Black Screen in Windows Troubleshooting Computer Tips

Starting your computer and seeing the disastrous black screen  means that you definitely need to see these troubleshooting black screen computer tips. I have seen many black screens on computers as I used to repair them. I am grateful that I do not have to do this any more, as I used to have literally piles of computers complaining of the same problem, a black screen problem. Now that I am not fixing computers, I have time to write tutorials and troubleshooting black screen tips for other people to learn by. It is impossible for me to mention every possible cause or solution of a black screen computer, however even if this article helps 50% of the people that read it, I will be happy.

Troubleshooting Black Screen, this could mean a few things:

• You were just about to load Windows and saw the logo screen and then you got a black screen in Windows.
• You saw the usual loading screens but just didn’t quite make it into Windows. You did not see a Windows logo as it appears that you can only see a black screen in Windows.
• You logged into Windows and then saw a black screen.
• You were using the computer and then a black screen in Windows appeared.
• You have logged into Windows to see a black screen with a blinking cursor.

If you see a computer black screen and do not see anything else at all, including the usual loading screens, then your black screen has appeared before Windows has even had a chance to load. As you can see, there are many ways to have a computer black screen and therefore it is very hard to pinpoint your particular problem. Sometimes having this problem

can be easily solved, but at other times it is a nightmare and hopefully these troubleshooting black screen tips will help you.

Start in Safe Mode when Troubleshooting Black Screen Errors

1. If you can start your computer in safe mode you should be able to choose to do a system restore, providing you have not disabled the system restore feature. Below I have a screen shot of the incensed boot options menu that you see when you press the F8 key when starting the computer. In the screen shot below I have chosen safe mode. When I pressed enter the computer will boot to safe mode.

Last known good configuration for troubleshooting black screen problems

2. Restart your computer and press F8 to get to the advanced options menu. Choose to start with the last known good configuration. If you are lucky enough to see a screen full of options, after an error with a black screen in Windows, never choose to start the computer normally. You should always choose a safer option right now. The two best options to try first our last known good configuration and safe mode. In the screen shot below I have selected “last known good configuration” to see if Windows start with the same files it did before the error happened. 

8 More Troubleshooting Black Screen Computer Tips

The following troubleshooting tips for a black screen in Windows are not in any particular order. I probably would recommend that if you can start your computer, always do it in safe mode after a serious error. Also when you have a black screen in Windows, do not rush and try to fix the problem straight away, as you may cause more problems than you realize.

Check all your cables

1. Check to see that or you’re plugs are securely plugged in and there is nothing connected that should not be there. This includes having a small USB flash drive plugged in while you are trying to start the computer. did a cable come loose while you were using your computer? What about the power supply to the computer? These are pretty common causes but can still cause a panic until you find the culprit.

Check for faulty devices

2. Check for bent pins or faulty devices. Unplug printers and external hard drives. Also check the ends of connections to see if there are any bent pins. For example a bent pin on the end of the keyboard cable can cause a black screen. This might not apply to a black screen in Windows unless the pin board device has become faulty while you are using Windows. This troubleshooting black screen computer tip is a difficult one to diagnose manually. It is like

searching for a needle in a hay stack!

Check hardware

3. Check your internal hardware. Check to see if your hard drive and CD drives are plugged in correctly and securely. If you have recently transported your computer from one place to another this could dislodge the CPU all loose certain cables. Also check your computer memory as this is one of the number one reasons for a black screen. If you see a black screen in Windows while you have been using the computer, you may have had a hardware problem. This can be caused by a video card, as mentioned below, or even something as simple as dust on your CPU, causing your computer to overheat. You Can still get a black screen in Windows because your CPU may have just been connecting to the motherboard. Basically hanging on by a thread. 

Enabled low resolution video or enable VGA mode

4. If you are playing a game on your computer and it shut down and when you restart you only have a black screen, you need to restart the computer. When restarting press F8 to go to the advanced options menu, and choose ―enable low- resolution video or ―enable VGA mode. This problem often happens when you are playing a game that your video or graphics card cannot handle. Your computer might overheat from the pressure or it could possibly damage the video card.If you are a gamer you would be familiar with troubleshooting black screen problems as the games just keep getting bigger and bigger!

Connecting a TV or another monitor

 boot up any computer, fix and install Windows easy.

5. If you have recently changed monitors or connected your computer to a TV try restarting and pressing F8 to get the advanced options menu, then choose ―enable low-resolution video‖ or ―enable VGA mode‖. You can also try pressing the Fn key on your keyboard and F5 or F6 at the same time. Back in the old days….Hmm I am not that old. We did not even think about trying to connect your computer to your TV and did not need troubleshooting black screen tips.

On-board video vs install video card

6. If you are just set up your computer when plugged all the cables in, check to see if the monitor is plugged into the on- board video plug when you actually have a PCI or AGP video card installed. Trust me I have done this myself. Simply move the plug to the correct position.

Use a diagnostic POST card

7. You can also try troubleshooting black screen problems and fix boot errors with a diagnostic POST card. This is a PCI card that you can slot into your computer’s motherboard to help diagnose boot errors and sometimes troubleshooting black screen problems.

Use the Windows operating system disc

8. If you have an original Windows operating system disc that came with your computer, then definitely insert it into the CD or DVD drive, and use this discs resources to repair your computer. Even if you are using Windows XP, it also has a recovery console that will help you prepare a black screen. However with Windows Vista and Windows 7 it is even easier to repair a black screen in Windows if you have the original operating system CD. These versions of Windows now have an option to restore your system in the recovery console options.

If you do not have an operating system cd you can buy a repair cd to replace your disc and still boot up your computer. Please note that the you can boot up Any computer, fix & install Windows easy with a boot disc especially made for this error. Of course you can try everything listed above first as you might get lucky! Hope you do

Formatting a Hard Drive Using the Windows Operating System

Formatting a hard drive using the Windows operating system is quite an easy task now days. Over the years technology has granted us easy ways to take care of our own computers, without having to always employee and IT repair guy. I personally love formatting a hard drive regularly to keep my computer running to its optimum performance. I guess you might say I have a problem as I find that it is the only way that I can really keep my computer in order.

My friends and family cringe when I mention the F Word and it is not what you think, as I am speaking about the word format. Formatting a hard drive is the ultimate computer maintenance task. It cuts out all the hard work of either maintaining your computer or trying to fix it when errors occur.

Getting prepared for formatting a hard drive

When formatting a hard drive you will need certain things to perform this task correctly. Here is a list of things you will need when you want to format your computer.

• You will need a Windows operating system CD. Hopefully you will have the original CD hanging around somewhere. it is also okay to use a copy of your exact disk that you had as long as you have your Windows COA sticker attached to your computer. This is also known as the COA sticker and holds the serial number for your copy of Windows.
• You will definitely need to have your files backed up to either an external hard drive or maybe even an online backup service.
• When formatting a hard drive you will obviously need a computer that needs a format. This might be a computer with so many errors that it is not worth fixing. It may also be a computer that just hasn’t had a good format in a long time.
• If you are formatting using Windows XP or even Windows Vista you will need to have either a backup of your device drivers or a system disk that holds your drivers. If you do not have a disk that hold your device drivers then you might have to search for them on the Internet. before formatting a hard drive I seriously recommend making sure that you have a driver for your network adapter so you can connect to the Internet. This will allow you to download the other drivers if needed.

Backing up your files before formatting a hard drive

This is one of the most important things that you can do. People do not understand that when you are formatting a hard drive, this means that you will wipe every piece of darter from that hard drive. If you had saved photos and files or even e-mail addresses, they will all be gone after formatting the hard drive. I hope you understand what I am saying here. Absolutely everything will be gone from your computer and you will only have a fresh new copy of Windows is installed on your computer. This also means that any programs that you have installed, such as photo editing programs, games, and so on, will be absolutely gone. When you have finished formatting your computer, the usual procedure is to reinstall all of your necessary programs and drivers to enable you to start using your computer again.

The difference between formatting a hard drive with Windows XP, Windows Vista, or

Windows 7?

Obviously Windows XP was released approximately 10 years ago and along the way we have had Windows Vista and now Windows 7. Technology has changed over the years but the basic knowledge on how to format a hard drive stays the same. You still have to partition the hard drive before formatting and installing Windows on. If you want to reformat windows you will also still have to delete the old partition where the original version of Windows existed. There are many things that are exactly the same when formatting a hard drive with Windows XP,

Windows Vista, or Windows 7. Of course, Windows 7 looks a lot prettier, but the essence of formatting a hard drive is still there.

If I was talking about formatting a hard drive with Windows millennium or Windows 95, that would be a totally different story. Back in those days most computers still had a floppy drive and this was used as a start-up disk. However now the modern Windows operating system CD’s are bootable without having to use a floppy disk.

Another major difference between formatting a hard drive with Windows XP and the later versions of Windows is that the newer versions are on a DVD disc and not a CD.

Common factors when formatting a hard drive with any Windows

operating system

• When formatting a hard drive with any version of Windows you must insert the operating system CD and boot from it. This means that you will see a message on the screen saying “press any key to boot from CD or DVD..”. If you do not see this message when you start your computer with the Windows operating system CD in the CD drive, then you must enter your computer BIOS and change the boot settings. Here is a brief tutorial on how to change settings in your BIOS.
• It is always recommended that you delete the previous partition that Windows was installed on an create a new partition for the new installation.
• In all versions of Windows you will have the chance to divide or partition your hard drive into any size you require.
• All of the recent versions of Windows use the NTFS file system. It is not recommended that you use the old FAT32 file system.
• When formatting a hard drive in any version of Windows you will see an option to choose a quick format or a slow format. A slow format is always better when you have had major errors on your computer. This can also be known as a low level format.

Common problems people have when formatting a hard drive

with Windows

1. The first step is probably the hardest. As previously mentioned above, you will need to insert the original Windows operating system disk and then start your computer so it boots to that CD. People do not realize that you need to enter the BIOS to change the settings to make the computer boot to the CD first. Some people think there is a problem when the CD does not start.

2. People often get confused when deleting the partition and creating a new one. Please pay particular attention to this area as it is not as hard as you think.

3. When you have had your Windows disc for a long time it can become worn. Often I will make a copy of my original disks to use as the original would not transfer the system files to my computer correctly. If you find that when formatting a hard drive, the process stalls a number of times, then it could be your CD is worn out.

4. One of the common problems that people have when formatting a hard drive is that they accidentally interrupted the process. It is not okay to stop the process of formatting a hard drive half way through. This is a definite way to cause major errors or even the dreaded black screen on your computer.

Formatting your hard drive with Windows

Below I am going to list step-by-step instructions to follow when formatting a hard drive in various versions of Windows. They are all very similar with only a few minor differences. Therefore if you are experienced in formatting a hard drive using Windows XP, you will definitely have no problem formatting with Windows Vista or Windows 7.

The following steps below presume that you have entered your BIOS and change the settings for your computer to boot to your CD or DVD drive. Therefore you will see the message on the screen saying “press any key to boot from CD or DVD…” If  you have not this far and press a key on your keyboard, this means that you are booting into the CD to start formatting your hard drive.

Formatting a hard drive using Windows XP

1.   The first screen you will see will be blue and it will look like files are being loaded onto your computer. You will be prompted to press the F8 key to agree to the Windows terms and conditions.

2.  The next screen you will see after booting from the CD will be a blue screen. On the screen you will need to read it carefully and then press enter. If you press enter on your keyboard, this means that you want to install Windows XP.

See the screen shot below.

3.   Now you will see a screen showing the previous installation of Windows.

4. Select that version of Windows so we know which partition we are going to delete. If you have not got a previous version of Windows on your computer you will see an un-partitioned space.

5.  As you can see in the screenshot above I have selected the previous version of Windows.

6.  Now I will press the escape key to install a fresh copy of Windows XP.

7.  On the next screen I will select the partition with Windows on it and press D on the keyboard to delete it.

8.  Then I will press the letter L to confirm that I want to delete that partition.

9.  To recreate a partition we will need to press the C on the keyboard. Your computer will estimate the size for the partition and all you have to do is press enter.

10.  To see more instructions please see this detailed tutorial on how to format Windows XP.

Formatting a hard drive using Windows Vista

When formatting a hard drive with Windows Vista, it is very much the same as Windows XP except the operating system will probably be on a DVD and not a CD. This means that you will have to have a DVD drive to read the disc. Once you have booted from the DVD disc you will be prompted to “press any key to boot from the CD or DVD..”

1.  After pressing any key to boot from the DVD you will be presented with the screen shown above. This is where you need to set your language options.

2.  After pressing Next you will need to press on the Install Now button in the middle of the screen.

3.  Enter your license key which you will find on your COA sticker.

4.  Next you will have to accept the license agreement by ticking the box and pressing next.

5.  In the next window you will have the choice to upgrade or have a custom installation. Choose custom installation.

6.  Now you can choose the the partition where your previous Windows version is

installed.

7.  If you have an un-partitioned hard drive then you can simply continue but if you have a previous installation of Windows you will need to delete the partition and create a new one.

8.  Press on Drive options (advanced) link to see more options on editing the partition.

9. After pressing on the Drive options link you will see an option to delete. If you have selected the partition you can now delete it.

10.  After deleting the partition keep the partition selected and press on format.

11.  Now you can press on new to create a new partition. this section is the most difficult part.

12. The rest is a breeze and is pretty much automatic.

13.  The computer will want to restart. Do not touch anything while restarting, especially if you have left the DVD disc in the drive.

14.  When the computer restarts you will need to fill in a few details such as time zones and network options.

Formatting a hard drive using Windows 7

Formatting a hard drive with Windows Seven is identical to Windows Vista. All you need to do is follow the instructions above. Every step is the same.

Formatting a spare hard drive

It is even easier to format an external hard drive if it is attached to  your computer as a second hard drive or even if it is in an old hard drive in an external hard drive case. All you have to do is access that particular hard drive in Windows Explorer, right click on it to access a menu, and then choose to format. That is the easiest way I know of formatting a hard drive. This only works

on hard drives that do not contain Windows system files.

7 Tweaks to Make Your Computer Faster.

 

The speed of the computer you use can have a great deal of impact on how fast your internet is, both negatively and positively. If you need to enjoy faster broadband internet access, aside going with the right ISP it is important that you also have an active and properly optimized computer. This article will be giving you a list of some basic, but important changes you should make that will have a significant impact on your computer and internet speed. 

1. Reduce Desktop Icons: A lot of computers are cluttered and this will not help as it will make the computers slower. Just compare your computer to when you just bought it and you will notice a great difference in speed and effectiveness. If you know you can’t be formatting your hard drive every time it is important to do your best to reduce the number of icons on your desktop to the barest minimum.
2. Uninstall Unnecessary Applications: How many applications do you have installed on your computer? 50? 100? 200? How many do you use on a regular basis? It probably would be less than 20. Just take a look at this and you will see how much you have been losing in terms of speed, effectiveness and productivity by having all those applications on your computer. Every application you install has a great deal of impact on your computer and it also uses memory and space which means there will be less resources for your main applications. Take a look at your computer now, remove every unnecessary applications and you will notice an increase both in computer and internet speed.
3. Take Care of Outdated Software: It is one thing to have your computer system cluttered with unnecessary applications and it is another thing to have your computer filled with outdated software. The downside of a system with many unnecessary applications is waste of memory space but the downside of a system with many outdated software is insecurity and the possibility of being hacked. You will be doing a great deal to protect your computer by ensuring you keep all your software applications updated. 

4. Use a Robust and Latest Antivirus: Just like sickness is to man, virus is the worst enemy of a computer. You won’t be able to get the best from your computer if you’re just using any kind of antivirus that pleases you and it is also important to be updating your antivirus regularly if you’re using the right one because viruses are always developing and a 2005 antivirus won’t be able to prevent your system against a 2011 virus. See out review of virus removal software.
5. Always Shut down your Computer Properly : Aside from your system being Infected by a virus another thing that can have a major effect on your computer is if your system files become corrupt. There are several things that can cause your system files to corrupt but the most common of them all is you not shutting down your computer properly. Always ensure you shut down your computer using the options available in your operating system, it will save you a great deal of time and money on the long run.
6. Have the Latest Hardware: Just like your computer software, having outdated hardware can also make your system vulnerable. If you really want to get the best from your computer you need to ensure you’re always doing your best to make sure you purchase and use the latest hardware components produced by your computer manufacturer.
7. Organize Your Downloads: This is another important thing for internet users, especially for those who download a lot on the internet. Don’t just download applications to your desktop or to any section of your computer you feel like. Always organize your downloads by making sure you create a special folder for any of your internet downloads. In fact you should organize your files on your computer on a regular basis and try to stick to that.