Win 7 Does Not Boot - HP Screen, into Black Screen with CP, and Back

maitai11 · 15 Apr 2014

Hi Folks,

First time noob here, thanks in advance for your patience and expertise. It's been awhile, so if you need additional information, I'll be more than happy to get it for you in a timely manner. Again, thanks.

OMG! Some really peculiar things have been happening, in addition to your average no-boot situation. Here's the story:

First, some specs:

HP a1410n
Came with XP, upgraded to Win 7 (64 bit, I think?)
nVidia graphic card
Ram, I believe is 4 GB (I upgraded)
Processor: Athlon 64 (V) 3800+ 2.4 GHz
HD: 200 GB, I have an old one slaved in, and I have an external drive as well

A couple weeks ago (got discouraged and busy at the same time, so this is my first real attempt at fixing it), I was doing some things on the computer with my mom, when I unplugged the wireless keyboard from the USB. Big mistake, because I actually have done that before, and had to reboot, and baby it in order to get squared away and back to original running condition.

Anyway, as soon as I pulled that USB, the screen froze. Usually I just reboot, but this time, it didn't happen. So, I tried unplugging everything and doing the whole reboot thing, to no avail.

Today, I spoke with a friend, who suggested I do a disk boot. I had the disk and tried it.

The weirdest thing happened - first, the computer wouldn't recognize the keyboard (wired by now), and I unplugged, restarted, plugged in, restarted, etc. I was finally able to get to the "Boot from cd/dvd?" any key thing, and the keyboard worked to get me to the restoration screen. So far:

- Startup Repair
and
- System Restore

Hasn't worked...

So, I pulled up a command prompt, and that's pretty much where I am at this point. BTW, I've unplugged everything except the keyboard and occasional mouse. Mostly, it's been the keyboard and that's it, but the mouse does help, and so I've been using it intermittently to get me through the menus, etc.

Ummmmmmm...This is so confusing...sorry.

So, I guess I'm at the point where I was trying to get to the Safe Mode screen from the C: prompt (or X:sources), but I don't know the proper commands...This is where I would like some help...

OR - If you have ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS - I would be very, very appreciative.

Again, thanks for taking the time to help a noob like me, and I eagerly await the great information I'm sure you'll have for me. Take good care, and please let me know if you need any further information.

Best,

Maitai

P.S. I just wanted to take the time to again thank all the folks who answer questions such as mine in a forum such as this one. You folks are going to get a special cookie in heaven, the afterlife, or wherever we go after our time here on earth. You're awesome! Maitai

maitai11 · 18 Apr 2014

So sorry to be asking this, but it's been a couple days and I'm still needing some of your good help. Is there anyone who can assist me to deal with this malady? I send many, many thanks to you all.

Maitai

Slartybart · 18 Apr 2014

Hai Mai

The scenario you describe, unplugging the keyboard, doesn't seem as though it would cause this problem.

The first step is important - make the machine simple. One hard drive (no externals), a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor.

I know you mentioned Startp Repair and System Restore - I assume you mean Restore Points - and neither got you where you want to go. If you meant a System Image / backup restore or OWM Recovery, then that's a whole different thing.

Take a look at this turorial - see if it helps get you started.
Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot

Take good notes and report what you did and any errors (specific codes if they are given). If you get stuck post a question, but stay on track.

I'll be in and out for the next few weeks, another member might jump in to help. Just keep everyone informed on this side of your monitor on what steps you did and what were the results .