Windows 8 - Won't Boot Up (black screen with blue bar)

RedBaron

New Member
Messages
4
Hi all,
Apologies if this is in the wrong section, I'm new to this forum. My Dad got a Windows 8 computer about a month ago and up til now it has worked okay. Today when he turned it on, all he got was this screen:
View attachment 14116
Sorry the quality is poor, I had to use my iPod camera... Basically the whole screen is just black with the blue bar along the bottom, and the two icons in the bottom right corner; a HP help icon (which doesn't seem to do anything) and a Norton scanner icon. The computer has been stuck at this point for about half an hour now and doesn't seem to want to load any further. Does anyone know what the problem is, and how (if) it can be fixed? I think he said he's going to take it back to Harvey Norman tomorrow, but I would like to know what has happened if possible (he's the sort of person who downloads all sorts of rubbish, but since it won't start, I can't see what he's downloaded to try to work out what may have caused it, if indeed it was caused by something he did).

Thanks in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
It's hard to tell, it could be a graphics card failure, it could be a corruption of a program, it could be corruption of video drivers, it could even be malware.

Since it's an HP, you should be able to run the onboard diagnostics. Try tapping "Esc" as it first boots - that should get you to the screen for the key to launch the diagnostics. FYI - if you can see this screen OK, then it's probably a software problem (IMO).

You could also try these free, bootable diagnostics (again, if you can see the screen, it's probably a software problem): Initial Hardware Diagnostics FYI - the bootable antivirus disks can be used to see if this is related to an infection.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Thank you for your reply (and sorry for my late one) I did try hitting escape as it booted it, but for whatever reason, it didn't make a difference, just went to the black screen and sat there indefinitely. Dad eventually took it to Harvey Norman and they fixed it somehow (Dad had no idea what they did so he couldn't explain it to me).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Well, fixed is fixed! :0)
Thanks for letting us know!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
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