Solved Vista not booting? Black screen/blinking cursor

jipcie

Member
My sons computer will not boot Vista 32-bit. I get the black screen and blinking cursor. It will not start in safe mode. It appears to show up in the BIOS. I inserted a recovery disk, but when I click on repair, no OS shows in the box. I clicked install (and stopped there) used the SHFT F10 option and pulled up the Command Promt. From there did the earliest system restore I could find. Restore was successful, rebooted....and still the black screen. I've tried so many things, that I don't even know where to begin. Please help! Thank you. I know a little about computers, but I am not a guru, so please try to ABC as much as possible.
 

My Computer

Hi jipcie,

Let us try few steps to isolate the issue:
1. Disconnect any external devices connected to the computer.
2. Go to system set-up and ensure that Hard Drive is selected as the first boot device and followed by CD/DVD drive.
3. Save changes and exit.
4. If issue persists, run the built-in diagnostics provided by the manufacturer on the computer to check if the hardware is working fine.

Based on the system model F2 or DEL keys should let you enter the system BIOS. Kindly let me know the system model to assist you better

Please post the results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
I apologize, the system is a Compaq. I checked to make sure the Hard Drive was selected first, followed by the CD/DVD drive. I am unable to find where to run the diagnostics.
 

My Computer

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