Mean Laptop

[Spooner]

My GF's laptop loads up the Dell logo stuff, but then goes to black screen and doesn't load the OS.

I can get into the BIOS, but can't even get to the option to boot to safe mode.

What's the dilly here?

 

[RGN]

wrong forum.

 

[Spooner]

Originally posted by: RGN
wrong forum.

yeah yeah yeah.....

 

[Spooner]

no help?

 

[RossMAN]

Wrong forum, try the DellTalk forums.

 

[Fritzo]

Or you could tell him to try booting from a floppy. If it boots, the hard drive is dead. If it doesn't, the motherboard is probably dead.

 

[Spooner]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Or you could tell him to try booting from a floppy. If it boots, the hard drive is dead. If it doesn't, the motherboard is probably dead.

thanks for coming back with something besides "wrong forum"
don't you people know my internet browser only allows ATOT access??!

Any way. I'll have to try the disk boot later. Nothing different has changed recently, except I reformatted and installed Win2k on her machine. But it's already booted and worked fine for days now. It's a Dell Latitude with a puny Celeron 400 chip... was i pushing it installing win2k on it?

 

[iamwiz82]

i know this may be a stretch, but it you try plugging in a CRT monitor into the VGA port in back? Those latitudes are very fickle machines. Especially with drivers.

 

[Spooner]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
i know this may be a stretch, but it you try plugging in a CRT monitor into the VGA port in back? Those latitudes are very fickle machines. Especially with drivers.

wouldn't i still be able to see the Windows 2000 boot up logo even if the LCD was set to look for an RGB connection? If not, crap, I wonder if I just need to use that toggle key... you know that thing that laptops have?"

 

[iamwiz82]

not always. That being said, every latitude i different, it seems. We have 10 or so around here, and they all act strangely. One will not display the BIOS going to the VGA port, one will, one will use the docking stations onboard sound, one wont. They are all exactly alike and and all ghosted with the same image.

 

[Spooner]

iamwiz what kind of Latitude? Hers is a CptC

 

[iamwiz82]

Latitude CPx. I think they are the same basic style, unless she got the ultra thin one.

 

[Spooner]

naw, this thing's about 4 years old, equipped with a measly celeron 400, like i said. Ultra thin is the complete opposite!

 

[crystal]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
i know this may be a stretch, but it you try plugging in a CRT monitor into the VGA port in back? Those latitudes are very fickle machines. Especially with drivers.

Hahaha, that is how I solved my Hp zu1155 last night. Every time I have the laptop dock to the docking stations, the screen goes blank. It is ok if I booted it up by itself. It is that damn ati drivers ("Default single monitor" schema). Happen right after I do windows update with ati certified drivers. It see the vga pass thru on the dockstation as another monitor and it defaults to that one, i.e. one monitor display. I have to connect to an external monitor, the go into the display and turn on the laptop monitor as secondary (or primary and montior as secondary, your choice) and created a new scheme for that profile.

 

[Spooner]

there is no docking station for this lappy.

I can't figure out if it is not booting or if the screen just isn't displaying anyhitng. i hope it's the latter!

 

[iamwiz82]

does windows play its intro music? Is sound turned on? Does the HDD continue to work after the screen dies?

 

[Spooner]

hmmm... good call, i don't remember hearing any startup sound, and i believe the sound IS turned on....

crap, i really didn't take a good look at the thing, she just threw it at me in the middle of dinner