Black screen - No optical mouse Led

"Joe T." writes...
On Saturday 11-21-09 my home built 4 yr old computer just quit. XP Pro
SP2,
retail version, K7S5A motherboard, ATI Radeon graphics card. Reset
computer
and it came back on. 4 hrs later, same thing. Tried to restart but but
this
time no screen, no optical mouse led light. Monitor says no signal. Does
not
get to BIOS screen or anything. Just a black screen. I can hear hard drive
start. Here's what I have done-
1. Removed HD and put it in another computer. Boots ok. All files there.
2. Put in a old but good NVIDIA graphics card. Still no screen.
3. Put in old but good 512 memory stick. No luck. Worth a shot.
4. Took power supply to tech shop to test. Ok.
5. Changed ribbon cable.
Any other suggestions? New Board?

Bought a new board and new processor. Store guy said to do a XP repair
after
putting it together. What am I looking at as to repair XP Pro SP2 retail
version? Got a good simple link?

I've looked at http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm and it
starts out saying :
"Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order
in
the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system
documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order".

I realize this qustion may be premature since I have not installed my new
motherboard, new processor and drivers. Will the bios screen pop up first
to
select my boot order? If so, this question is moot.
Will my old XP activation code work since I have a new board and
processor?

I have a retail version XP Pro SP2 not OEM. I built this box.


Joe T.
First of all while it is true that following a motherboard/processor change
it is likely that you will have to perform a Repair install of the XP OS
since (presumably) you will be utilizing your current HDD in that system.
But this is by no means an absolute certainty. In a significant number of
cases we have found that there is a possibility - although admittedly a
slight one - that the system will boot straightaway notwithstanding the
hardware changes, thus avoiding the need for a Repair install of the OS.
There's no telling beforehand (at least we've never been able to determine
such) based on the types/makes/models of the hardware involved and/or even
whether an AMD-Intel or Intel-AMD hardware configuration is involved.

In any event regardless of the need to undertake a Repair install of the OS
following the motherboard/processor change it will be necessary to install
the appropriate drivers for the new motherboard from the new motherboard's
installation CD. I'm sure you're aware of this.

Anyway assuming a Repair install of the OS will be necessary it's a
relatively straightforward process roughly akin to making a fresh install of
the OS. But in nearly every case your existing programs & user-created data
would be retained. Notice I said "nearly". While it would be a rather rare
situation where data would be lost or corrupted as a result of the Repair
install, and as unlikely as it may be, it *could* happen.

So if there are any programs and/or other data on your present drive that
are absolutely crucial to you and you could not tolerate their loss, then I
would strongly suggest that before undertaking this Repair install operation
that you first either make a "clone" of your existing HDD (using a disk
imaging or disk-cloning program) or, if that's not practical, pull off
whatever data you want onto some removable media, e.g., flash drive, CD,
etc. before proceeding with the Repair install.

Again, it's a relatively rare event that a loss or corruption of data will
occur even when the Repair install is unsuccessful, but it *can* happen. So
be aware of this.

Here are the step-by-step instructions that can be found at Microsoft's site
at...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...nostart.mspx#2

quote
Before performing a repair installation of Windows XP, you should have both
your Windows XP CD and your product key available.

To perform a repair installation of Windows XP

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into your computer.

2. Restart your computer. If prompted, press a key to start from the CD-ROM.

3. When the Welcome to Setup page appears, press ENTER on your keyboard.

4. On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement page, read the licensing agreement.
Press the PAGE DOWN key to scroll to the bottom of the agreement. Then,
press F8.

5. When prompted, press R to have Windows XP attempt to repair Windows by
reinstalling important Windows components.

The repair and reinstallation process might take more than an hour.
Eventually, Setup prompts you to answer questions just as if you were
installing Windows XP for the first time. For detailed instructions, read
"Install Windows XP" at...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/winxp/install.mspx"
/quote

Also, here are a number of websites that contain detailed step-by-step
instructions for
undertaking a Repair install. Let me assure you that it's not a difficult
process and not terribly time-consuming. As I've indicated, it's roughly
similar to making a fresh install of the XP OS. There's really not too much
to it.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XP...install.htm#RI
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winx...exfullpage.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;315341

Assuming the Repair install is successful, you should use your A-V program
to immediately check out your PC for any virus infestation. Also, you will
need to download/install *all* the MS critical updates since SP3. I'm
assuming that if you undertake this Repair install of the XP OS, you will be
doing so with a "slipstreamed" XP installation CD that contains SP3. On the
other hand if you decide to undertake the Repair install with your current
XP/SP2 CD you'll later install SP3 after determining all went well with the
Repair install.

It's a near-certainty you will have to activate the system following the
motherboard/processor change and you should be easily able to do this
online.
Anna

"Joe T." writes...
On Saturday 11-21-09 my home built 4 yr old computer just quit. XP Pro
SP2,
retail version, K7S5A motherboard, ATI Radeon graphics card. Reset
computer
and it came back on. 4 hrs later, same thing. Tried to restart but but
this
time no screen, no optical mouse led light. Monitor says no signal. Does
not
get to BIOS screen or anything. Just a black screen. I can hear hard drive
start. Here's what I have done-
1. Removed HD and put it in another computer. Boots ok. All files there.
2. Put in a old but good NVIDIA graphics card. Still no screen.
3. Put in old but good 512 memory stick. No luck. Worth a shot.
4. Took power supply to tech shop to test. Ok.
5. Changed ribbon cable.
Any other suggestions? New Board?

Bought a new board and new processor. Store guy said to do a XP repair
after
putting it together. What am I looking at as to repair XP Pro SP2 retail
version? Got a good simple link?

I've looked at http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm and it
starts out saying :
"Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order
in
the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system
documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order".

I realize this qustion may be premature since I have not installed my new
motherboard, new processor and drivers. Will the bios screen pop up first
to
select my boot order? If so, this question is moot.
Will my old XP activation code work since I have a new board and
processor?

I have a retail version XP Pro SP2 not OEM. I built this box.


Joe T.
First of all while it is true that following a motherboard/processor change
it is likely that you will have to perform a Repair install of the XP OS
since (presumably) you will be utilizing your current HDD in that system.
But this is by no means an absolute certainty. In a significant number of
cases we have found that there is a possibility - although admittedly a
slight one - that the system will boot straightaway notwithstanding the
hardware changes, thus avoiding the need for a Repair install of the OS.
There's no telling beforehand (at least we've never been able to determine
such) based on the types/makes/models of the hardware involved and/or even
whether an AMD-Intel or Intel-AMD hardware configuration is involved.

In any event regardless of the need to undertake a Repair install of the OS
following the motherboard/processor change it will be necessary to install
the appropriate drivers for the new motherboard from the new motherboard's
installation CD. I'm sure you're aware of this.

Anyway assuming a Repair install of the OS will be necessary it's a
relatively straightforward process roughly akin to making a fresh install of
the OS. But in nearly every case your existing programs & user-created data
would be retained. Notice I said "nearly". While it would be a rather rare
situation where data would be lost or corrupted as a result of the Repair
install, and as unlikely as it may be, it *could* happen.

So if there are any programs and/or other data on your present drive that
are absolutely crucial to you and you could not tolerate their loss, then I
would strongly suggest that before undertaking this Repair install operation
that you first either make a "clone" of your existing HDD (using a disk
imaging or disk-cloning program) or, if that's not practical, pull off
whatever data you want onto some removable media, e.g., flash drive, CD,
etc. before proceeding with the Repair install.

Again, it's a relatively rare event that a loss or corruption of data will
occur even when the Repair install is unsuccessful, but it *can* happen. So
be aware of this.

Here are the step-by-step instructions that can be found at Microsoft's site
at...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...nostart.mspx#2

quote
Before performing a repair installation of Windows XP, you should have both
your Windows XP CD and your product key available.

To perform a repair installation of Windows XP

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into your computer.

2. Restart your computer. If prompted, press a key to start from the CD-ROM.

3. When the Welcome to Setup page appears, press ENTER on your keyboard.

4. On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement page, read the licensing agreement.
Press the PAGE DOWN key to scroll to the bottom of the agreement. Then,
press F8.

5. When prompted, press R to have Windows XP attempt to repair Windows by
reinstalling important Windows components.

The repair and reinstallation process might take more than an hour.
Eventually, Setup prompts you to answer questions just as if you were
installing Windows XP for the first time. For detailed instructions, read
"Install Windows XP" at...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/winxp/install.mspx"
/quote

Also, here are a number of websites that contain detailed step-by-step
instructions for
undertaking a Repair install. Let me assure you that it's not a difficult
process and not terribly time-consuming. As I've indicated, it's roughly
similar to making a fresh install of the XP OS. There's really not too much
to it.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XP...install.htm#RI
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winx...exfullpage.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;315341

Assuming the Repair install is successful, you should use your A-V program
to immediately check out your PC for any virus infestation. Also, you will
need to download/install *all* the MS critical updates since SP3. I'm
assuming that if you undertake this Repair install of the XP OS, you will be
doing so with a "slipstreamed" XP installation CD that contains SP3. On the
other hand if you decide to undertake the Repair install with your current
XP/SP2 CD you'll later install SP3 after determining all went well with the
Repair install.

It's a near-certainty you will have to activate the system following the
motherboard/processor change and you should be easily able to do this
online.
Anna