Blank screen, is fixing possible?

Just trying to find out if this is repairable in advance, what happened is my father in law (83 years old) got one of those scam phone calls from microsoft that his PC had a fault and followed all sorts of instructions over the phone. Fortunately he doesnt do banking or anything online so he cant lose anything. However he says his screen has gone completely blank. In the next few days I intend to go over and have a look but I am thinking if the screen is blank and I cant access anything is it a lost cause. I will of course try safe mode and anything else I can think of to see if I can at least access something as a starting point. Anyone come across what they have likely to have done. I expect he will get another phone call from them offering to fix it….at a price, but he has been well warned now. Comments welcome.

Hello scudo…. Welcome to
WTT :thumbsup:
:yes:

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon as possible.

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Before we can help you need to provide the following so I can start you in the right direction.
Laptop or Desktop?

• If a name brand system then what brand, make and model is the system?
• If custom built then what brand, make and model is the motherboard
• Total memory installed
• Total hard drive capacity and free space
• What steps have you taken so far to resolve the issue

Hi rshaffer61, Thanks for coming in on this. It will be sat/Sun before I can provide the info required as I wont have access to the PC until then. I may just bring it home with me so I can then work on it. It is a desktop. regards Scudo

No problem I will get a email notification when you respond.
Just a thought but by chance does your father have the OS installation disk that you can get or do you have the installation that matches what he has installed on the system?
Worse case scenario we can do a Repair Installation which should keep all his programs and data safe but allow the system to boot into windows correctly then. You will most likely have to do all the updates from Microsoft and all drivers again though.

OK I tried to boot the PC… It goes to a screen that states “ a problem detected and windows has been shut down…..” Tech information: STOP: 0x000000ED (0x81B7CE30,0x0000032,0x00000000,0x00000000) Will not boot to safe mode, the above message appears. Will not boot to last known good configuration, the above message appears. Unmountable_ boot _volume message at one point. He couldnt find an installation disc, so assume none available.

OK can you get me the info from post 2 that i have reposted below.

Before we can help you need to provide the following so I can start you in the right direction.
Laptop or Desktop?

• If a name brand system then what brand, make and model is the system?
• If custom built then what brand, make and model is the motherboard
• Total memory installed
• Total hard drive capacity and free space

There is no brand name on the case but I am sure it was bought off shelf and not custom built. I will open the case up later today so where /what am I looking for to get your info. Memory size I can get from the cards in the machine? "Total hard drive capacity and free space" How do I get this info? I would normally get this after I get on to the desktop.

If there is no brand name then it is most likely a custom built or a way off brand system. Let me ask have you checked the BIOS to see if the hard drive is identified there?

Not sure if this helps… 1st boot device CDROM 2nd boot device HDD-1 base memory 648k extended memory 325632k Not quite sure where to go in the bios, what menu etc.

OK I misstated what I was looking for. It should give you a model number of the drive if it identifies it correctly. What you posted was the boot order.

In advanced BIOS features I dont see anything which relates to a model number. Nothing in CMOS. The only other thing I see is a header at the top of the BIOS screen … "Copyright © 1984-1999 Award software I assume this info would be in the Advanced BIOS features?

Usually it is where it shows the installed drives. That normally is on the main page of the bios or the first page depending on the bios on the motherboard.

From this menu … standard CMOS Advanced BIOS Advanced chipset Integerated Peripherals Power management PnP/PCI configurations PC health. I am going into Advanced BIOS and cannot see any relevent info. Have checked the other sections listed above.

It would most likely be in the Standard area.
If not we may have to try a different way to see if it is there. Since you have no OS installation disk then we will have to use a Linux Live CD to see if maybe it can find and identify your hard drive.





Use Puppy Linux Live CD to Recover Your Data:

===================
***Required Hardware***
CD Burner (CDRW) Drive,
Blank CD,
Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)
===================

1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:

• Download Latest Puppy Linux ISO (i.e.: lupu-528.iso)
  Download BurnCDCC ISO Burning Software
  
  There are instructions on how to boot from flash drive with puppy here; http://www.pendrivelinux.com/put-lucid-pup…e-from-windows/
  
  
• Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer
• Extract All files to a location you can remember
• Double Click [external image: Posted Image] BurnCDCC
• Click Browse [external image: Posted Image] and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded
• Open/Double Click that file
  IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x
• Click Start [external image: Posted Image]
• Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically
• Insert a blank CD and close the tray
• Click OK

Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created
2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second

• Start the computer/press the power button
• Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup"
  (Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen)
• Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to:
  CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd
• Open your ROM drive and insert the disk
• Press F10 to save and exit
• Agree with "Y" to continue
• Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD
  
  [external image: Posted Image]

3. Recover Your Data

• Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM). You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer". Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning. Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy. To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once. Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to. This is normal. Ready? Let's get started.
  
  3a. Mount Drives
• Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop. [external image: Posted Image]
• A Window will open. By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted. Click on Mount for your hard drive.
• Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount.
• USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
• If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.

3b. Transfer Files.

• At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
• Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1
• Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1
• If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows)
• From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window.

For The Novice: The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each idividual name of each user. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos.

Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.

YOU ARE DONE!!! Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. Congratulations!



[external image: Posted Image]

If you're doing this to recover from a virus or malware infection, (or even if you're not), DO NOT copy executable files (.exe, .scr. etc…) if any of these files are infected you could be copying the corruption over to any new device/computer. just copy documents, pictures, music, or videos.

OK thanks I will work my way through your instruction and report back either later tonight or tomorrow. thanks