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#1
stephanieellen

stephanieellen

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I turned on my Dell this a.m. and it started to go on, and then I got a black screen with a blinking cursor on the top left corner. I have tried everything from unplugging to turning off computer. I don't know how to fix. Does anyone out there know? It gives me the F12 and F2 options I guess to reboot, but I don't know what to do when I get on those screens. I just need to get Windows Vista back up and running. Please help!
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#2
PILL5B3RRY

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It looks like you're having boot problems. Have you ever tried going on safe mode?

To go on Safe Mode:

1) While your computer is booting up, continuously tap F8 until you get a screen with Safe Mode options.
2) Choose the option that says Safe Mode (Don't choose the one with Networking or Command Line).
3) Your computer is now on Safe Mode :)

--------------------------------------------------------

If you can't get to Safe Mode, then something is seriously wrong with your system and you might need to consider reinstalling Windows.

Please get back to me,
PILL5B3RRY
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#3
Roman Pope

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Whoa! There seem to be an alarming number of similar problems... or is it me reading the forums more often?
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#4
usasma

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Nope, more black screen errors that you can shake a stick at.
These were easy in XP (either disk issues, or video drivers), but Vista has many more things that could cause this.

In general, if one can boot into Safe Mode, then uninstalling the current video drivers and downloading fresh one's is the first try.

If not, then chkdsk /r (or Startup Repair which does the same thing) to check the file system. Then a bootable hard drive diagnostic to see if the hard drive is failing.

If none of those work, then the most successful fix is System Restore. Don't have any System Restore points (or they don't work) then the outlook is bleak! :)
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#5
Fai Mao

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This is similar to the problem I have.

If it is the same problem then you cannot enter safe mode. Nothing works because nothing loads.

However, if you turn it off and wait, it sometimes comes on. As long as the computer stays on it is fine
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