XP-Pro boots to black screen with no mouse, no keyboard support...

An alternate title for this post might have been "Fix boot problem on former boot drive, now a second internal drive?" as I've managed to partially solve the problem by restoring (using Macrium Reflect free) an external backup drive image to a new hard drive, "BigBoy2," and I can boot fine with that. Both drives scan clean with current AVG and with Malwarebytes.

Now I want to fix the secondary (and former boot) drive so that it boots and do so without destroying my settings, applications, or data on either drive. I also want to understand the problem, so I don't accidentally recreate it again.

My old boot drive, "BigBoy1," is now the secondary, has all its data and OS files (I think), scans clean with AVG and chkdsk, but still has this problem when I use it to boot. All the hardware, including this HP DX5150 Microtower, the Dell 17" LCD, USB keyboard and mouse, work and test just fine booting with "Bigboy 2," but not "Bigboy1." Both hard disks are new this year and each is a 1TB SATA2 drive, a Western Digital Black and a Seagate Barracuda, respectively, both with "SMART Status: Healthy."

Also, I've always been super proactive about PC maintenance, running the latest updates, AVG, 3 anti-spywares, etc. Recently, I tried (one at a time) WinUtilities, Tune-Up Utilities 2011 and iolo System Mechanic trials. All apparently worked great and I uninstalled one before installing the next. Could iolo SM trial have caused my problem on the non-booting drive? I think it just now wiped out my NIC driver and I had to reinstall that to get back online. iolo Sm, good bye...now uninstalled.

Spent several days chasing down what I thought was a virus corrupted Windows file, C:\Windows\System32\mfc45.dll, only to conclude that it now scans clean with AVG and Malwarebytes and wasn’t the problem. Also, Filealyzer2 now shows the file to be exactly the same on both hard drives, but only one will boot.

No recent changes in MSConfig, which uses the same settings on both hard disks (pre and post problem). However, I did just try various startup options and found it's the only way to /SAFEBOOT either drive, since F9 shows the Boot Menu, but with no USB keyboard support! Anyway, these changes affect only the good booting drive and I would need to make them, if I knew how, to the non-booting drive.

Same thing with System File Checker, sfc /scannow…How do I check/repair the non-booting drive with it? Can I trust it on either drive? (There is no sfc /verifyonly for Windows XP Pro.)

Booting with BigBoy1, I can use F10, Setup, to enter and configure the BIOS to boot from either drive (or from a CD), but not F9, Boot menu or its Safe Mode options. I used a BartPE CD (created per instructions from Macrium Reflect Free) to boot and image BigBoy2 (from an older image of BigBoy1) and that hard drive now works and tests fine. I can sync data files between the two with SyncBack.

Here’s the weird thing: The HP OEM Operating System CD (Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2) CD can load the Setup Menu ONLY when BOTH hard drives are unplugged, so how do I repair the bad one? And I have to use a PS2 (not USB) keyboard, to even use that Setup Menu.

While the HP Restore Plus! CD will boot, but only warns that it will reformat the hard drive, before doing a system restore….no option to run Windows XP Recovery Console or FIXMBR from it, if that’s needed.

Can I run FIXMBR or “sfc /scannow” from BigBoy2 to fix a second drive, BigBoy1, so it boots? (Must be careful not to damage good booting BigBoy2.) If so, how?

Just read article on how to backup (5 files) registry manually. Since contents are very similar, should I try to copy these registry files from the good booting drive to the other?

The Problem: Booting with BigBoy1 still ends with a black screen (faint glow and monitor light green), no mouse or keyboard response (neither are lit) and Safe Boot menu is not usable. Using PS2 keyboard allows F9 (Boot Menu) to show, but selecting BigBoy1 ends in blank screen every time.

The Question: How do I diagnosis this and make BigBoy1 boot normally again? How can I determine and restore any missing/corrupt system or driver files to it? How can I do that while it's running as a second (non-boot) drive?

I have just run Belarc Advisor and HiJackThis reports. I can provide both, if asked, but they would only describe my computer as booted with BigBoy2, not with the problem BigBoy1.

This is my only computer and I know just enough to really screw it up...unless the really smart folks in this forum guide me. Thanks in advance for all your great help!

 

Let me see if I have this correct. You were using BigBoy1 as your boot HD. It stopped working. You got a second HD and put an old image of BigBoy1 on it and are now trying to troubleshoot. The two drives never worked together previously?

What happens when you remove BigBoy2 and have only BigBoy1 attached? Do you see any screens before the blackness? (No cursor up at the top left?)

Does it react the same on either SATA cable?

***
Edit: Will the HP Windows disc load with just BigBoy1 and no USB devices at all attached? I doubt it but can't hurt to try.

Second Edit: DON'T do the 5 registry file change thing. I've read it a thousand times and I can't keep it straight. And MS instructions don't allow an undo.

 

Thanks, Sach2, for responding. Yes, was using BigBoy1 alone as my boot drive. On boot, it would then no longer get to Windows login screen, but does briefly show a blue HP screen with options for “F9 Boot Menu, F10 Setup, F12 Network Boot,” before going totally black, with no cursor (but green monitor light, meaning it’s getting a signal?), dead USB keyboard and dead USB optical mouse (no lights on either). “F9 Boot Menu” is useless, since no input devices are working. PS2 keyboard allows input, but selecting BigBoy1 goes to the black screen again.

Yes, put pre-problem image of BigBoy1 on spare HD, Bigboy2, and that boots fine. No, they never worked together before, but do now. Removing Bigboy2 and booting from BigBoy1, recreates the problem black screen, no input. Same on either SATA channel and for different SATA cables.

Cannot boot from Windows XP-Pro CD with either hard drive on either channel….that only boots with NO hard drive connected! Weird. So, cannot use Setup Menu, Recovery Console, FIXMBR on the unconnected drives.

I’ll hold off on copying the 5 registry files from good disk to bad, as I don’t think it’s a registry issue.

Booting from BigBoy2 with Bigboy1 as secondary is A-OK and both look complete, but how to make the latter boot, as it use to? Thinking of looking into Ultimate Boot CD (or the one for Windows), but don’t really know how to build a working disk or how to use all those utilities.

Many thanks for your advice.

 

Are you using a wide screen monitor? The black screen, while still getting a video signal, seems to me should be a MBR problem but that would usually have a blinking cursor up on the left. I know my monitor doesn't really display the blinking cursor very well whereas an old CRT monitor always did.

I think it couldn't hurt to rewrite the MBR on BigBoy1 and see if any change. Testdisk's MBR code is good. You could try:

Download Testdisk 6.12 and unzip it.

Booting from BigBoy2 with both drives attached run testdisk_win.exe from the win folder you just unzipped.
Create is highlighted so hit <enter>
Now you see two HDs listed. Since both are the same size you have to choose the right one. If they are the same model then it is more difficult. I believe /dev/sdb should be BigBoy1 when you are booting off of BigBoy2. Choose the correct HD and hit <enter>
Intel is highlighted and hit <enter>
Arrow down to MBR Code and hit <enter>
Type Y and hit <enter>
Type Q to quit. May take a couple of Q's to fully exit the program.
Try to Boot BigBoy1 and see if any change.

***
Choosing the correct HD may be a bit of a problem. Are both your HDs the same model or are they different which would make it easier to get the correct one? (I'm 90% sure that sdb would be the secondary drive but can't be sure with SATA drives).

 

Hi, Sach2. Thanks for the good suggestion and instructions on Testdisk 6.12. First, answers to your questions:

My monitor is an old Dell E151FP (15.2"vis, August 2002) LCD. (I like the older aspect ratio.) When it goes to black screen, the power light is green, not orange and not quite as black as when it’s unplugged, which I interpret as getting signal…but no cursor or prompt visible, only uniform black.

Fortunately, the two 1TB SATA disk drives are different brands:
Seagate Barracuda = Bigboy2 on bus #0…now the only bootable disk.
Western Digital Caviar Black = Bigboy1 on bus #1…”boots” to black screen, no input.

Under Windows Explorer, capacity and volume serial number look exactly the same (maybe because the Seagate got the old WD clone image?). But I’m see the bus numbers and expect that, as when in BIOS Setup, I can easily tell the difference.

Read the Step by Step Instructions and ran TestDisk 6.12, as you recommended. As expected, no problem identifying the two disks….as you predicted, BigBoy1 was /dev/sdb and its label showed. I analyzed it first, but no apparent problems or differences that I could see:

Partition Start End Size in sectors
* HPFS NTFS 0 1 1 121599 254 63 1953503937 [BigBoy1]

Only one partition, whose status is * = primary and bootable, not logical or deleted. I could even list or copy files, but didn’t need to. Nor were partition recovery or changes needed.

So, I then wrote a new MBR to this one partition, per your instructions, with no errors. But, alas, booting with BigBoy1 resulted in the same blank screen, no input. Well, at least we know it’s apparently not the MBR. But what can it be? Time for me to attach a current HiJackThis log?

Assuming that, from BigBoy1, Windows is loading, but with no input or output that I can see, what do you think of my configuring SyncBack 3.2.25.0 (from 2BrightSparks) to do a one-way file sync, good disk to bad, of C:\Windows\System32? SB has been pretty reliable for my data files, etc. How about using it for system files, drivers? Can’t think of anything else to try.

[ Also, for future problems, I want to burn several different Live Rescue CD’s containing Testdisk 6.12. Of the packages listed at this link, which do you think best for me? (I know DOS and Windows XP well, but not Linux.) http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Livecd ]

Making progress. Many thanks for your help.

 

Sorry, I lost this thread somehow.

I'm basically stumped. It seems to me if it was a video driver issue you should still get HP screen then XP loading screen (low resolution) then go blank as the video driver loads.

On the CD not booting when HD is attached also has me stumped.

Maybe try downloading the Gparted CD which is just a bootable CD with Gparted and testdisk to see if it will boot with both HD attached, since you want that CD anyway.

Parted Magic is only 20mb larger download and gives internet access while including both those programs above. Might be a good one to get instead/as well. http://partedmagic.com/doku.php?id=programs

Try to boot with one of those disks to see if they will start with both drives attached. That should rule in/out a BIOS settings for Boot Order.

****
You need to burn the ISO file for gparted or parted magic as an IMAGE file using imgburn or similar burning software to make it bootable. Guide to imgburn: http://www.calibancomputer.com/computer-tutorials.htm#burning

 

Hi Sach2

Sorry for the delay in responding….took longer than I thought trying what you suggested and more. Sure has me stumped, too, but I’m not out of things to try. Appreciate and agree with your thoughts re load screens and video driver.

Created and used the two bootable live CD’s you suggested, Gparted and Parted Magic. Before that, I had created and used System Rescue and BootMed Live CD for TestDisk 6.12.

About the same results with all 4 Live CD’s: Booted Linux into memory and ran fine, with only BigBoy1 connected (to keep BigBoy2 safe from my mistakes) and using my usual USB keyboard and mouse. Within my limited understanding of Linux, could apparently use all the bundled utilities, at least the non-destructive ones.

GParted 0.9.1 reported the following on the non-booting BigBoy1 hard disk and DVD-CD:
Device: ATA WDC WD1002FAEX-0 931.51GB = 1953525168 sectors, size 512 bytes.
/dev/sda1 [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]p[/FONT][/FONT] ntsf BigBoy1 931.50GB 63-1953503999 of 1953503937 total sectors.
/dev/sda unallocated 10.34MB 1953504000-19523525197 of 21168 total sectors.
/dev/sr0 HL-DL-ST DVD+RW 101MB/96MB (RO).

/dev/sda1 was listed as “not mounted” and “can’t read,” while my ignorance prevented me from trying to mount it. Also, got a warning from ntfsresize v2011.4.12AR.6 (libntfs-3g) saying, “this software has detected that the disk has at least 1 bad sector. Unable to read contents of this file system! Cause may be missing software package” [ntsfprogs?]…”Run ntfsclone –rescue…then chkdsk /f /r in Windows and reboot twice,” which I didn’t do, since this seemed to be a problem with GParted Live CD or my use of it…BigBoy1 file system is/was completely readable under the other 3 Live CD packages and under Windows XP Pro, SP3, booted from BigBoy2.

Ran TestDisk on BigBoy1 from this Live CD boot and got “Structure OK.” Then used GNU Nano 2.2.6 to open the testdisk.log file, which listed 8 files in /home/user/ and then “SIGHUP detected! TESTDISK has been killed.” Don’t think I killed it, but I moved on….

Parted Magic 6.7 was the easiest, most complete and by far my favorite of the Live boot CD’s. Was able to figure out how to use the GUI and most of the bundled utilities somewhat:

The Short Self-Test showed a “Read failure at 10%, Lifetime Hours 5634, and LBA of 1st failure 6469616.

GSmartControl 5.41 r3365 showed the BigBoy1 partition at /dev/sda, 1.0TB, WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3AO, sector size 512, firmware version 0.5.01D05, and it’s serial number. It also showed last 5 ATA errors, all at that same point: Lifetime hours 5177, active or idle, uncorrectable error in data at LBA=0x0062b7f0=6469616.

HardInfo 0.5.1 System Report show all OK and “/dev/sda1 /media/sda1 8.86 % (848.9 GiB of 931.5 GiB)…and…Storage, SCSI Disks, HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H21L and ATA WDC WD1002FAEX-0.”

The last two of these utility runs I captured into log files, which I later copied from the virtual disk to BigBoy1 for posterity…can send, attach or post, if needed.

Reconnected BigBoy2 as boot disk and am now back in Windows XP Pro, SP3, my usual production environment. From the Window DOS shell, cmd, ran a thorough chkdsk E: /f /v /r /x with results as follows:

File verification complete. Index verification completed. Cleaned up: 6 unused index entries from indexes $SII and $SDH of file 9, plus 6 security descriptors. Fixed mirror copy of security descriptors data stream….and verified. Usn Journal verification completed. File data verification completed. Free space verification completed.
976751968 KB total disk space.
86077732 KB in 196633 files.
79976 KB in 27012 indexes.
4 KB in bad sectors.
429336 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
890164920 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
244187992 total allocation units on disk.
222541230 allocation units available on disk.

None of this made BigBoy1 bootable. Additional thoughts:

I noticed while in both Window XP and in the Live Linux boots, that after a few minutes (~10?) the screen goes completely black, but resumes upon any keystroke or mouse movement….except when booting from BigBoy1, when both input devices “flash” their lights, as usual, and then go dead, not as usual.

(Not to be confused with my Windows screen saver, which moves the Microsoft logo around a black screen and also resumes the same way.)

Could this be some kind of power saver in BIOS? (Not that I see any settings for it there.) If so, what is it about BigBoy1 that kills the I/O devices before Windows even loads.

==>> The good news: I know I had said that the HP OEM Operating System CD (Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2) CD can load the Setup Menu ONLY when BOTH hard drives are unplugged, but for whatever reason, I can NOW boot from that CD, with I/O support, and with the problem drive, BigBoy1, being recognized…meaning I can run Recovery Console on that drive. Not sure if chkdsk fixed something, but I can now do the following…

==>> Since I’ve already run chkdsk and fixed any bad sectors (from Live CD), here’s what I want to try next from Recovery Console (of the OEM CD), one at a time, test booting in between each operation:
1. FIXMBR \Device\Harddisk0\partition1 …which is BigBoy1.
2. FIXBOOT C: …also BigBoy1.
3. sfc /scannow …since I found sfc.exe and its dll’s in C:\windows\system32\. I assume I can run it from there in Recovery Console.
4. LISTSVC possibly along with ENABLE and DISABLE of selected services. For this operation, I will have both hard disks connected and can compare what’s enabled or not in both System hives, I think. (Don’t suppose I could just copy the System hive from the good to the bad disk?)
5. With both drives connected, copy the 5 registry files from various backups I found on BigBoy1… or…from BigBoy2 to WINDOWS\system32\config of BigBoy1. [To avoid restoring malware damage, I have long had System Restore turned off on all drives, so no registry there.]
References I used:

Windows Registry Files and Where to Find Them
http://www.easydesksoftware.com/regfiles.htm

XP won't boot? - Performing a manual restore of the Windows XP registry
http://www.aitechsolutions.net/winxpnoboot.html

If needed, disable Windows File Protection (Windows 2000/XP)
http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/790/

6. SyncBack entire C:\Windows and all sub-directories one way from good to non-booting drive.

==>> Any thoughts or suggestions on the advisability or order of the above operations, before I begin? Probably, take me a week or more to try all of the 6 fixes above, but will report results here when done.

Sach2, do greatly appreciate that you’ve stayed with me this long and up a few dead ends…may be close to the goal: Knowing what to do if this happens again…and without using a second hard drive. Best regards.