[lindalou_two]

Hi Everyone,

I already have a post about reformatting. This time I'm going from another angle. Does anyone know how to connect two computers from just a single internet connection, say from the back of one computer to the back of another one. A few years back, I had this type of connection that someone had sit up for me. I could look at all the drives on both computers. I then got my Gateway and had no need for it. Now that my Gateway is down, I was wondering if this type of connection could or would help me with my reformating problem. You see, I reformatted from the hard drive of my Gateway in the 'Destrutive' mode. At the end, when it welcomed me back to Gateway and said to click finsih, I did. Rather then rebooting as I thought it was doing, it just went to a black screen and will do nothing now. When I try rebooting, the key board comes on but then it does nothing else as if it is not commucnicating at all. The monitor comes on with a dark or black screen with only a rectangle box up in the far left top corner that said D SUB. It immediately goes into the power saving mode and I can not do anything else whatsoever, other than start the process completely over. Using the F2, F10, or whatever key does absolutely nothing when first booting up. It' NO communication between the keyboard, monitor, and the tower.

Please, any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thank each of you.
Linda

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Don't you see anything on the screen? No splash, nothing but the rectangle? If that is the case then the problem with your computer is not a windows one. Either the BIOS or another piece of hardware is not working. I have seen computers that failed during reformatting because the hardware was in a marginal state and "died" under the load of windows reinstallation.

Let's hope this is not your case. First thing would be to reset the BIOS. Turn off the computer and unplug the power cable. Open the box and carefully remove the CMOS battery which looks like a silvery disk. Wait for 10 minutes, reinstall the battery and reboot. The computer should boot, giving an error message which is the result of incorrect time. You can set time and date in the BIOS or you can continue and set them latter through windows.

If you have a CMOS reset jumper on the motherboard you can use it. This will save you taking the battery out and shorten the time required for reset (should take 1-2 minutes). Don't forget to set the jumper to its previous state.

[The Skeptic]

Don't you see anything on the screen? No splash, nothing but the rectangle? If that is the case then the problem with your computer is not a windows one. Either the BIOS or another piece of hardware is not working. I have seen computers that failed during reformatting because the hardware was in a marginal state and "died" under the load of windows reinstallation.

Let's hope this is not your case. First thing would be to reset the BIOS. Turn off the computer and unplug the power cable. Open the box and carefully remove the CMOS battery which looks like a silvery disk. Wait for 10 minutes, reinstall the battery and reboot. The computer should boot, giving an error message which is the result of incorrect time. You can set time and date in the BIOS or you can continue and set them latter through windows.

If you have a CMOS reset jumper on the motherboard you can use it. This will save you taking the battery out and shorten the time required for reset (should take 1-2 minutes). Don't forget to set the jumper to its previous state.

[lindalou_two]

The Skeptic,

Thank you for your reply. I did as you said, with no results. As I said there is nothing more on the screen other than the D SUB rectangle. I guess as you said, during reformatting, the hardware must have been in a marginal state and "died" under the load of windows reinstallation. It was working sluggish before the reformatting.

My system is 4 and 1/2 years old and I had use it each and everyday. It is my third computer, was the very best one that I have ever had and I don''t know what I will do without it. I do not know what the cost would be to try and fix it and definitely can not afford a new one at this time.

Thank you for trying to help me. I really appreciate your time and knowledge.

Thank you again,
Linda

[The Skeptic]

Please forgive me for asking again:

1: Do you have any device connected to the computer? If yes, please disconnect all of them except for the ksyboard, mouse and monitor.

2: Here I repeat my question: when you boot the computer does it immediately go into the D USB? nothing at all between the time you press the button and the appearance of D SUB?

3: Please disconnect the monitor cable and reconnect it while the computer is out of power. Does it make any difference?

4: If step no. 3 doesn't work: please look at the back of your computer and see if there is another connector for the monitor. If there is, connect the monitor to the other connector and reboot.

[lindalou_two]

Thank you for sticking with me...no forgiveness needed. I really appreciate the time you are taking to try and help me!!!

There is only the keyboard, mouse and the monitor connected. They were the only things connected when I did the reinstall also.

There is nothing more on the screen other than the D SUB rectangle. From the moment the monitor comes on, almost immediately, the D - SUB rectangle appears and then the monitor goes into the power saving mode. I did as you said, I disconnected the monitor and reconnected it while the computer was out of power. It made no difference. I do not have another monitor connection to try. After I did as you said, I turned the power off to everything, then I powered only the monitor on and it did the very exact thing as it had been doing with no keyboard, mouse, nor the tower to relate to.

My first post under another name is below. It may or may not be of some help. It does have a little more information as to what happened after I reformatted.

Again thank your so very much for your time and all help. Linda

I used the (Destructive) reformat from my hard drive. At the end of it, I answered all the questions asked and was told 'Thank You' and to click finish which I did. My monitor went black and I thought the computer was rebooting but it did NOT reboot. It just shut down and now when I try to reboot, the key board is not commnicating. It powers on but does not do anything else whatsoever. I can not use it at all nor will another key board work. The tower will accept a disc, the disc drawers will open, but they do not let the disc play. The monitor comes on with a dark screen with a small rectangle box up in the left hand corner that has D SUB in it but then goes directly into power saving mode, all within about thirty seconds or less. Before when it was working right, the ONLY way to turn the tower off, was to go through the start button on the monitor. Now I can turn it on and off anytime without the use of the monitor. It is as if the three pieces are not communicating. I had saved all my personal data elswhere already. That's not the issue. My computer has served me well and has been like a trusted friend to me. The only reason that I reformatted was it was running sluggish and I was afraid it may have picked up something off the internet. Almost two years ago, I had reformatted from my hard drive but I used the (backup) mode at that time and had no problems that I recall. Also at that time, since I did not receive an "Operating System's Restore Disc" with the purchase of my computer, I had purchased one through the mail. I ordered the "Gateway Applications, Drivers, and Operating System RESTORE DVD" for later use. Since I could not find my disc at this time, I chose to use the hard drive reformat again, but this time I used the (Destrutive) reformat. And now, I can not use my system what so ever. I really was destrustive, so it appears. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Many, many thanks to each of you. Linda

[The Skeptic]

If the video part of the computer is not working then there is no telling if the mouse and keyboard are working, except for the lights flashing during bootup. My worry is that we declare the computer dead while there is only a video problem. A qualified mechanic would tell you, in about 20 minutes, what the problem is. It's up to you decide. I don't think I can continue from this point with replacing parts for trial and error diagnostic.

All the best

The Skeptic

[lindalou_two]

Thank you once again for all your help. I will see if I can get someone local to look at it for me just as soon as I can get the money together. You have given me hope.

God bless you always,

Linda

[lindalou_two]

To my friend,

I can not tell you thank you enough for all your precious time and help. When you told me about the video card possiblity, I did some more research on the web and told my 17 year old son about what I had found. He told me that at the beginning of this school year, when he first started computer typing class, the teacher had gone inside of the computer with them, showing them the different parts and components.

I had nothing to loose, so I let him unplug a component and replug it and restart the computer. We were hunting the video card. Long story short, the third try was the fix. My Gateway is up and running better than ever, at least as good as it did when I first bought it.

I'm using it right now to let you know.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Always try and find the good in the bad. There is a reason for all things that come our way.

May God's blessings be with you,

Linda

[The Skeptic]

Thanks for letting us know. This is our pleasure.