Windows Vista forum: System won't boot up; black screen

I don't see where you allowed the battery to recharge. Do nothing but allow it to recharge, the laptop need not be running. The LED status should offer the condition when fully charged, but give it time. If this is an older laptop and you really left for more than a few mins. when it died, it should have tried to do a safe shutdown or power-OFF. If during that time it got hosed because it couldn't do that, then possible OS corruption or boot config.. I do suggest you give it time before you use it again. After such time is enough, then try a reboot and hope for a normal display, etc.. If not, then you may need to do a "repair" using the Vista restore/recovery discs, not an OS install but repair. It should help rebuild the boot config, etc.. If none of this works, then you may have a bad battery, period. A bad cell will cause improper voltage to be present even if plugged-in, so don't push this you may damage your AC charger. Also, check the manual, you may have a "default reboot switch" located on the laptop or a sequence of keys to push to help in this regard. Visit the Acer support for your model#, it should provide that info. Beware, if you need a new battery, get one from a trusted vendor.

tada -----Willy

I have allowed the battery to recharge and it seems to have worked. The
computer does start (even if Windows does not boot) when the AC adapter
is disconnected and battery is in. I've had the same issues with
Windows bootup when the battery is out and computer is only plugged in.

I don't have Vista restore/recovery discs and not much luck finding it to download as an .iso

I've also tested the memory and hard drive already and both are fine.

What does that mean?

Were you able to use F8 to get the Safe Mode list of options? If not then that's serious.

But if so that is progress of a sorts. Then what happened when you selected the top option and pressed Enter? What did you see happening?

Here's why it could be bad. If all you see is that Acer splash screen then the black screen, we need to know what POST is reporting during boot up.

POST is "Power On, Self Test" and is a function of the BIOS when you turn the system on. The BIOS checks through all the hardware and reports OK or whether there's any problems. In your laptop the POST reports are hidden by the Acer splash screen and we need to disable that. So, on the next boot up, hit F2 when you see it to enter Setup, (the BIOS settings). Then use the keyboard arrow keys to navigate around the BIOS tabs and settings and look for the option that displays the Acer splash screen. Disable that and then Save & Exit the BIOS.

Then watch the BIOS reports, (the POST messages), to see what is being reported.

Mark

Wasn't able to use f8 to boot in Safe Mode.

I did disable the Acer screen, here's what BIOS reports showed:

System BIOS Shadowed
Video BIOS Shadowed

If POST doesn't even display any messages about the hard disk then it's gone.

Time to take this to your local repair shop I fear.

Mark

I removed the hard drive to try to ascertain that the issue was elsewhere and to remove what I could from the drive.

Should I try again with the drive reinstalled? What should I look for in the POST

If the hard drive is OK hardware-wise (you didn't tell how you tested it, but you say you did) and the system still hangs on a black screen and there's no possibility to enter Windows boot menu by pressing F8 at the right time, it's time to get your Vista DVD and boot into the recovery screen to see what the issue is and possibly repair it.

See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-are-the-system-recovery-options-in-Windows-Vista

Kees

Drive Fitness Test (http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/#DFT)

I've also tried to boot with the hard drive removed.

I've already tried to boot from the Vista cd- don't think I can access System Repair

You need to ensure the BIOS reads the CD/DVD drive first to boot from it. Look for Boot Order in the BIOS then try that Vista Recovery Disk again.

If it fails even after that, then there is little more that can be done.

Mark

I changed the BIOS setting so it boots first from the disc drive. I've also successfully been able to boot iso images off of discs.

So it boots from CD, you say. That's nice. But that doesn't necessarily mean it will boot from a DVD also. The DVD-part of such a combi-drive might be broken while the CD-part is working OK.

So what exactly does "I don't think I can access System Repair" mean?

Kees

was that you needed to be able to get into Windows (in safe mode or some other form) to run System Repair. I've tried booting from ActiveBoot unsuccessfully.

No, you run it from the DVD without need to login into an account on the hard disk. Two useful links:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Startup-Repair-frequently-asked-questions
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ss/windows-vista-startup-repair.htm

I don't know what ActiveBoot is, so I can't comment on that.

Kees

I never get past the point where I'm asked to hit any key to proceed. I hit the key and then the computer goes to black screen.

Then it seems time to find a repair shop and ask them the costs of a repair.

Kees

Mark,
YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE STAR! I had a different problem with my Acer 4800 but your solution fixed my problem. I can't thank you enough!!!!

I have allowed the battery to recharge and it seems to have worked. The
computer does start (even if Windows does not boot) when the AC adapter
is disconnected and battery is in. I've had the same issues with
Windows bootup when the battery is out and computer is only plugged in.

I don't have Vista restore/recovery discs and not much luck finding it to download as an .iso

and unless you have deleted the partition it should still be there.

To start the recovery process:
1 Restart the system.
2 While the Acer logo is showing, press <Alt> + <F10> at the same time to
enter the recovery process.
3. Enter the password to proceed. The default password is six zeros.
4. In the Acer eRecovery Management window, select Recovery actions and
click Next.
5. Select the desired restore action and follow the onscreen instructions to
complete the restore process.

Step 3 might not be necessary on some models.

Alt + F10 is not launching the recovery process

Everything that has been offered in this discussion has failed. it looks like this disk is dead.

It is time to move on. How you do that is up to you but if this was me I would purchase a new hard drive and install the OS onto that.

Mark

I really appreciate all the help everyone offered. A shame its not fixable.