[yrogerg]

I have an IBM Think Pad A20m notebook. I installed Windows XP Professional and the notebook worked fine for 2 years. Until... I updated the notebook and it installed Service Pack 2. The installation took along time and I didn't want to leave my notebook on too long so I shut down the computer. I turned on my computer and the IBM logo came up then the screen suddenly turned black. On the top left of the screen a white underscore flashes. I waited for something to happen but the white underscore just flashes. I tried to put in the orignal Windows XP Professional cd in but the white underscore just flashes. I want to find another way to fix this problem without getting a new hard drvie. I don't know what to do.

[Retired Tech]

Start the System Restore tool at a command prompt

1. Restart your computer, and keep tapping F8 during the initial start-up until you get options, select Safe Mode with a command prompt then press enter.

2. Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an account that has administrator credentials.

3. Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

4. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to an earlier state.

Look for the most recent system checkpoint created before the errors to restore from

For additional information about the Safe mode with a command prompt, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

http://support.micro....com/kb/315222/


A description of the Safe mode boot options in Windows XP

If no change

You can use these to repair XP

Possibly, you will need to boot the PC and keep tapping the delete key until the PC enters set up. Change the boot order to CD ROM Drive then Hard Drive, press F10 then press enter, type Y then press enter and as it reboots, look for press any key to load from CD, press enter

XP Repair Install

Or here if you are unable to run XP Repair Install

Alternative XP Repair Install Method

Use Windows Installation CD to repair the current installation, from the list, which uses a slightly different method

Windows XP repair feature won't delete your data, installed programs, personal information, or settings. It just repairs the operating system

After running XP Repair you will need to install all Windows Updates

Microsoft Update

[yrogerg]

I don't think I can start in safemode. I tried to change the boot order cd rom drive and I put in the Windows Xp Pro cd in the drive the screen turns black and a white flashing underscore appears on the top left corner of the screen. I tried everything you said but nothing seems to happen.

[gerryf]

it doesn't sound like you saved the boot order....did you hit f10 to exit?

That should flip the boot order and allow you to start with the CD

[yrogerg]

yes i did. i saved the boot order, but the computer just shows a black screen with a white flashing underscore on the top left corner.

[yrogerg]

it looks like this.

[yrogerg]

i could here the cd spinning in the cd rom drive but the the screen just stays black and the white underscore flashes.