Black screen with white cursor

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 5 Oct 2008 9:56 am

Every time I satrt my XP computer, I get a black screen with a flashing white cursor in the upper left corner. Sometimes I only have to restart the computer once, sometime 6 to 10 times to get Windows to start. What is causing this? I first started to notice it when I reinstalled XP and installed my Norton 360 software.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 8 Oct 2008 2:11 pm

Wiz, Jack or anyone have any idea what the problem is. It's a screen that looks just like the old command prompt screen from ths DOS days.

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 8 Oct 2008 4:06 pm

Richard:

I had a similar problem years ago and can't recall what I did to resolve it. Is it just a boot delay, or will it stall at that point forever some of the time?

I would take a gander at the BIOS to see if there are any settings that might even possibly be relevant. Anything that had to do with boot sequences, delays, timings, etc.

The fact that you recently installed Windows and Norton would imply that it probably isn't a hardware problem until proven otherwise.

Norton products are generally the Kiss of Death, so there is no telling in what way it might have infiltrated your machine and caused conflicts.

You can always update (flash) your BIOS, but that is a relatively drastic step not to be taken lightly. I wouldn't do it unless I had an over-riding reason to think the current BIOS is causing the problem. I don't see any such reason.

Can you uninstall Norton and see if that helps? See Jack Stoner's post in the "help with anti-virus" thread near this one for a link to the Norton removal tool.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 9 Oct 2008 2:20 am

That is a boot up problems, not a Norton or Windows problem as you haven't got to that point yet. Norton loads as part of the Windows startup and Windows doesn't start until after the initial bootup.

It could be hardware related or BIOS related. I'd start off by reseating the memory modules and any PCI cards (e.g. video or whatever you have). Also reseat the hard drive data cable on both ends. Reseat-with PC powered off, unplug the card or cable then plug it back in making sure it's fully and correctly seated. Be extra careful with the memory modules as they are static sensitive - handle them by the edges only.

If that doesn't help, check to see if you get any beeps at bootup and if your PC has diagnostic lights check them as that can help in troubleshooting.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 9 Oct 2008 12:20 pm

Open the side of the case and vacuum out all dust and dirt, etc. Unplug the computer from the AC line. Use a nozzle or soft brush attachment to get close to the heatsink and power supply fans and the motherboard. Remove all plug-in cards and vacuum out the slots and the cards themselves, especially the conductive strips where they plug into the sockets.

Carefully check the heatsink on the CPU to make sure it is still securely fastened to the motherboard. If one side comes loose in a hole the pressure will be reduced on that side of the CPU, leading to it running too hot.

RAM is known to occasionally develop errors, due to breakdown of internal pathways. Bad RAM causes miscellaneous errors and startup/shutdown problems.

If some software is causing too many Registry entries to be created at bootup, your computer will have problems such as you describe.

An aging hard drive may take longer to respond to the startup process as it approaches its end of life. If the hard drive is more than two years old this could be relevant.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 10 Oct 2008 6:43 pm

Hard drive is only a couple of months old. When I had the computer open for the changing of the hard drive, I cleaned out the computer and installed new RAM. I didn't reseat the cards or do anything to the CPU.

It usually just hangs there flashing, although I have seen it boot after a few minutes a couple of times. Also, sometimes it boots first time, or it boots after many attempts (sometimes 2, sometimes as many as 10)

No beeping on bootup. I actually used to know what the beeps meant but it's been years since I worked on computers.

I will retry some of the suggestions as well as uninstall Norton 360 to see if that makes a difference. After all, it didn't start until I installed Norton. But as Jack states, the problem is happening before the computer ever sees Windows or Norton.