Boot stalled at blinking cursor

[Guest]

What's likely failing on an XP computer that starts the boot process and
shows the first screen (including the option to go into Bios settings) but
then stops with only a blinking cursor on the screen? All Bios settings
appear normal. I do not get to the point where I can choose safe mode, safe
mode with networking, etc. thanks.

 

[Confused One]

Read my post below...that exact problem is what happens to me. At
least I can reset the system by going into BIOS and doing a reset to
defaults (even if the BIOS settings look ok).

Hope someone knows a better solution.

 

[Malke]

What's likely failing on an XP computer that starts the boot process and
shows the first screen (including the option to go into Bios settings) but
then stops with only a blinking cursor on the screen? All Bios settings
appear normal. I do not get to the point where I can choose safe mode,
safe mode with networking, etc. thanks.

If the operating system doesn't even boot, then you have hardware failure as
you suspect. It could be the power supply, hard drive, motherboard, etc.
You don't get any beeps? Here are some hardware troubleshooting steps:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Troubleshooting

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with
known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).

Malke