display blank on restart/boot up

[Guest]

Hi , sometimes when i restart my laptop
(toshiba sat pro A100 Dual core 1.83ghz with
ATI mobility X1400 graphics and 1gb of Ram)
the screen does not enable ,remains black.
I believe everything boots correctly as after a short
time the windows welcome sound can be heard it is
just that the display does not enable. Several shutdowns
and reboots are usually required to get the display to enable.
I have updated both the display drivers and the bios to the
latest versions. I have also tried to repair windows from the
installation disc, all to no avail.
Whilst the pc is running i have no issues with the display
whatsoever it is just occasionally when the pc is restarted or
booted that the display does not activate.
Does anyone have a similar issue or know of a solution?
Thanks

 

[dean-dean]

For starters, check this key in the Registry Editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

In the right pane, make sure there is a REG_SZ Type with a value Name
"Shell" (no quotation marks) that has value Data "explorer.exe" (no
quotation marks).

If that looks okay, then try this after you first log on. When you're at
your blank Desktop, press Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard and open Task
Manager. On the Processes tab of Task Manager, if explorer.exe is running,
right-click on it and Choose End Process. If it doesn't restart
automatically, switch to the Applications tab, and from the File menu,
choose New Task. Type explorer.exe in the Run box, and press Enter on your
key board.

If explorer.exe is not running on the Processes tab, switch to the
Applications tab, and from the File menu, choose New Task. Type
explorer.exe in the Run box, and press Enter on your key board.

 

[Guest]

Hi dean-dean,
thanks for your reply, however i think i may have fixed the problem
I went into device manager and uninstalled the display driver.
I then did a "scan for hardware changes" and windows then
re-installed the driver. Several restarts and shutdowns have
all failed to reveal the display fault so for now all seems well
in the world
THANKS

 

[Guest]

i have the same sort of problem, after log in i can only see a black screen
with mouse pointer. i have tried but cannot run explorer manually, and the
registry files were the exact same as below.
thx

 

[dean-dean]

Try typing

cmd.exe

in the Run box, but this time use your keyboard and press
Ctrl+Shift+Enter, instead of clicking OK. Do you see "Administrator:
Command Prompt" or "Administrator: C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" in the title
bar of Command Prompt? If so, run the command

explorer.exe

again, after you have ended the process on the Processes tab (if it was
running).

If that doesn't work, in Command Prompt (Administrator), type

sfc /SCANFILE="C:\Windows\explorer.exe"

Press Enter. If you want to check all your system files, and some pertinent
registry keys, type this:

sfc /scannow

Press Enter. It may take a few minutes...

Too, you may want to try System restore, through either using Run or the
Command Prompt, by typing:

rstrui.exe

Press Enter.

 

[Guest]

I have a similar problem however after re-installing Vista - my monitor
appears to go into sleep state and does not even show the blank screen at
all. It appears to boot normally but I cannot "wake up" the monitor. Safe
mode and low resolution mode do not seem to work either.

 

[Guest]

system restore fixed the problem, but it has come back AGAIN.

I dont have a recent enough restore point to use.

tried other 2 options neither have worked, sfc scan gave no results.

any ideas???

 

[Guest]

I have a similar problem however after re-installing Vista - my monitor
appears to go into sleep state and does not even show the blank screen at
all. It appears to boot normally but I cannot "wake up" the monitor. Safe
mode and low resolution mode do not seem to work either.

This is a re-post since I am finding this problem in various threads with
different descriptions. See my reply below:

I have the same problem with my HP Media Center m7183c with upgrade Windows
Vista Premium. I did not have this problem when the OS was Xp Media Center.

I am convinced it is a video driver or BIOS issue. The OS is running but
the monitor goes to sleep presumably due to a lack of video signal from the
video card.

I have found that using Hibernate instead of sleep works well. Also, if
Vista goes to sleep and you try to wake it often the black screen issue
appears. Try putting Vista back to sleep and wake it by pressing the Sleep
button on your keyboard vigorously (I am not kidding). This usually
eliminates the black screen issue. You may have to repeat this cycle up to 3
times (how crazy is this!!!).

On boot you will likely get the black screen (not always) so once you hear
the music and know you are on the logon in screen put Vista to sleep using
the Sleep button on the keyboard and then wake it up using the same vigorous
pressing of the sleep button.

I discovered this idiotic fix purely by chance as I was so frustrated by
this issue I keep pounding my keyboard in anger. One time I just happened to
press the Sleep button multiple times. Viola! it worked.

I really wish HP, ATI or Microsoft would address this problem since the
system worked fine under XP Media Center and has really made me negative
against upgrading to Vista (I have advised no less then 10 people against any
form of Vista upgrade). I have not had any problems on computers purchased
with Vista pre-installed.