Computer won't run even in safe mode

[Guest]

My daughter was using the computer last night and it froze. She shut it off
by unplugging it and now it won't run. I get a black screen that says
windows wasn't shut down properly, which I've seen before. I've tried
starting windows normally, I've tried the last known good configuration, and
I've tried safe mode. The only thing that happens is that the windows logo
screen pops up for a second and then it goes right back to the black screen.
Any suggestions on what I should try next?

 

[Iceman]

My daughter was using the computer last night and it froze. She shut it off
by unplugging it and now it won't run. I get a black screen that says
windows wasn't shut down properly, which I've seen before. I've tried
starting windows normally, I've tried the last known good configuration, and
I've tried safe mode. The only thing that happens is that the windows logo
screen pops up for a second and then it goes right back to the black screen.
Any suggestions on what I should try next?

Have a look at this article:

Windows XP Crashed? Here's Help, by Charlie White
http://webcast.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=8658

For the more advanced:

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install, by Michael Stevens
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[Patrick Keenan]

My daughter was using the computer last night and it froze. She shut it
off
by unplugging it and now it won't run. I get a black screen that says
windows wasn't shut down properly, which I've seen before. I've tried
starting windows normally, I've tried the last known good configuration,
and
I've tried safe mode. The only thing that happens is that the windows
logo
screen pops up for a second and then it goes right back to the black
screen.
Any suggestions on what I should try next?

Something I have done that's fixed this a couple of times is to connect the
drive to another system, delete the pagefile.sys file in the root, and empty
the wastebasket. When the drive was reconnected, the system restarted
properly.

Also, press F8 before the logo is displayed, and choose "vga" mode. If the
problem is with the video driver or monitor settings, this will bypass it.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Something I have done that's fixed this a couple of times is to connect the
drive to another system, delete the pagefile.sys file in the root, and empty
the wastebasket. When the drive was reconnected, the system restarted
properly.

Also, press F8 before the logo is displayed, and choose "vga" mode. If the
problem is with the video driver or monitor settings, this will bypass it.

HTH
-pk


Thank you! That helped fix the problem.