Windows not starting up/not showing on screen.

[KSoD]

Nope, this computer doesn't have an image partition that will bring it back to factory specs. I have to use the disc. But I don't know how to do that if the computer can't even boot back to the desktop.

Yep, her data's already been backed up, that's not an issue.

Boot using the disk. Put the disk in the machine, then restart it. The machine should boot to the DVD Automatically. You should see the option to "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD" pop up on screen. If you do not, then you will have to go into the BIOS, the Acer screen that pops up, and select the option to boot from the Optical Drive before the Hard Drive. Booting into Windows isnt even necessary to reinstall the OS.

Hey.

stupid question but it is possible that you are using a pirated version of windows? I have heard that microsoft blacks out the screen when windows has an invalid serial number or the software has not been activated after 30 days.

Not even a concern. The laptop is not booting. That has nothing at all to do with the black wallpaper and the "This version is not legit" message that comes up within the task bar. Microsoft doesnt "black out" Windows, it just changes the wallpaper to black.

 

[deathville]

Boot using the disk. Put the disk in the machine, then restart it. The machine should boot to the DVD Automatically. You should see the option to "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD" pop up on screen. If you do not, then you will have to go into the BIOS, the Acer screen that pops up, and select the option to boot from the Optical Drive before the Hard Drive. Booting into Windows isnt even necessary to reinstall the OS.

It still doesn't work. The "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD" does show up, and I do press a key, but then it starts to load Windows and then the exact same thing occurs. :/

 

[KSoD]

Then there is an issue with your video card. It will need to be replaced. Since it is a laptop, then you will most likely have to replace the mother board and all. Have the same issue with my wifes Dell Inspiron 1501. The video card died and nothing is displayed anymore. It shows for a second then nothing. Only way to fix it is replace the mobo.

 

[deathville]

Ahhh damn, I might as well get a new laptop then. Thanks for all your help everyone! I really appreciate it.

 

[alaa_ecv_tc]

OK .. so It is Vista .. right ?
It is taking too long to display the mouse pointer .
This problem happens in some cases :
1- There is not enough space in drive C to boot the system ..
2- There are some bad sectors in your HDD ..
3- over heat .. if the air going from the fan is cold so there is a cooling problem !

What you can try now :
- for the space :
Boot from any linux live cd or winPE or mini windows CD and delete files not needed .. such as temp , recent .. etc .. BUT DO NOT DELETE SYSTEM FILES ! be careful .. you don't want to make your problem unfixable
- For bad sector :
You need something like HDD Regenerator .. it is not for free ..
- for overheating :
Check the fan if it is behaving wierd like running always and no heat goes from the sidehole ! << this can be because system is sensing heat in CPU and the heat sink in not placed right on the CPU .

- There are some other reasons but they are not in my mind now !

 

[KSoD]

If he can't even get the Windows CD to boot, then it isn't the system taking to long to boot. Read his post in response to my first post. He clearly states that even when booting from a CD nothing shows on screen.

That would be a dead video card. As I said in my last post, I just went thru this with my wife's laptop.

 

[alaa_ecv_tc]

Well since there is a mouse pointer .. there is a normal resolution runned on screen ! .. it is hardly a dead video card ..
& In some cases if there is no space on any primary partition the Windows CD will boot a blank screen or just hang around at "Starting Windows.." screen ...

 

[KSoD]

That doesnt mean anything. Again I have the same issue with my wifes laptop. The same exact issue and it is a dead video card. It shows something for a few seconds then nothing will display but you can hear sounds. Heck I can still navigate the system and operate it using the keyboard, but I cant see nothing cause the video card is dead.

If the person cant get the system to boot to the Windows CD at all, there is an issue with the video device. There has nothing at all to do with the hard drive. I can remove all hard drives from my system and still boot to the Windows CD. It wont allow me to install or to do a boot repair, but I can still boot to it cause all it takes is RAM and a video card to boot a CD like that. Again something I have done personally.

Normal Resolution, which I have no idea what you mean by that, has no bearing at all on the situation. What is normal resolution anyways? There is a preferred resolution, but that varies by monitor. Such as my Westinghouse 22" has a preferred resolution of 1900x1200 but my 19" Samsung has a preferred resolution of 1280x1024. So there is no such thing as a normal resolution, cause it varies by device and by the type of monitor attached.

But having gone thru this just within the last 3 months I could be wrong. Having worked with Windows for 25+ years I could be wrong that you need a hard drive attached to boot. I have yet to experience it, but what do I know. I am giving my opinion on the matter. From my experience, it is a dead video card. Maybe I am wrong and hopefully I am. But I have never seen a time where you need a hard drive with free space to boot a Windows CD. I even have Windows PE and RE disks that can boot without even having a hard drive attached to my system.

Try using a Linux LiveCD. That will verify if it is a dead video card or not. It will have no bearing at all on the hard drive nor anything at all with the current setup. If it boots, then your system is just screwed and needs to be cleaned out using GParted.

 

[carnageX]

Try using a Linux LiveCD. That will verify if it is a dead video card or not. It will have no bearing at all on the hard drive nor anything at all with the current setup. If it boots, then your system is just screwed and needs to be cleaned out using GParted.

+1 to this. Was going to suggest a Linux LiveCD to verify.