Blue and then Black screen of death!

Vista 32, upgraded, a HP Pavilion Slimline. May have been a bit slow in shutdown and locked up in desktop screen. I pulled the plug to shut off. I later restarted and got a blue screen with no response to keystrokes. I found in win 95 or 98 days that if you leave a blue screen on long enough the starting screen may become up.

In this case on restart I got a black screen with nothing happening. I tried a basic downloaded boot disk. No response on several tries. No way to determine what the specific problem is except that whatever procedures are listed here tend to assume there will be a response to a proper type of disk. Quite a few disk developers recovery say they can boot whatever you have. Norton, which works closely with Win has a utility to beat open a non-responding computer. However something must be able to find the stopping point and with a dead screen I don't know what type or whose disk to use.

So which recovery path do I take first?

Welcome
Start here:
Create a recovery disc using another computer.
If you create a recovery DVD, you may be able to boot to recovery options
Create Recovery DVD.
Hard Disc Controller must be set to IDE in BIOS and Bios must be set to boot from the CD Boot Priority - Change

The Vista recovery disk is used to boot Vista when it won't boot - to run Startup Repair, System Restore, access a Command Line, Recover using a Vista Backup Image, etc.
System Recovery Options. Choose an option tht will not cause you to lose your stuff.

If Vista will not start now, boot the Recovery CD to run Startup Repair which automates System Restore as well as numerous other tests including System File Checker which can repair system files which are not corrupted beyond repair.

If Vista still will not start, try booting into Safe Mode to run sfc /scannow to repair System files.
Special Thanks Given to Seven Forums.




Below is a bulletin distributed by MS to explain the start up procedure when Windows will not boot.

• Startup Repair. Startup Repair is a Windows recovery tool that can fix certain problems, such as missing or damaged system files, that might prevent Windows from starting. Startup Repair is located on the System Recovery Options menu, which is on the Windows Vista installation disc. If your computer has preinstalled recovery options, it might also be stored on your computer's hard disk. For more information, see Startup Repair: frequently asked questions and What are the system recovery options in Windows Vista? If your computer does not include Startup Repair, your computer manufacturer might have customized or replaced the tool. Check the information that came with your computer or go to the manufacturer's website.
• Change restart settings in safe mode. If your computer is stuck in a loop where Windows fails, attempts to restart, and then fails again repeatedly, restart your computer in safe mode and select the Disable automatic restart on system failure checkbox. For more information, see Advanced startup options (including safe mode).
• Reinstall. If no other options have solved the problem, and you are sure that your computer's hardware is functioning normally, you might need to reinstall Windows. A custom (clean) installation of Windows will permanently delete all of the files on your computer and reinstall Windows, so only use this option if all other recovery options have been unsuccessful. After the installation, you will need to reinstall your programs and restore your files from backup copies. For more information, see Installing and reinstalling Windows**.

OK. Will look into this procedure but all my computicators are XP, Win 7 64 bit, or win 7 64 bit converted to Ubuntu. No way to make a Vista 32 disk. I will contact HP and as I have three of their computicators maybe they'll give me a hus and slip me a generic disc to beat open the screen for the Slimline I have.

I note That my 11.3" screen HP isn't able to produce the three disc maintenance set at all after several attempts but they do sell the set for $30. Hmmm....Back later.

This Forum is for Vista problems. If you have Seven, you may want to try this other great Forum

Windows 7 Forums

It is a Vista problem but am unable to use a second computeer to produce disks as they all have other operating systems. I may be able to get a disk set from HP and there is an outfit called sportmau which claims to be able to start any blue or black screen probem. Back later - likely much later,