BleepingComputer.com: Laptop Boots But Screen Remains Black, External Monitor Does Same

Hi there!

I have a formatted HDD with no OS installed in my Everex Stepnote VA 4103M (one of my "rainy day" computers, who has decided it is going to have its own rainy day ). When powered up, the CD-ROM (which contains a Vista installation disc) spins, yet my screen stays black. I'm assuming it's asking to install Vista, but obviously I cannot see a thing. I have attempted the battery out/power cycle trick to no avail, and also attempted using an external monitor, which gave me the same black screen. (I did hit Fn+F4 to toggle monitors to make sure it wasn't that, too.) I tried reseating the RAM, that didn't seem to help either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as getting an OS installed onto this HDD will determine if I am able to use my Toshiba until I get a larger HDD to replace the physically damaged one I just had to remove. And I neeeed my laptops back, I have a lot of graphics & web design work that I need to finish!

Thanks so much for reading!

This post has been edited by bpharris3: 02 July 2009 - 06:01 PM

Welcome to bleepingcomputer!

Try using one stick of ram at a time to see if one stick is bad. Try other ram if you have some laying around (check to make sure it's compatible of course!).

Thank you! =) There is only 1 stick of RAM in the laptop, so I switched it with a known (compatible) working stick from another laptop and same result. =(

Thank you for taking the time to reply. It is very much appreciated!

This post has been edited by bpharris3: 02 July 2009 - 08:00 PM

So you tried installing Vista while the screen was black, or did it turn black while trying to install vista? I take it the laptop originally did not come with vista on it?

With the battery power cycle thing you mentioned, are you talking about resetting the cmos? If not, then you should try that.