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Tech help? - Netbook booting into black screen

by Paul Myers
35 replies
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So, I did a bunch of updates to my ASUS netbook today. After updating to the latest Win 7 service pack, there were 36 important updates. After THAT, I checked the "optional" stuff. Saw an update for the Intel graphics accelerator. Picked that and skipped the rest.

Rebooted and got a black screen. Nada, for about 10 minutes. After that, it finally brings up the Windows log-in. Start to enter the password and the screen goes black again. Rebooted and entered the whole password despite the black screen, and it appears to boot properly. But still no graphics. Black screen.

Can't revert to the reset point the system made before that because I can't see anything on the screen. Tried going into safe mode, but that doesn't show anything, so I don't know if I got there or not.

To make things more complicated, it's a dual-boot system, with Linux and Win7.

Suggestions from the resident geeks?


Paul
  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    Same results when trying to boot into Linux?
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Kim,
      Same results when trying to boot into Linux?
      Seems to be. I can't be sure I'm getting into Linux, since I can't see the startup menus to make certain I'm hitting the right keys at the right times.


      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I realize I'm a techo-idiot - but have you run a TDSSkiller on your machine? Whenever something freaky happens on my machine, the first thing I do is scan it to see what the hell I've picked up. LOL.
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  • Profile picture of the author waterotter
    Is that a Win7 32 bit or 64?
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
      Paul,
      go into your bios, change your vid card, frequency, irq

      DO NOT do it all at once.

      Change one reboot. see what happens

      Do over if it does not work.

      I do not know for sure.. but is sounds like the update changed those
      ... or maybe your driver.... but IF it hanged your driver you should
      see something properly... until you booted.


      the fact you said Linux AND windows acting the same says...

      your update MIGHT be a coincidence... and your vid card died.

      good luck
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      • Profile picture of the author waterotter
        Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

        Paul,
        go into your bios, change your vid card, frequency, irq

        DO NOT do it all at once.

        Change one reboot. see what happens

        Do over if it does not work.

        I do not know for sure.. but is sounds like the update changed those
        ... or maybe your driver.... but IF it hanged your driver you should
        see something properly... until you booted.


        the fact you said Linux AND windows acting the same says...

        your update MIGHT be a coincidence... and your vid card died.

        good luck
        This was my second suggestion
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

        Paul,
        go into your bios, change your vid card, frequency, irq
        Do they HAVE this at the bios level? My EEE doesn't seem to have it! Last I knew, no BIOS had it.

        The fact is that there is a standard that is very old(Most was created before VGA existed, and the rest at the same time as VGA) that finds the card, and uses it as a BASE VGA card. This is actually good enough to do most things that were done prior to like 2000, and good enough to boot about any O/S out there. The O/S then uses the video drivers with requested settings to control frequencies, and how all should work.

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    It doesn't sound like a HARDWARE problem, unless it is a video problem.

    You say it is ASUS, so I ASSUME it is an EEE. Are you using any special video functionality?

    When you said that you did a bunch of updates, do you mean microsoft windows update? I ask that because if you did something like update the BIOS(NOT possible through M/S), then all bets are off.

    If you install the wrong BIOS copy, for example, you could, in theory, destroy your computer.(It wouldn't work, and the motherboard would not be able to recover) The EEE, as I recall, is supposed to have a FULL FAILSAFE!

    So if you corrupt the bios, you can recover, as I recall. You can also recover the O/S if needed BUT, in theory, that would wipe out everything else. I forget the key, but you should be able to access those options by hitting that key while it is booting up. It has an option to restore the BIOS, and to restore the O/S. After all, you can't use a CDROM, as you normally would. I guess they thought the BIOS update was a simple addition.

    ALSO, if it has advanced graphics capabilities, and your default setting used them, the intel accelerator could have disabled them. In theory, that would cause the screen to go crazy or be blank. THAT is why microsoft put in that timed feature when you change screen resolution. If you fail to say it looks OK, it reverts to the OLD one. So if it went crazy THEN, it would automatically recover.

    Still, I have been pretty lucky. I only have XP on MY EEE but I never had a problem with it. ODDLY, as I recall, I got IT because my VISTA computer had a problem like you described. That was some kind of weird setup problem I managed to get past.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author waterotter
    Have you run the SFC?

    SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker - Windows 7 Support Forums
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    I'm not real up on netbooks. Are you able to connect it to a monitor?
    If so that would help narrow down the problem.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      I'm not real up on netbooks. Are you able to connect it to a monitor?
      If so that would help narrow down the problem.
      That's one thing, I think ALL can connect to at least a VGA monitor. If the problem IS the card or driver, the monitor may not work either.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    LMAO - so much for virus advice. I don't even understand what they are telling you to do. Guess I keep running for the virus scanners in a pinch.

    But since you have a techie thread people are reading........

    I just updated my firefox and it hangs sometimes -- can anyone tell me in terms that even I can understand if there's something I can do to make it stop doing that? The pages just keep loading even after I can see them and I have to manually click the x on my search bar to make them stop.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      LMAO - so much for virus advice. I don't even understand what they are telling you to do. Guess I keep running for the virus scanners in a pinch.

      But since you have a techie thread people are reading........

      I just updated my firefox and it hangs sometimes -- can anyone tell me in terms that even I can understand if there's something I can do to make it stop doing that? The pages just keep loading even after I can see them and I have to manually click the x on my search bar to make them stop.
      Some websites are POORLY designed and DO always download! Your problem COULD be due to a bad plugin or network setting.

      Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author waterotter
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      LMAO - so much for virus advice. I don't even understand what they are telling you to do. Guess I keep running for the virus scanners in a pinch.

      But since you have a techie thread people are reading........

      I just updated my firefox and it hangs sometimes -- can anyone tell me in terms that even I can understand if there's something I can do to make it stop doing that? The pages just keep loading even after I can see them and I have to manually click the x on my search bar to make them stop.
      LOL, Sal - get rid of Firefox and try Comodo Dragon
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      • Profile picture of the author HeySal
        Originally Posted by waterotter View Post

        LOL, Sal - get rid of Firefox and try Comodo Dragon
        I have commodo firewall - they have a browser, too?
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        • Profile picture of the author waterotter
          Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

          I have commodo firewall - they have a browser, too?
          Check it out!

          Comodo Dragon Internet Browser
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          • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
            I don't get any video display at all during boot-up. Not even before the OS choice. So, no apparent way to get into the BIOS.

            After it hits the password screen (with the long wait), I get a blank screen again for another few minutes, and then the desktop shows. Any input through any device and it goes dark again.

            It was fine after the Windows updates. It was updating the Intel graphics accelerator that it went dark. The system boots properly, except for the lack of graphic display.

            I believe it's 32 bit. It's a 3-year old netbook, so probably not 64 bit. EEEpc netbook.

            I'll try hooking it up to a monitor. I don't expect much, given that the display seems to go away with any input from any device.


            Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
    Paul, So sorry to here about your Netbook my friend.
    Wish I had words that could help you but this time I don't.

    Here's the music I played for my last notebook just before...um, well, never mind anyway here's the music...


    J/K
    ~MM~
    edited: replaced above, the words "you notebook" with "your Netbook".
    Pours out last beer...
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    The only way to get into the bios generally is to hit the entry key, which I believe is F2, BEFORE you would get the OS choice. By the time the OS choice would have come up, the function keys are ignored by the BIOS.

    OK, I misunderstood about the symptoms. An entry causing the screen to go blank is odd.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Thanks, folks. I tried something "stupid," with the idea that if I screwed up the boot-up permanently, I could just reformat the thing and make it a Linux-only box. That would work for what I want to do with this system now anyway.

    I powered it down during boot-up, right after entering the Windows password. When I rebooted it, it came up in safe mode, which is what I was hoping to force. Rolled it back to the last restore point, and all seems to be well now.

    I know. That's akin to percussive maintenance. But I was prepared to accept the worst case consequences.


    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    So it WAS an update, driver, or later install. BTW the latest eee computers are 64bt, but around 2008, they were 32.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Steve,

      Yep. The damned video driver update.

      I would have been annoyed if I hadn't been able to recover it somehow. Linux-only would have been fine, as I'm not really all that OS-convicted. But this puppy will run for over 10 hours of real work on a charge. I don't use it often, but when I do, I need it.

      So far, it's spent most of its existence in my "techno-go bag." (My brother calls it my "geek purse," )


      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

        Steve,

        Yep. The damned video driver update.

        I would have been annoyed if I hadn't been able to recover it somehow. Linux-only would have been fine, as I'm not really all that OS-convicted. But this puppy will run for over 10 hours of real work on a charge. I don't use it often, but when I do, I need it.

        So far, it's spent most of its existence in my "techno-go bag." (My brother calls it my "geek purse," )


        Paul
        Yeah, I have been toying with doing the same. I'm often sad that it has a hard disk, instead of the SSD I wanted, and the screen can't reverse. I COULD have gotten an SSD one, but they were all TINY with linux. Other than that, the only REAL negative is the speed.

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author waterotter
    So, which Intel Graphics Media Accelerator did you download - the 32 bit or 64 bit version?

    Note to Paul - make note of this - it may save you future headaches
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Jody,

      Wasn't given a choice or any info on that aspect of it. It was one of those "recommended but optional" things. I generally assume the creators are smart enough to know how to specify the right OS when they set these things up.

      I know. When you assume, you make a mess out of EEE.


      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

        Jody,

        Wasn't given a choice or any info on that aspect of it. It was one of those "recommended but optional" things. I generally assume the creators are smart enough to know how to specify the right OS when they set these things up.

        I know. When you assume, you make a mess out of EEE.


        Paul
        Yeah, I have NEVER seen such a thing happen(installing an incompatible driver). Then again, when I first got linux it was an OLD version. This was a LONG time ago. I updated it nearly EVERY day! One day, it became unstable and nearly unusable. I was AGHAST! Of course three days later, IIRC, they fixed it.

        I continued to constantly update it until version 2 something(again, it was a LONG time ago), and NEVER had a problem that bad again. BTW they released a LOT of minor releases. And they did NOT start with v1. I believe my first version was like .92. So I am talking about a span of over a year.

        I should say that the way I updated though was to download the update, patch the version I had, and compile it.

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author williambrown
    I'm going to update my PC today and I'm thankful I read this one. I might skip the optional updates from now on upon reading this. Thanks for this one and I hope you fix it now. Maybe you can visit a technician, it could help you with your problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    You may also want to create a windows 7 system repair disk if you haven't already done so.

    Just go to control panel - system and maintenance - backup and restore. on the left click on the create system repair disk.

    One time I didn't do this, and no one else with the same OS did either. I think I used a 98 repair disk to get me into vista, and it was enough to get into the computer and undo the damage I had done. I believe the problem was I was doing a system restore, and I accidentally hit the system recovery by accident. My computer started to wipe itself clean for the rebuild, and like an idiot I panicked and shut down the power.

    I was left with a blank hard drive and no disks. The recovery disk was enough to get me into the partition and complete the system rebuild.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
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      Originally Posted by David Maschke View Post

      You may also want to create a windows 7 system repair disk if you haven't already done so.

      Just go to control panel - system and maintenance - backup and restore. on the left click on the create system repair disk.

      One time I didn't do this, and no one else with the same OS did either. I think I used a 98 repair disk to get me into vista, and it was enough to get into the computer and undo the damage I had done. I believe the problem was I was doing a system restore, and I accidentally hit the system recovery by accident. My computer started to wipe itself clean for the rebuild, and like an idiot I panicked and shut down the power.

      I was left with a blank hard drive and no disks. The recovery disk was enough to get me into the partition and complete the system rebuild.

      OP said it was a netbook (no CD-Rom), at least my HP netbook doesn't have a CD-ROM drive.

      Might be able to boot from a USB/external drive?
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        OP said it was a netbook (no CD-Rom), at least my HP netbook doesn't have a CD-ROM drive.

        Might be able to boot from a USB/external drive?
        Yeah, one requirement of a netbook is NO CDROM. If it has one, you stray into subnotebook territory.

        Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
      Originally Posted by David Maschke View Post

      I think I used a 98 repair disk to get me into vista, and it was enough to get into the computer and undo the damage I had done.
      those win 98 disks are frigging magic.

      They will literally boot anything (windows )

      and yes you can put them on a CD or jump drive ... if it has the Bios to
      make it a bootable drive...it works
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    I have a program on hand that some might want to consider.
    It is a data recovery program but at times it seems to work unrelated miracles.
    You might want to check it out.
    **Home of Gibson Research Corporation**
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      I had an external CD/DVD drive specifically for the netbook, until I loaned it to a friend whose system had crashed. Don't think the other one would have "just worked" on it, and installing the thing would have been impossible with no visual interface.

      I believe I still have the BIOS set to boot from CD/DVD as the first option, so that might have worked with the original drive.

      I've been thinking lately about just doing portable apps on a secure USB drive or SD card for travel. At current prices, they're pretty much disposable commodities. And nothing I do requires particularly fast systems.


      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author HzCy
    First, try to hard reset. (Google if you dont know how)
    If this dont works, try to go to your bios (f12, f11, f1,f2 or del)
    and try to reset to default.
    If this doesnt work, you could try to install your system new, or try to take the case of the PC off, and take the mainboard battery away for about 40 minutes.

    Then it should work again.

    PS: The mainboard battery is a little battery on the middle of it. You will notice it or just google it .


    Good luck with your netbook.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by HzCy View Post

      First, try to hard reset. (Google if you dont know how)
      If this dont works, try to go to your bios (f12, f11, f1,f2 or del)
      and try to reset to default.
      If this doesnt work, you could try to install your system new, or try to take the case of the PC off, and take the mainboard battery away for about 40 minutes.

      Then it should work again.

      PS: The mainboard battery is a little battery on the middle of it. You will notice it or just google it .


      Good luck with your netbook.
      At least on PC compatible computers in the US, they removed the hard reset ******LONG****** ago! That is one of my pet peeves. I looked at google. That is NOT a hard reset! In computer terms, a hard reset is pulling the reset pin of the MPU(AKA CPU) to reset level. Does it use BIOS? *****NO***** Does it wait for windows? *****NO***** Is it PC specific? *****NOPE***** Does it use ANY software? ****NOPE**** How long does it take if the computer is running a trillion things with the disk whirring, it seems to be hung, etc? A split MILLI-second!!!!! When that reset pin is pulled to reset level, the CPU, regardless of brand or type, has only ONE job! Execute the instructions at a set location. Even the Intel i7 has the reset pin Look at page 68 of the datasheet!

      But the PC/AT and immediate descendants may have been the last computers to have it, outside of maybe like some smart phones that have a recessed switch that is hidden, that you can use a paperclick to press if all else fails. It used to be a little red button on the REAR of the computer you could press. Maybe too many people figured it was a quick way to get out of software, and they later got burned when they figured out the TRUTH.

      The "mainboard" doesn't have a battery. There Is a battery ON the mainboard for the clock, and maybe bios settings. But that won't help.

      That said, apparently there are rumors that a hard reset is starting EVERYTHING from scratch, starting with wiping out the disk contents. I prefer to keep the language the same. I am using terminology that started over 60 years ago.

      Steve
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