Never had any problems but sat for about 6 years in its original box after being replaced with a newer model. I have use for this old box now but when I try to boot off a harddrive I get the "black screen blinking cursor" just after the screen with the boot and setup options, no beeps. I installed XP through the DVD drive, so I'm assuming it is okay. There is also a CD drive I installed that never had any problems, but I have yet to pull its plugs and see if it did actually go faulty. Ram should be okay, I've used 8 different sticks, but I suppose there is the possibility that they all went bad. Tried booting without ram, got the proper beeping, so I assume the board is fine. Tried fixboot and fixmbr even though it is a new installation. Could the partition on the drive be wonky? Maybe I should try lowering the partition to 40gb and see if that helps. I also installed a new battery on the board since I was getting a bad date and time error. Has an old graphics card that produces an image so I assume it is okay. I may try pulling the PCI ethernet board but I am feeling like the old P4 core is shot. I have done a lot of searching for answers and I am running into dead ends. Please help!
Black screen, blinking cursor
Started by
Valyndiir
, Jul 23 2012 07:50 PM
#1
Posted 23 July 2012 - 07:50 PM
Never had any problems but sat for about 6 years in its original box after being replaced with a newer model. I have use for this old box now but when I try to boot off a harddrive I get the "black screen blinking cursor" just after the screen with the boot and setup options, no beeps. I installed XP through the DVD drive, so I'm assuming it is okay. There is also a CD drive I installed that never had any problems, but I have yet to pull its plugs and see if it did actually go faulty. Ram should be okay, I've used 8 different sticks, but I suppose there is the possibility that they all went bad. Tried booting without ram, got the proper beeping, so I assume the board is fine. Tried fixboot and fixmbr even though it is a new installation. Could the partition on the drive be wonky? Maybe I should try lowering the partition to 40gb and see if that helps. I also installed a new battery on the board since I was getting a bad date and time error. Has an old graphics card that produces an image so I assume it is okay. I may try pulling the PCI ethernet board but I am feeling like the old P4 core is shot. I have done a lot of searching for answers and I am running into dead ends. Please help!
#2
Posted 24 July 2012 - 06:59 PM
So you get the Black screen, blinking cursor on the first boot after completing the XP install?
Did you do a full format of the drive during the install or a quick format. If quick, try it again but do a full format.
Did you do a full format of the drive during the install or a quick format. If quick, try it again but do a full format.
#3
Posted 24 July 2012 - 07:44 PM
I did not reformat at all, I will do that tonight. Many thanks!!
Edited by Valyndiir, 24 July 2012 - 07:45 PM.
#4
Posted 26 July 2012 - 01:03 AM
Well that worked, but when I got windows up and running I rebooted. Then it went into an infinite loop of loading to the windows logo screen and failing to load the desktop. So I reformatted AGAIN and it said it could not properly copy mqutil.dll I believe it was so I changed from the DVD drive to the CD drive and reformatted and then it said it could not properly copy magnify.exe. What the... IS WINDOWS PROBLEM? GOOD GRIEF
#5
Posted 26 July 2012 - 06:41 PM
Three possibilities that I can think of.
1. CD is defective. Is this a purchased XP Install CD?
2. Defective hard drive. Run the manufacturers diagnostic for the drive and see what it finds:
1. CD is defective. Is this a purchased XP Install CD?
2. Defective hard drive. Run the manufacturers diagnostic for the drive and see what it finds:
3. Memory (RAM) problems. To test, reove 1/2 of it and see if the install will complete. If not, swap with the other half and try again.Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics
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