Black Screen & White Cursor after Windows XP Welcome Page

Hi,

When I start my computer, the Windows XP Welcome page displays, but instead of the desktop appearing afterward, a black screen and white cursor appear.

I have tried these potential fixes:

- At the black screen, ctrl/alt/delte or ctrl/shift/esc to try get the task manager to appear
- At the black screen, shift key 5 times to try to get the task manager to appear
- At boot, F8 and enable VGA - regular, last good config, and safe mode
- Boot in safe mode with command prompt

nȯne of these approaches has had any effect. The computer remains hung at the black screen, and I have to turn the power strip off to get the computer to turn off.

Interestingly, when I turn the power strip back on, the computer automatically comes on without pressing the on/off switch on the computer itself. If I turn off the power strip, unplug all the wires from the back of the computer, wait a couple of minutes, reconnect the wires, and turn back on the power strip, then the computer doesn't automatically come on and I can press the on/off button to start it.

Also, the last time I was successfully using Windows XP, the computer did not shut down properly. The desktop just remained displayed after I selected the Shut Down option. I had to turn off the power strip to get the computer to turn off.

I'm guessing there is something more serious wrong with the computer (e.g., some type of malware).

The computer has several drives. The F: drive has Windows XP, as well as the applications and files that I had been using. The C: drive has Windows 2000. The D: drive has several applications.

Windows 2000 seems to work ok on the computer. I can select that operating system when the computer first turns on (Windows XP is the default option). I am writing this post now using Windows 2000, but I would really like to get Windows XP working again.

Through Windows 2000, I am able to access all of the drives. I backed up the files on the F: drive that were new since my last backup about a week ago.

In Windows 2000, I also installed and ran Avast anti-virus and Spybot Search & Destroy. The applications checked all the drives, and nothing came up, other than cookies for ad servers Doubleclick and Mediaplex. When I was using Windows XP, I had Avast, Spybot, and the Zone Labs firewall each running.

The computer is a hand-me-down. It was given to me by a friend who is a software architect. The test lab at his work was going to recycle it. It is older (P4 processor), but has worked fine until now. I do not have a Windows XP disc for it, and thus haven't been able to try some of the suggested fixes I saw online (e.g., chkdsk, fixboot, etc.). I really want to be careful to not do anything that could push the system past a point that would require the disc to be cleared and a new OS install.

If I follow the suggested steps on the "Read this before posting" page:
http://www.geekpolice.net/virus-spyware-malware-removal-f11/read-this-before-posting-t3821.htm

and I do the steps while using Windows 2000, will they identify and correct problems that are affecting Windows XP on the system? If not, or if there are other steps that you would suggest I try first, could you please let me know?

Thank you very much for reading this and for your help.

- Marc

bump

Avira AntiVir Rescue System is a Linux-based application that allows accessing computers that cannot be booted anymore.

• Download The Avira AntiVir Rescue System from Antivir.de.
  
• Just double-click on the rescue system package to burn it to a CD/DVD.
  
• Then please use that CD/DVD with Avira Rescue System to boot your computer.

You'll get a boot option to either boot from hard drive or AntiVir Rescue System.


Press the number 2 on your keyboard to boot into AntiVir Rescue System.

Please wait until drivers are loaded and Main menu shows. Then please select the second option “Scan your system with AntiVir” and hit Enter.


Under Configuration, please select Scan all files, Try to repair infected files and Rename files if they cannot be removed?.


Then please start the scan.

The Avira AntiVir Rescue System wil now

• repair a damaged system,
  
• rescue data,
  
• scan the system for virus infections.

Quick question:

When I turn on the computer, I have two login options: Windows XP and Windows 2000. If I choose XP, I get the black screen and cursor after the XP Welcome screen. If I choose 2000, I can get into the system. Windows 2000 runs normally off the C drive with no problems, and once I login I can see all the files on the F drive where XP is installed.

Should I still use the Avira program and follow the process you described in your reply?

Or, since I am able to access all of the drives by logging on using Windows 2000, would there be a better/different way to troubleshoot things (e.g., ComboFix, Malwarebytes, etc.)? Or, can those other methods only troubleshoot XP if I am actually able to completely and normally log into XP?

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't adding an unnecessary step. My overly wordy initial explanation may have not made clear that I can actually get into the entire file system, including the drive where XP is based -- albeit by going through Windows 2000 to access it.

Thanks for your help.

Hello.
Is the XP partition corrupt?

Hello. I don't think the XP partition is corrupt, but I'm not sure?

When I log in through Windows 2000 (which is on the C drive), I can access all of the files on the other drives, including the F drive where XP is installed. When I try to open applications that are on the F drive where XP is located, most of them open fine (e.g., Firefox, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Windows Media Player - version 6.4).

However, at least one application doesn't open properly: Windows Media Player - version 10. I get this error message window when I try to open that program (located on the F drive where XP is) after logging into Windows 2000 (which is on the C drive):

"The procedure entry point GetUserGeoID could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll"

There is also no sound on the computer whether I open an application that is in the Windows 2000 program file folder on the C drive, or in the XP program file folder on the F drive, or when I play a multi-media file through the FlashPlayer in Firefox (e.g., YouTube).

The device manager accessed through Windows 2000 shows an error message (yellow question mark with exclamation point) next to "Other Devices" and the following sub-categories:

- Multimedia Audio Controller
- PCI device
- PCI input device

Is it possible that the sound card drivers just got corrupted and Windows XP is getting hung after the Welcome screen because it can't access/process the sound that plays when the Windows desktop is displayed? I'm wondering if I deleted the corrupted files in the device manager and then rebooted if the system would automatically reinstall the drivers, or if I would have to have the original sound card disc.

Unfortunately, I don't have the original sound card disc. The computer was a hand-me-down from a friend, who got it from his company that was going to recycle it.

Should I still go ahead and run the AntiVir Rescue System (I have it on a boot CD now), or is there a different step I should take?

Thank you for your help.

I tried to run the AntiVir Rescue System, but couldn't get to the BIOS.

Upon boot, I pressed the F1 key, the Delete key, and the Escape key to try to get to the BIOS setup, so I could change the boot order and put the CD drive first.

However, no matter which key I tried, the system kept taking me to the screen for choosing which Windows operating system to use:

"Please select the operating system to start.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

Use the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight to your choice.
Press ENTER to choose.

For troubleshooting and advanced startup options for Windows, press F8."

When I pressed the Escape key upon boot, another screen with text briefly appeared. The top line had the word BIOS in it, so I think that was actually trying to take me to the system BIOS. Below that line, it said:

"Searching for devices: (had a flashing X here)

Primary Channel: Device not found
Secondary Channel: Device not found"

and then it took me to the Windows operating system selection page above.


1. Is there another way to get to the BIOS to change the boot order and run AntiVir off the CD drive?

2. Since I can get into Windows and the computer's entire file system (including the F drive where XP is installed) by selecting the Windows 2000 option (which is running on the C drive), is there a step other than running AntiVir that I should take?

Thank you for your help.

I was able to run AntiVir.

This link had suggestions for how to access the BIOS:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/a/biosaccess_bios.htm

F10 pulled up a screen with an option to boot from the CD.


The AntiVir scan said the following:

Checking the master boot record of drive 128
Checking the master boot record of drive 129
Checking the master boot record of drive 130

error (25): cannot read record
auto excluding /sys/ from scans (is a special fs)
auto excluding /proc from scans (is a special fs)

checking drive /path (list): /


The scan:

- didn't reveal any suspect files

- showed two warning files
1. winzip90.exe - archive not completely scanned: contents encrypted
2. zasetup_80_065_000_en[1].exe - (same): processing error

- showed one alert and renamed file
1. cuteComp.exe --> cuteCompe.exe.XXX

I could be wrong, but I don't think any of the warning or alert files are problem files. There is an old version of WinZip, a ZoneAlarm firewall setup file, and the cuteComp file is just the ad-supported free version of cutePDF, a PDF conversion application.


The AntiVir virus data file included in the download was VDF version 7.1.4.27, which was created on May 27, 2009. I tried to update the VDF file from within the AntiVir application. It downloaded the updated VDF files, but it then said there was an "error updating the VDF database."


Could you please suggest what to try next?

Would the fact that in the Windows 2000 partition the volume control is missing from the system tray and there are yellow questions marks and exclamation points next to the sound card entries in the device manager suggest that corruption of the sound card drivers may be involved? Could this cause the black screen / white cursor problem when I try to log into the XP partition?

Thank you for your help.