Windows XP won't start upon boot

L

l-p

Hey everyone,
I've read numerous threads about this topic but none of them match my
situation exactly...so here goes:

I have a laptop, which is a compaq presario v6000. It is less than 3 years
old. It has the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002, Service Pack 2
installed on it. It worked fine yesterday before I went to class, but when I
returned
from class and turned it on, the Compaq logo screen came up as normal but
then changed to a black screen with a blinking underscore in the top left
corner. It stays this way. I cannot type anything at the screen. I was able
to get into BIOS from the compaq logo screen, in which everything appears
normal. I even ran a self diagnostics check from BIOS and passed. I don't
know what to do...

Also, my computer came with a "QuickPlay" button located above the keyboard.
When I push this button when the computer is off, my computer will turn on,
show the compaq logo, show a resuming windows bar at the bottom of the page,
and then show up with the "QuickPlay" menu. This has four options: DVD,
music, some other option, and the return to windows button. If I click the
windows option, it shows the Windows XP logo but shows shows the hibernating
bar and precedes to hibernation. When I press a key on my keyboard the
computer comes out of hibernation, but again, shows the black screen and
blinking underscore.

I don't have a windows xp CD. What can I do? Please help. I only have my
laptop and all my files are on that computer and I need it for school! (I'm
at the library right now.)

Thanks
 
G

Gerry

Disable automatic restart on system failure. This should help by
allowing time to write down the STOP code properly. Keep pressing the F8
key during Start-Up and select option - Disable automatic restart on
system failure.

Do not re-enable automatic restart on system failure until you have
resolved the problem. Check for variants of the Stop Error message.

Have you tried Last Known Good Configuration?
A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222/en-us


--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
J

Jim

Hey everyone,
I've read numerous threads about this topic but none of them match my
situation exactly...so here goes:

I have a laptop, which is a compaq presario v6000. It is less than 3 years
old. It has the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002, Service Pack 2
installed on it. It worked fine yesterday before I went to class, but when I
returned
from class and turned it on, the Compaq logo screen came up as normal but
then changed to a black screen with a blinking underscore in the top left
corner. It stays this way. I cannot type anything at the screen. I was able
to get into BIOS from the compaq logo screen, in which everything appears
normal. I even ran a self diagnostics check from BIOS and passed. I don't
know what to do...

Also, my computer came with a "QuickPlay" button located above the keyboard.
When I push this button when the computer is off, my computer will turn on,
show the compaq logo, show a resuming windows bar at the bottom of the page,
and then show up with the "QuickPlay" menu. This has four options: DVD,
music, some other option, and the return to windows button. If I click the
windows option, it shows the Windows XP logo but shows shows the hibernating
bar and precedes to hibernation. When I press a key on my keyboard the
computer comes out of hibernation, but again, shows the black screen and
blinking underscore.

I don't have a windows xp CD. What can I do? Please help. I only have my
laptop and all my files are on that computer and I need it for school! (I'm
at the library right now.)

Thanks

Have you tried a system restore ?
 
P

Patrick Keenan

l-p said:
Hey everyone,
I've read numerous threads about this topic but none of them match my
situation exactly...so here goes:

I have a laptop, which is a compaq presario v6000. It is less than 3 years
old. It has the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002, Service Pack 2
installed on it. It worked fine yesterday before I went to class, but
when I
returned
from class and turned it on, the Compaq logo screen came up as normal but
then changed to a black screen with a blinking underscore in the top left
corner. It stays this way. I cannot type anything at the screen. I was
able
to get into BIOS from the compaq logo screen, in which everything appears
normal. I even ran a self diagnostics check from BIOS and passed. I don't
know what to do...

Also, my computer came with a "QuickPlay" button located above the
keyboard.
When I push this button when the computer is off, my computer will turn
on,
show the compaq logo, show a resuming windows bar at the bottom of the
page,
and then show up with the "QuickPlay" menu. This has four options: DVD,
music, some other option, and the return to windows button. If I click the
windows option, it shows the Windows XP logo but shows shows the
hibernating
bar and precedes to hibernation. When I press a key on my keyboard the
computer comes out of hibernation, but again, shows the black screen and
blinking underscore.

I don't have a windows xp CD. What can I do? Please help. I only have my
laptop and all my files are on that computer and I need it for school!
(I'm
at the library right now.)

Thanks

This can mean a number of things, some rather bad, such as drive failure.

I suggest that the very first thing you should do is take your laptop to
someone with the correct drive adapter and an XP install with enough drive
space, attach your drive to that system, and copy your files off.

All of the restore and reinstall and chkdsk approaches carry a risk to your
data. Make sure that it is safe before trying anything else.

HTH
-pk
 

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