Windows 7: The Dreaded Black Screen -- Dell Inspiron N7010

On start-up, I get the Dell screen, followed by options for the F-2 and F-12 buttons. I then get a black screen with a blinking cursor in the top left corner.

I tried removing the battery and pressing the power button for 40 seconds, no luck. Starting in Safe Mode is not possible either.

I got some CD's from Dell. One is for the Dell OS, and the other is for Drivers and Utilities.

My main concern is saving whatever files, documents and photos I can. Any idead if that's possible?

Thank you

You could try following the steps within this tutorial:

Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot

If all the steps fail then, I would create a new Windows 7 Installation DVD using a different computer, and then perform a clean install without all the Dell bloatware;

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Hope this helps,

Harry

Thanks for your help, Harry. I wanted to get my files backed up before I tried anything, so I took the computer to Best Buy and had them back everything up on the hard drive. The hard drive appears to be fine.

When I called Dell, they sent me two CD's. One is for the OS, the other CD is green and it is for the Drivers And Utilities. Any idea on what I'm supposed to do with these? I can't boot in safe mode, but I can get to the BIOS screen using F2.

I'm willing to try anything. As mentioned before, saving files and documents is no longer a concern for me. I'd just like to get this black screen to go away!

Thank

Install Windows again using the Dell OS disc they gave you, and then install all the drivers from the other disc they have given you.

Have you got your files backed up?

Once you have Windows working and all the drivers installed, we can work on removing some of the bloatware installed from the (Dell programs which are not needed) disc.

What happens exactly if you boot the pc? You see bios and then... nothing? only black screen with text cursor in top left?

power on your pc and tap F8 multiple times. Do it all the time, about every half a second for 20 seconds or so. Does a menu appear?

Dell provides a clean copy Windows 7 REinstallation DVD which only has the Dell branding and activation baked in, so it will be sufficient for doing the superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

Follow the steps closely especially how drivers are handled in Windows 7, so you only want to import any drivers still missing in Device Manager after all Important and Optional Windows Updates are finished. Then you want the latest drivers on the Dell DOwnloads page for your tag number, not the disk which is out of date almost as soon as it's pressed.

Yes

I boot the computer and get a black screen with a text cursor. I can prss F2 to get to bios.

Nope. I'm not able to use safe mode

Thanks for the link, looks helpful. I completed step one, but step 2 is a problem. I see the screen below, but when I quickly press any key, nothing happens. I've tried rebooting and pressing other keys, still nothing.

That's very important information. Something stops the continuation of the process.
Only 1 internal disk is connected?

It's a laptop...correct? Is it easy to (temporary) disconnect the internal disk?

The computershop made a backup of your files. How did they do it? With acronis, norton ghost, Windows 7 backup?
Or just folder you can browse on a backup?