Black Screen of Death

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jim
  • Start date Start date
J

Jim

My computer crashes periodically, usually when using the mouse and clicking
on a object.
I then get a black screen and the system will try to reboot but fails. Files
are usually corrupted.
After I re-install windows I run a burn-in test software program all day
long without a problem, a day or two later another crash.

Any ideas on this.
 
Usually a "burn in" software utility is for a hd,but is used before an OS
is installed.Also,have you opened event viewer for any events/warnings...
Usually the "black screen of death" is a hardware issue.
 
This burn-in software test the Hard Drive, Video, Memory, Lan, Etc.
Also booted from a floppy to test both the Memory and a separate boot from
floppy using Maxtor's utilities to the HD.

Jim
 
If, as you say, the problem happens when you click the mouse on an
object and the screen goes black and the PC tries to reboot, then it
is most probably your graphics card.

Karl

My computer crashes periodically, usually when using the mouse and
clicking
on a object.
I then get a black screen and the system will try to reboot but fails.
Files
are usually corrupted.
After I re-install windows I run a burn-in test software program all
day
long without a problem, a day or two later another crash.

Any ideas on this.
 
Sounds like a Motherboard issue. I would go to the MB vendor
website and read through the BIOS revision history file. See if
any updates where done to address abrupt halts. Might help if
you could post some specs on the hardware. Also is your mouse
running from the PS2 port or USB ?
 
Mouse is PS2, MoBo in Gigabyte 8ISXT, Have tried flashing the BIOS with both
Rev 3 and Rev 4.
Neither BIOS revision solves the problem.
Tried a different mouse (Optical) and noticed that with the powered off the
LED on the mouse is still on.
Unplugging the power code and then plugging it back in solves this issue,
which is not normal.

Jim
 
Thanks, I pulled up the specifications on the motherboard. It's a 865
family chipset which is what is in my primary desktop. I would get
the latest Intel Chipset Driver package and install that. You might
also want to set a System environment variable to allow you to see
all "Phantoms" in your Device Mgr table.
DevMgr_Show_NonPresent_Devices = 1
Open Device Manager, Click View - tic/check "Show Hidden Devices".
Check for the presence of a category called "Other" - you may have
your SMBus controller miss-identified there.
Latest Intel Chipset Driver package download here:
http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scr...uctID=816&OSFullName=Windows* XP Professional
 
Have already tried the drivers that came with the motherboard and the latest
Intel 865PE drivers.
It does not seem to make a difference which set I'm using.

Thanks
Jim
 
If you have, then try a new mouse too. Yes, I can hear your surprise,
but I have seen it - spending hours changing everything else only to
find that a faulty keyboard or mouse was causing the crashes!

K.

Have already tried a different card but it can't hurt to try again.

Thanks
Jim
 
Usually a "burn in" software utility is for a hd,
Click to expand...

Are you for real? Do you have a clue? And just what would one "burn in" to
ones hard drive?


--
From a Wintard helping another Wintard with his Windoze Problem:
"You might also want to try one of the numerous EXCELLENT
registry cleaners, and perhaps a ram washer."
View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://linclips.crocusplains.com/index.php
 
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