Black screen after driver updates

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I did a clean install from Vista to Win 7 HP 32-bit on my laptop. I installed all the programs I use and then went to HP.com to check on updated drivers for Win 7. I found updates for BIOS and graphics which I installed.

When I rebooted, nothing happened except I could hear the HD starting up. I had no screen shot from the BIOS starting or anything else – just a black screen. I figure a download was corrupt or I “fried” the graphics card.

My question is how do I install anything to the BIOS with any graphics?

Thanks for any help!

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If you have a second PC or laptop, you can download and burn a CD of Knoppix, then insert it into your main PC and hope that it will boot on the CD. This will help you to see: i) Is the graphic card really dead, ii) You should be able to see your Hard Disk and see your important files, and copy them on a second disk or a USB key.

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Thanks for your reply and suggestion. It will be a couple days until I can get to a PC that has a CD but I will post what happens when I try it
Thanks again.

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I used Knoppix but got the same results. Only gounds of the HD starting up and the lights of the power, HD and pointing pad.
Looking at other posts it looks as if I have a doorstop not.
Thanks for the help.

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Many manufacturers modify the BIOS to allow use of new features and hardware – also, some of the big-name brands have been known to try to restrict the use of non-maker supplied hardware.

If the BIOS replacement (flash) goes bad or the data is corrupted or for a different model, then this is the sort of result that ensues. Get on to the makers support site and ask them to bail you out. Check their user forum for similar occurrances.

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Thanks for the reply Andy.
Have checked with the forum at HP and found that there are MANY unhappy users that have been having the problems like mine. HP’s reply is “Oh well. The 1 year warrantry is over so for $398 plus shipping & tax we will repair it”. It appears to be a known problem with a NVIDIA board.
Thanks for the reply.

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That’s a very poor attitude towards their customers Is there no way listed on the HP site or forum to recover from a bad flash that would apply to your laptop?

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Another idea is to use an external monitor and to connect it before you boot. Press the special Fn key plus F7 (the combination may be slightly different on your laptop) so the output will be redirected to the external device.

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That is a great idea Stephane. The laptop was connected to a external monitor when the problem started. I have tried using the keys for external devices but nothing again.
Thanks again.

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Thanks Andy. I couldn’t find a way to recover from a bad flash. The only “suggestions” were about a process called “reflow”. It seems that if you take the laptop apart and use a type of heat gun to ‘resolder’ the motherboard, it MAY recover (sometimes for up to 3 or 4 months). Not sure I want to try this.
Again, HP has had this problem for the last 2 or 3 years but has done nothing (I guess) to try and fix it (costs too hight?).

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HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

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HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

Reply | Quote

HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

Reply | Quote

HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

Reply | Quote

HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

Reply | Quote

HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

Reply | Quote

HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

Reply | Quote

HI, I had this problem when updating a Nvidia driver with Vista. I was lucky to have an Acronis image and used it to get up and running again. love Mal

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Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

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Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. I also have daily images of my C Drive (using Image for Windows) but without being able to see anything on the screen I can not use the backup.

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First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

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First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

First thing is to determine whether the laptop boots properly or not. Do you see normal disk activity and after a few minutes, the disk should stop spinning, indicating that the laptop is fully booted. Do you have to enter a user-id? Press Enter to simulate it as you cannot use the mouse. Then, from another computer, I would create an autorun CD that would run a bios flash program.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Maybe your could try to reset the bios to original by removing the battery and power lead and letting it stand for 1 hour to see if the power loss will reset the bios. Similar to removing the Cmos battery in a desktop.
May not work but worth a try as seems your bios update has corrupted the bios chip. I don’t know if laptops have a Cmos battery like desktops to remember bois settings and date etc.

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Stephane, Thanks for the reply.
When I push the power button, I get the HD light flashing and hear the HD spining up. The light only last for about 10 seconds and the sound about 3 seconds. Then the only light that remains on is the power button.
I do not have to enter a user-id.
The autorun CD sounds like a great idea. Is there a site that will give me step by step to burn one? I guess that another question is how do I tell if the black screen is a BIOS or video driver problem?
Thanks

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

Have you tried booting from your Windows 7 install DVD-ROM?

Does your laptop not have a repair partition?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

Reply | Quote

10 seconds of HD activity looks very short… Usually a boot sequence is two to three minutes with a lot of disk accesses. Without any visual clue, it is nearly impossible to say in which state your laptop is after these ten seconds: waiting for a user input? Displaying an error message that there is no video card available?

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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I agree with you Stephane. This is way I think I now have a doorstop.

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