Thoughts on trouble-shooting... maybe some will apply. A blinking bar, after POST completes, usually indicates a driver loading problem related t
1) resource conflict (IRQ, DMA, I/O Port, etc.)
2) failed driver/hardware installation
3) driver or .inf file corruption
4) legacy junk in config.sys or autoexec.bat files
5) startup software conflict (AOL, WINAMP, NAV, McAffee, etc.)
6) a virus (very unlikely) The list above assumes HD and MBR are OK, and WINME is trying to load. Ask yourself if you recently installed any new hardware or software just before this started to happen? If you have an OEM thunker under warranty, you may want to let the OEM deal with it. Also, you might want to try the "System Restore?disk, or what ever your OEM calls it. Some of them are a waste of time, but the Dell and Compaq System Restore disks often actually work. If you've added some new hardware, the 揝ystem Restore?could become the 揝ystem Shredder.?The System Restore disk will usually try to load the drivers for the original hardware configuration. If it finds new hardware it doesn't recognize, it could go bonkers. (Older HP and Gateway System Restores do this a lot.) It doesn抰 hurt to try. OR....Here抯 a completely different ball game! If a blinking bar appears early in the boot, before POST completes, then most of the 6 items above DO NOT apply. From your forum post, it's hard to tell which is the case. I'm going to assume you made it past BIOS POST, and WINME is trying to load. A little more info here would really help. What do you see during boot? Do you see a memory check counter? Do you see a hardware recognition screen? Do you see any BIOS error messages or DOS error messages? Any BIOS error messages with numbers like 1780, 1781, 1790, 1791? Do you hear one beep after POST indicating hardware is OK? Or more than one beep? If you made it past BIOS POST and started to load WINME, your master boot record (MBR) is probably OK or you wouldn't have made it that far into the boot. Also, if your MBR failed, you'd probably see a BIOS error message something like "Disk Boot Failure", depending on your BIOS. If you can see a blinking cursor, then at least you have minimal video and your video card/chip is probably OK. Do you have integrated sound or video?? |