XP Boot Problem

[rnott]

I’m running Windows XP Pro on a laptop with Service Pack 3 and all
updates current. (the laptop is a Dell Inspiron, the XP Pro plus
various diagnostic tests on CD came from Dell with the original
purchase).

This machine has served me well for quite some time, and all I have
done in changes is to upgrade its hard drive every year or so, from
an original 60GB to presently 250GB.

THE PROBLEM:
=============
The laptop usually works fine for some number of days. At days end, I
shut it down regularly (Start Button - > Turn Off Computer), next
morning it boots up regularly.

Then, randomly (every couple of days), the laptop will NOT BOOT up.
When I switch it on, after the Power Up Self Test (POST), the cursor
will just sit blinking in the upper left corner of an otherwise black
screen. Nothing happens.

This always happens after I shut down and then, some time later,
switch back on. In other words, there never are crashes while I work,
no blue screens, all is fine until some future shut down / boot up.

I have searched extensively on the Web, and many postings exist about
the problem of Windows not booting, with a “blinking cursor” sitting
in the “upper left corner”, but no one has offerd any real explanation
or solution (other than re-installing).

Since I have been make regular identical clones of my working hard
drive, I always have a couple of bootable hard drives with all my
programs and work in reserve, so I haven’t lost anything serious yet,
other than an inordinate amount of wasted time.

SOME OTHER SYMPTOMS:
======================
When the “blinking cursor” problem happens, I switch the laptop power
off, then unmount the hard disk and put it into an external case with
USB connector.

When I look at the drive on some other machine, it looks just fine. I
see all files and I cannot detect any problem with any file or with
the disk in general (chkdsk and various other diagnostic tests) -- it
seems to be perfectly alright.

I have run extensive diagnostic tests both on the drive and on the
laptop (many provided on a CD by the manufacturer of the laptop).
Everything always checks out fine.

So, the laptop checks out perfectly fine, various hard disk I have
used check out fine, and all files on the disks always check out
perfectly fine,

But the damn disks fail to boot.

I will greatly appreciate any ideas, clues, explanations, solutions….

Thanks,

Wolfgang,
CA

 

[DL]

You might want to check www.memtest.org and also the disk checking utility
provided by your HD manufacturer.
That said, it could be simply a bad/dry connection within your laptop
It depends how comfortable you are with opening your laptop & reseating all
the connections

I’m running Windows XP Pro on a laptop with Service Pack 3 and all
updates current. (the laptop is a Dell Inspiron, the XP Pro plus
various diagnostic tests on CD came from Dell with the original
purchase).

This machine has served me well for quite some time, and all I have
done in changes is to upgrade its hard drive every year or so, from
an original 60GB to presently 250GB.

THE PROBLEM:
=============
The laptop usually works fine for some number of days. At days end, I
shut it down regularly (Start Button - > Turn Off Computer), next
morning it boots up regularly.

Then, randomly (every couple of days), the laptop will NOT BOOT up.
When I switch it on, after the Power Up Self Test (POST), the cursor
will just sit blinking in the upper left corner of an otherwise black
screen. Nothing happens.

This always happens after I shut down and then, some time later,
switch back on. In other words, there never are crashes while I work,
no blue screens, all is fine until some future shut down / boot up.

I have searched extensively on the Web, and many postings exist about
the problem of Windows not booting, with a “blinking cursor” sitting
in the “upper left corner”, but no one has offerd any real explanation
or solution (other than re-installing).

Since I have been make regular identical clones of my working hard
drive, I always have a couple of bootable hard drives with all my
programs and work in reserve, so I haven’t lost anything serious yet,
other than an inordinate amount of wasted time.

SOME OTHER SYMPTOMS:
======================
When the “blinking cursor” problem happens, I switch the laptop power
off, then unmount the hard disk and put it into an external case with
USB connector.

When I look at the drive on some other machine, it looks just fine. I
see all files and I cannot detect any problem with any file or with
the disk in general (chkdsk and various other diagnostic tests) -- it
seems to be perfectly alright.

I have run extensive diagnostic tests both on the drive and on the
laptop (many provided on a CD by the manufacturer of the laptop).
Everything always checks out fine.

So, the laptop checks out perfectly fine, various hard disk I have
used check out fine, and all files on the disks always check out
perfectly fine,

But the damn disks fail to boot.

I will greatly appreciate any ideas, clues, explanations, solutions….

Thanks,

Wolfgang,
CA

 

[syst_m]

I to have the same problem. This has happened to me several times now, I
believe this is the 4th and I'm sick of it. Everything is running perfectly,
no errors no nothing, shut down your computer just fine. The next day it
won't boot. I'm running Windows XP Professional on a Dell Dimension Desktop,
Service Pack 3. Just as the person said above there are tons of posts all
over the internet about this error/problem with no solution, the only advice
is to reinstall everything. I believe right before I had shut everything down
that night Windows had updated itself. When I reinstall everything again, I
will not be turning on live updates.

 

[syst_m]

I have the same problem as above, just a bit worse because this is now the
4th time its happened to me. Same thing happens as above. Everything is
working just fine, go and shut it down just fine. The next time you go to
turn it on I'll see the DOS start up and the get and black screen with a
blinking cursor in the top left corner. I'm running Windows XP Professional,
Service Pack 3 on at Dell Dimension desktop. I've looked all over the
internet about this problem and the only answer I can find is to reinstall
everything, I'm kind of sick of that after doing it 3 times in 2 months and
about to do it a 4th. I would be grateful for any type of help.

 

[syst_m]

I have the same problem as above, just a bit worse because this is now the
4th time its happened to me. Same thing happens as above. Everything is
working just fine, go and shut it down just fine. The next time you go to
turn it on I'll see the DOS start up and the get and black screen with a
blinking cursor in the top left corner. I'm running Windows XP Professional,
Service Pack 3 on at Dell Dimension desktop. I've looked all over the
internet about this problem and the only answer I can find is to reinstall
everything, I'm kind of sick of that after doing it 3 times in 2 months and
about to do it a 4th. I would be grateful for any type of help.

 

[DL]

There is no DOS start up
Boot into safe mode, turn on boot loging, see what is causing the hangup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222

Reinstalling is not going to cure anything, if you have a fundimental hw
problem

 

[Mark]

Check power supply and RAM.


I’m running Windows XP Pro on a laptop with Service Pack 3 and all
updates current. (the laptop is a Dell Inspiron, the XP Pro plus
various diagnostic tests on CD came from Dell with the original
purchase).

This machine has served me well for quite some time, and all I have
done in changes is to upgrade its hard drive every year or so, from
an original 60GB to presently 250GB.

THE PROBLEM:
=============
The laptop usually works fine for some number of days. At days end, I
shut it down regularly (Start Button - > Turn Off Computer), next
morning it boots up regularly.

Then, randomly (every couple of days), the laptop will NOT BOOT up.
When I switch it on, after the Power Up Self Test (POST), the cursor
will just sit blinking in the upper left corner of an otherwise black
screen. Nothing happens.

This always happens after I shut down and then, some time later,
switch back on. In other words, there never are crashes while I work,
no blue screens, all is fine until some future shut down / boot up.

I have searched extensively on the Web, and many postings exist about
the problem of Windows not booting, with a “blinking cursor” sitting
in the “upper left corner”, but no one has offerd any real explanation
or solution (other than re-installing).

Since I have been make regular identical clones of my working hard
drive, I always have a couple of bootable hard drives with all my
programs and work in reserve, so I haven’t lost anything serious yet,
other than an inordinate amount of wasted time.

SOME OTHER SYMPTOMS:
======================
When the “blinking cursor” problem happens, I switch the laptop power
off, then unmount the hard disk and put it into an external case with
USB connector.

When I look at the drive on some other machine, it looks just fine. I
see all files and I cannot detect any problem with any file or with
the disk in general (chkdsk and various other diagnostic tests) -- it
seems to be perfectly alright.

I have run extensive diagnostic tests both on the drive and on the
laptop (many provided on a CD by the manufacturer of the laptop).
Everything always checks out fine.

So, the laptop checks out perfectly fine, various hard disk I have
used check out fine, and all files on the disks always check out
perfectly fine,

But the damn disks fail to boot.

I will greatly appreciate any ideas, clues, explanations, solutions….

Thanks,

Wolfgang,
CA