cleared the NVRAM like you said and still getting black screen.... Message Edited by zimmzimm on 06-28-200604:24 PM

RoHe · Answer

Boot the PC and press F12 before XP starts to load. Run all hardware diagnostics.

If everything passes, reboot and press F8 before XP starts to load. Select Safe Mode. If it boots, you have a software or driver problem to fix.

Ron

NemesisDB · Answer

does it actually completely the POST?  does the progress bar get all the way across the dell screen or does the screen just die?

zimmzimm · Answer

Yup, it actually loads the BIOS.  So the bar goes all the way across, then a cursor appears in the upper left corner of the screen for a few seconds, and then it goes black.  So I'm thinking it may be a HD issue, not a MOBO issue or a BIOS issue..

NemesisDB · Answer

easy enough to tell.  press F12 during the POST to access the boot menu. use a FreeDos boot CD or any other bootable CD and see if it loads.  If you can't boot to an alternative device, it sounds like a motherboard/bios problem.

zimmzimm · Answer

I actually can load the XP install CD, but didn't want to reinstall XP unless I had to so I stopped the process.   But it looks like I'll have to do an install after all.. Message Edited by zimmzimm on 06-29-200605:44 PM

NemesisDB · Answer

don't go through the install process but can the installer detect your HD?

zimmzimm · Answer

I know I can start the process, I'm not sure if it will see my HD...I was going to do a clean install I think it's called (doesn't mess with the apps and settings etc).  But for some reason I couldn't choose that option.    What do you suggest I do if i shouldn't re install XP?

NemesisDB · Answer

was going to suggest a repair install.  actually, I just wanted to know if your HD was being detected correctly

zimmzimm · Answer

I know my HD is being detected when I look at the system setup. But I'm not sure if that means for sure that the computer actually being detected. I did put my HD in an external enclosure and hooked it up to another computer with no problems. I could read everything off it.

My question is, why can't I do a repair install (where the apps, files, psswds, etc aren't deleted)? For some reason I'm not given that option.

Thanks for your help by the way.

RoHe · Answer

Are you pressing R at the first screen for "repair"? You should actually press Enter at that first screen. The Windows User license should appear and you press F8 to accept it. Then you should get the option to do repair/reinstall by pressing R on that screen.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1056993&l=en&langid=1&c=us&cs=19&s=dhs

Ron

NemesisDB · Answer

as far as I know the repair install should be an option if the setup detects that windows is already installed on the partition in question.

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HELP!! Black Screen after BIOS flash screen

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