Computer will not boot (XP) - blank screen

Hi all,

I have an Acer laptop that will not boot. The Acer insignia comes up as it starts then there is nothing after that but a blank screen. I cannot even run a Windows XP recovery or reformat the HD. When I set the bios to boot to CD first. The same blank screen shows up.

I installed the HD into another known working Toshiba laptop and the same problem occured, the Toshiba insignia comes up then...nothing. So I don't think it's a hardware issue. I then took the drive out and put it into a 2.5'' USB HD enclosure and I was still able to see and transfer all my info from the drive so the data is still there, it just won't boot. Shamefully I must admit I haven't updated my virus protection in some time. Could this be some kind of boot virus?

Thanks in advance for all help offered.

C

 

If you can put the drive into an external enclosure and see it, can you format it from another computer? This may be the only option as Windows setup isn't working.