Version of Windows? Assuming XP and assuming you have an original XP CD that came with the computer:
1. Boot the recovery console and see if you have a Windows installation. How to: http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxprcons.htm Run a CHKDSK /R and see if it completes without errors. Repeat until there are no errors or you've run it 3 times. If you can't get rid of the errors, there's a hard drive problem. Try booting normally now. If it still fails then: 2. Do a Repair Install of XP. How to: http://snipurl.com/7etr A repair install is generally safe and harmless to data files, programs, and user settings. However, if you have important data that is not backed up - i.e. you can not afford for the hard drive to go up in flames in the next 30 seconds (which is unlikely but always possible), then you should make plans to backup your data first. Carl -----Original Message----- From: Windows Home/SOHO [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Thomas H. West Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2005 9:35 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Apparent Hardware Problem I have the task of diagnosing my girlfriend's computer. It is an HP Pavilion 553W. It has booted to the hard drive approximately one week ago. Since then, it will boot to the CD ROM drive and the floppy drive, but not to the hard drive. Whenever it tries, it does the POST, then goes to a black screen with no cursor, and stops. I have run DOS-based diagnostics provided by HP's web site. The entire system passed all tests. Any ideas?? Thanks for any help. Sincerely, Thomas H. West [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ---------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Is your picture included in the Official Win-Home List Members Profiles Page? http://www.besteffort.com/winhome/Profiles.html If not, write to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
