cannot reboot even safe mode

I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

Fresh install then :o( Try these articles: http://www.vistabase.co.uk/welcome.php?subcats/applications/virtualisation - option 5 and "Note" http://www.vistabase.co.uk/welcome.php?getstarted
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "rebuhjill" wrote in message

I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

Reinstall Vista. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"rebuhjill" wrote in message

I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

How do I retrieve my product key?
"rebuhjill" wrote:

I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

You mean you did not write it down, keep the email on another machine, or write it on the dvd?
"rebuhjill" wrote in message

How do I retrieve my product key?
"rebuhjill" wrote:
I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

Your product key is located in the e-mail you received from Microsoft when you registered for the beta, its near the bottom of the message. Check your inbox, if its not in there, check your junk folder. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"rebuhjill" wrote in message

How do I retrieve my product key?
"rebuhjill" wrote:
I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

Okay, no go with clean install either. I get to the press any key to boot from cd or dvd, then the dreaded black screen again. I cannot install, reinstall, etc. Any help would be much appreciated. I have run system tests on hardware, all is fine. Please help.
"rebuhjill" wrote:

I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

I am using my xp os to format, will reinstall that, and then try vista again. Thanks for your help.
"rebuhjill" wrote:

I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

If your system will not even boot from the DVD, then you have a hardware issue, provided that you were able to do so before and there is nothing wrong with the image on the disk.

"rebuhjill" wrote in message

Okay, no go with clean install either. I get to the press any key to boot from cd or dvd, then the dreaded black screen again. I cannot install, reinstall, etc. Any help would be much appreciated. I have run system tests on hardware, all is fine. Please help.
"rebuhjill" wrote:
I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks

Rebuhjill--
There is a promising "feature" or utility in Vista called Win RE or Windows Recovery Environment. Unfortunately, MSFT has published no information on it on their site, so that if Vista evokes a metaphor of a broad horizon, they are encouraging you to explore many of the features in it by fflying by the seat of your pants.
It may be that the missing corrupt system file feature is not up and running in Beta 2. I could tell you more accurately if I could find any information from MSFT or anywhere else on Win RE.
Win RE can be launched directly from the installation media that MSFT says it will mail out to people in a few weeks. If you burn the ISO, Win RE can be launched directly from it. It fixed a registry corruption caused by the erratic damaging SFC (SystemFile Checker) that the developers and PMS on the Vista team have crafted for Vista. This tool is targeting fixing corrupt drivers,corrupt registries, drivers that are not compatible with your hardware, and a few other no start problems that will be elucidated when and if someone from MSFT ever rights an intelligent article on this feature.
In other words, they turned Vista loose on the public without explaining many of its features, includingthe ones that are designed to save your OS. I consider saving the OS a fairly important priority. It's hard for me to discern what priority MSFT gives it.
***Accessing Windows RE (Repair Environment):***
1) Insert Media into PC
2) You will see on the Vista logo setup screen after lang. options in the lower left corner, a link called "System Recovery Options."
3) Select your OS for repair.
4) Its been my experience that you can see some causes of the crash from the Win RE feature, but as is SOP with errors from Windows, most of them are written in unintelligible encrypted language, hex or otherwise, that are often metastatically and ectopically scattered to the four corners of the operating system. They also have cute names like Sometimes at least one of them is in English.
5) Just as they did with XP, MSFT will make promises that OEM partitions and Recovery Discs will access Win RE. I've had seven years to realize that's not true; and you have six more years to understand it's not true in Vista. If you pluck down your hard earned money to the large OEM companies for a machine, insist that they fund an OEM retail DVD so that you will be able to access Win RE when Vista RTMs. MSFT is ensuring this won't happen, as are the OEMs because the two entitties can't cooperate on a price point to deliver customers the Recovery tools that they are making in Vista that they need. Corporate customers may have customized solutions in the context of Win RE, but all those teenyboopers using PCs in the MSFT ads that will trumpet Vista aren't corporate customers if I understand what Gartner calls a corporation/enterprise accurately.
5) MSFT will always issue some reflex aphorism like "OEMs are encouraged to provide the media" and I offer you as prime evidence of the efficacy of MSFT encouragement 7 years of XP and its Beta where I've fixed 1000 no start XP's and hidden and unhidden partitions from large so-called OEM named partners have been over 99% ineffective.
*Ask anyone who signs such a statement if they will go on prime time TV trying to access Win RE with a standard OEM recovery disc or partition.* Don't expect the silence to ever be broken. Don't expect anyone from MSFT to jump in here or anywhere else and say "Hell yes those OEM discs will access Win RE." They know a lot better. They know the truth and silence underscores that they do. If they think diffently, let's see Stevie Ballmer dance on in here and say so.
Truth in advertising would be a polished statement like "Hey Yo Customers. We know you're buying OEM pre-installed Vista. But listen up, because if you want effective access to our spiffy new recovery feature, you had better get your hands on a retailed DVD. Are we requiring you to purchase Vista twice (preinstalled and a retailed DVD? You bet your little round start button we are." Don't expect Wegner-Edstrom or any companies hired to do the "Vista in Every Pot in countries where no PC is left behind the migration ad campaign" to advertise with this kind of clarity and transparency. It's my experience if you want to make a room full of softies very quiet, ask them about the ability of OEM tools to handle no boots and what the success rate is. Most of the softies don't have a lot of experience with no boots,and when they do, they know the truth and they have tons of their own media free anyway.
What would change this is if everyone purchasing an OEM computer simply insist to the sales person, that they won't spend their hundreds or thousands of dollars unless they get a genuine MSFT Retail DVD with that very expensive machine. What would be interesting is if the OEM VP of MSFT would post precisely what code is given over to the OEMs to make these half baked not even capable of being a frissbee Recovery CDs or what goes into a so called and classic oxymoron of a name "recovery partitions."
When you realize that the MSFT OEM VP is an accountant from Price Waterhouse with no background in computer software engineering, it gets very easy to understand what is going on in the 3 Card Monte Shell Game where MSFT tells you their OEM partners are "encouraged to provide access to their Recovery tools like Win RE." It is time that the Vista PMs stood up to these accountants who block delivery of their software to a prospective/projected 500 million OEM non enterprise customers and insisted that their product get delivered to customers. But often a backbone is a very difficult thing to find at Redmond. Gates, Ballmer, Sinofsky, Allchin and Chris Jones, Corporate VP Windows Client Core Development should proudly stand up and brag that they are delivering the full panopoly of their software recovery mechanisms to OEM customers but they won't and they can't right now because they aren't.
Good luck,
CH

"rebuhjill" wrote in message

I am using my xp os to format, will reinstall that, and then try vista again. Thanks for your help.
"rebuhjill" wrote:
I recently tried to install a game after running Vista fairly smoothly. After the game was installed, it froze, so I had to restart the computer. When it restarted, the display would only display at lowest setting and was unchangeable I attempted system restore, and now the computer hangs at black screen (tried to let it run for several hours.) I tried last working config. after that, and safe mode, still hangs at black screen. At this point, I cannot even boot in safe mode. Any suggestions short of formatting?
Thanks