Reformat Blank Screen Error

This error could be as simple as removing the Windows recovery disc from the disc drive or a bit more complicated. Let’s start with potential cause number one before exploring the other options.

Recovery Disc Blank Screen Error

When reformatting the Acer, did you use a recovery or Windows installation disc? If so, when you rebooted, the computer may be confused because it has found a bootable disc in the drive. Make sure that all disc drives do not have discs inserted and then reboot your computer.

No such luck? Let’s see if you can start your computer in Safe Mode.

Starting the Computer in Safe Mode

Try pressing the F8 key as you reboot the computer. Does Windows load in Safe Mode? If so, you may be able to access some advanced troubleshooting and diagnostics tools such as Disk Management.

However, since you just reformatted the computer, if the problem is not related to a disc being present in one of the drives, it’s probably easier to reinstall Windows rather than try to troubleshoot the first reinstallation. Reboot your computer with your recovery discs or Windows installation discs in the drive. These are bootable discs, so you should see a screen with instructions for restoring the computer to its factory condition.  

Advanced Microsoft Help

The Acer TravelMate 4020 comes in both Windows XP and Windows Vista versions. If you have Windows XP, the following Microsoft Support article may be useful:

Computer Stops Responding with a Blank Screen when Starting Windows XP

If you have Windows Vista, the installation CD has a “startup repair” tool that you can try which Microsoft describes here:

Windows Vista Startup Repair Tool

Hopefully your computer is simply refusing to load because it’s confused by the disc in its drive and will come to life once you remove the disc and reboot. If not, a reinstall may be in order.

Sudden Windows XP Slowdowns

Since your computer just started to act up, your computer may have a virus or spyware infection. Norton Internet Security itself shouldn’t be causing such a load on your system. However, hidden programs running in the background could be to blame. Even with a good antivirus solution such as Norton Internet Security installed, it’s not unheard of for the occasional malware to infiltrate your system. After all, antivirus developers are always one step behind the malware developers. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long for them to catch up. When they do, they release new antivirus definitions through updates.

System Restore

If you have System Restore enabled on your computer, check to see if a restore point exists from before Windows XP slowed down. If so, all you need to do is rollback your computer to this earlier point in time and your computer will return to its previous, well-conditioned state. System Restore does not affect your data but it does reverse any updates you may have received since then, so be sure to update Windows and Norton once the system is restored.

Another possibility is that a Windows update adversely affected Windows XP. Occasionally, an update is corrupt or incomplete, causing problems with the computer. Microsoft eventually updates the update and the problem goes away. When an update issue is suspected, you run Windows Update again to see if a new update has been released. If not, use System Restore to rollback the computer. Try updating again after the restore. A fresh update might take place, providing you with the protections released without the ill effects of the first attempt.

Potential Virus Infection

Depending on the version of Norton installed, your computer may or may not have real-time detection enabled. Even with real-time detection, undiscovered malware can get in and cause system slowdowns and other damage. A slight window of opportunity exists when your security software is not yet aware of the new malware. Once your product is updated, your computer will be protected from future infections but the current damage will remain until your system is scanned.

With that in mind, it’s smart to update Norton and then run a full system scan. You can also try o free online scan from another vendor such as Microsoft’s Safety Scanner or Trend Micro’s Housecall to see if these other vendors have detected a threat that Norton hasn’t yet detected.

Explorer.exe Crash

It sounds as though the Windows interface may be to blame. When your computer freezes after switching from one user to another are you able to get into Task Manager by pressing Control + Alt + Delete? If so, you should be able to stop the explorer.exe process and then restart it. To do this, click on the Processes tab and find explorer.exe in the list. Select it and then click the End Process button. Explorer.exe is responsible for the user interface so once it has been stopped all of your icons on the desktop will disappear. They’ll reappear once you relaunch the process.

To restart explorer.exe, go to the Task Manager’s File menu and click on New Task (Run). Type explorer.exe and then click the OK button. Your icons should reappear. However, if your computer is completely frozen, then this may not be a viable solution.

Fast User Switching

If you have Fast User Switching enabled for each user, you may be able to solve this problem by disabling this feature. Fast User Switching is turned on by default. This feature allows two or more computer users to share a single PC with their own user preferences, settings, programs, and document storage folders and then quickly switch from one user to the next without having to completely log off. For example, if you have several programs open and your partner needs to check his email, your partner could log on and check his email. Once done, you could switch back to your account and pick up where you left off. Your programs would still be open and waiting for you.

Unfortunately, Fast User Switching can tax the system as it takes quite a bit of memory to maintain the current user’s session. Try turning it off to see if you can switch users the traditional way without your computer crashing. If so, you will need to adjust to regular user switching which means the first user will need to log off before the second user logs on.

To turn off Fast User Switching in Windows XP, go to the Control Panel and click on the User Accounts icon. Select a user and click the option that says, “Change the way users log off.” Remove the tick mark in the Fast User Switching box.

It’s more complicated to turn off Fast User Switching in Windows Vista. There’s a good tutorial offering several methods over at Windows Vista Forums titled Fast User Switching. Before you go through the steps, try switching users by logging off the first user and then logging on the second user. If the computer doesn’t freeze, you’ll know that Fast User Switching is the cause of the problem. From there, you can either disable Fast User Switching or get into the habit of logging off instead of switching users.

Without additional information about the process, we’re going to have to do a little troubleshooting here. I’m guessing that something prompted you to start the reformat process in the first place - any symptoms or error messages you were getting might offer some clues as to what is happening with your system.  I’m not sure why you selected “no” when asked if you wanted to continue - was there a problem with the reinstallation at the time?

Display Drivers

Before you go back to the CD that you were using for the reformatting, it’s possible that you are having a problem with the display drivers. Can you get into Safe Mode by pressing F8 at startup? If you can, then go to Start and then choose Run. At the prompt, type in: Devmgmt.msc. Remove the display adaptor device completely and then shut down the computer. Reboot normally and see if that solves your blank screen issue.

Hardware Problem

Most of the time, a blank screen is caused by a hardware issue such as a motherboard problem, a bad processor, memory or graphics issues. Because I don’t know what prompted you to start the process in the first place, I’m not sure if it is an original hardware problem or the fact that the reinstallation was never completed.
Reformat

The Windows installation disc features a “repair” installation that repairs important components and leaves your data intact while reinstalling the operating system altogether will require that you wipe out your partitions and start all over again, losing all of your data and settings. Were you able to do a complete backup of your data before you started the original reformat? If not, this might be a good time to pull the hard drive and either get the data off by putting it in another computer as a slave or by using an external drive to get the data and save it in another location.

Can you start the repair process over again by putting the CD in the drive and turning the computer on? If you can, try to do another repair. You will see a Welcome to Setup screen - press Enter. You will see a licensing agreement - press F8 to agree to that. You will then have to press R to have Windows start the repair by reinstalling important components. This repair could take over an hour, and you will then have to answer questions as if you were installing Windows for the first time.

Reinstall

If you have your data tucked safely away in another location, you can reinstall the operating system using the CD. Do the same process as a reformat, but choose to install a fresh copy of Windows. You will have to delete the existing drive partitions and reformat the hard drive for this process to be successful.

If you can’t get any response using the CD, you need to look into possible hardware problems. This is a lot of trial and error and you might want to get some assistance to test each piece of hardware that might be the culprit.

I want to use a program (My Business Publisher) which I installed some time ago and cannot find. How can I find it please?

My Business Publisher

My Business Publisher was developed by a company called MySoftware. When visiting the MySoftware.com Web site in search of help, the page redirects to Avanquest software. To make it even more confusing, Avanquest’s technical support page lists dozens of MySoftware titles, but not My Business Publisher. So, getting solid information about the product hasn’t been easy.

Where is My Business Publisher?

While information was scarce, we can make an educated guess as to where the program is hanging out on your computer: the MySoftware folder. In looking at the help files for Avanquest’s other MySoftware products, most programs were installed into a program files folder named “MySoftware.” Hopefully this will be true of your My Business Publisher program too.

Click on Start > Programs and then scroll through the list of installed programs. You should see an icon or a folder labeled MySoftware. Click that and you should see an icon for starting the My Business Publisher program.

Searching for My Business Publisher

If this hunch is wrong, then we’ll need to try searching for the My Business Publisher program. We will do this in Windows Explorer. Go to the Start button and right-click it. Choose Explore from the menu. Navigate to the Program Files folder and click it. In the Search box, enter:

 *.exe

This will show you all of the .exe files found in the Program Files folder. You’ll see dozens, if not hundreds of executable program files such as iexplore.exe for Internet Explorer and QuickTimePlayer.exe for the QuickTime Player. Executable files are the files that launch an application. Scroll through the list in search of a file that looks like it might be the My Business Publisher application. For example, a file named BizPub.exe or MyBizPub.exe would be likely candidates. If you think that you’ve found the correct .exe file, double-click the icon and launch the program.

If you do find it, make a note of its location or create a desktop shortcut for future use. You can make a shortcut by right-clicking the file and choosing Send To > Desktop.

Identifying Windows Versions using WinVer

It’s definitely a good idea to know which version of Windows you are running, including the service packs it has been patched with. Fortunately, this is really easy to do. Windows XP and Vista both come with a utility called “WinVer.exe.” Simply run this tool and a popup screen will appear telling you exactly which version of Windows you are running, its build, and current service pack installed.

To run WinVer.exe, go to Start > Run and type in: winver.exe. Click OK.

Identifying Windows Versions using System Information

But wait - there’s more! If you want to learn a bit more about your Windows operating system, plan on visiting the System Information tool. This tool displays far more information about your system then the WinVer.exe utility. You can check System Information on both Windows XP and Vista computers by going to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information.

Once launched, you’ll see a system summary in the main panel. Items of interest in this case are:

• OS Name - Not only will this tell you that you are running Windows XP or Vista, it will tell you the exact edition such as Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional
• OS Version - The OS Version tells you the version number and service pack installed. For example, if you’re wondering why Windows 7 is called Windows 7, it’s because Windows 7 is the seventh version of Windows. Windows Vista is the sixth, Windows XP is the fifth, and so on.
• BIOS Version and Date - If you ever need to update your BIOS, this information is crucial. It’s mentioned here because few users know where to find it.

Identifying Windows Versions using the Control Panel’s System Icon

Another option is to go into the Control Panel and click on the System icon. In Windows XP, this doesn’t tell you much about your operating system but it does tell you about your computer’s name and hardware. In Windows Vista, however, this tool does list information about your system including Windows edition, service pack information, and system type (such as 32-bit or 64-bit).

Use WinVer to quickly find out your Windows version or explore the System Information and Control Panel’s System icon to learn even more about your computer.

Windows Operating System Errors

I think that you mean your operating system isn’t launching when you boot up your computer? Usually, when there is an operating system like Windows installed on a computer, turning the computer on will issue a command to execute the software and open the Windows program. However, if there is an error with the operating system, or sometimes a failure in the hardware, the operating system will fail to open and the computer will be stuck at a black or blank screen.

Boot to Safe Mode

The first thing to try is booting to Safe Mode. Rather than ask your computer to start normally, Safe Mode will limit the amount of functioning programs to the minimum that Windows needs to operate. This reduces the pressure on the system and lessens the chance that it will encounter an error. To boot into Safe Mode follow these steps:

1. Turn the computer off and wait 30 seconds
2. Reboot the computer - start pressing F8 as the computer starts
3. This will open the Advanced Options menu
4. Choose Safe Mode with the keyboard arrow keys
5. Press Enter
6. When you reboot your computer it will automatically reset to Normal Mode

Windows File Checker Tool

Depending on the severity of the error, you might be able to boot to Safe Mode. If this is successful, you should run both hard drive and software repair scans. If you are running Windows Vista or XP, you can use the File Checker utility.

1. Click the Start button, then type cmd in the Start Search bar
2. In the Programs list, right click on cmd then choose Run as Administrator
3. Click Enter or enter your password then click Continue
4. At the command prompt, type in sfc /scannow
5. Let the scan run, then reboot to see if the problem is solved

Windows System Restore

If not, you can also use a Windows utility to reset the operating system to a previous time, hopefully before it encountered the error.

1. In Vista, click the Start button, then type system restore in the Start Search bar
2. In the Programs list, choose System Restore
3. Click Enter or enter your password then click Continue
4. On the System Restore pop up box, select Choose a Different Restore Point, then Next
5. Choose a date from the list prior to the error presenting, then Next
6. Choose Finish - the computer will reboot - check to see if the error is resolved

If you have XP, go to Start > Programs  > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and then follow steps 4 through 6 above.

If you are still facing the same problem, you can write again and provide some more details about the version of Windows you are running, and the specific error you are encountering - the more information the better. Good luck!

So Safe Mode freezes, Last Known Good Configuration causes a blue screen error, and reinstalling Windows XP didn’t work? Yikes! This is a tough one, but we might be able to get Windows to load one way or another.

Disconnect External Devices

First, let’s make sure we are working with the bare essentials. Turn off your wireless adapter and disconnect your printer and any other non-essential external devices such as microphones, external speakers, laptop chill pads, hubs, external hard drives, MP3 players, digital cameras, and so forth. The less interference from devices, the better. Try booting up now. If a device was interfering with the startup sequence, you’ll want to experiment by adding devices and rebooting one device at a time until you can determine which device is causing problems.   

Boot and Repair from Windows CD

I’m guessing that disconnecting the devices won’t get us anywhere, but doing so is worth a shot. If the laptop is still stuck, let’s see if you can boot Windows and repair it from the Windows CD. Insert your Windows CD and boot the computer up. Follow the onscreen instructions to repair Windows. This typically involves pressing a key to get started, pressing Enter to “set up Windows XP” (do not choose the Recovery Console option), agreeing to the licensing terms, and pressing “R” to repair Windows. Since you’ve reinstalled Windows unsuccessfully, this may not do much, but let’s give it a try.

Disabling Services and Devices

My final suggestion centers on the fact that a screen describing device drivers appears just before Windows freezes. See if you can write down the names of the utilities and drivers that the screen discusses as these could be clues. For example, a specific device or service may be interfering and Windows may be trying to tell you, in its cryptic way, what to do. If you can identify the service that is interfering with Windows, there is a way to disable the service via the Recovery Console. Microsoft’s Knowledge Base Article 244905 discusses this in greater detail.

This is a tricky problem that may require more help than we can provide here. Hopefully a repair from the installation CD will do the trick. If not, I’m afraid a trip to your local computer repair shop may be in order.

Of course, the easiest way to do this is to ask the old owner for the password - if this isn’t possible, make sure that there actually is a password on the account first. Try logging in as the administrator, but leave the password blank and see if that gives you access - you’d be surprised how often that works.

Windows XP Security Hole

If you still need a password and are using Windows XP and have the CD, you can probably take advantage of a security hole in that operating system to reset the administrative password. Follow these instructions exactly:

1. Put the CD in the CD ROM drive. If your computer isn’t configured to boot from CD, you may have to get into the BIOS and reset it.
2. When you see the Welcome screen, press Enter and then press F8 to accept the licensing agreement.
3. You will be asked to select your installation (chances are, there is only one) and press R to begin the repair process.
4. Once it runs, it will reboot automatically - don’t press any key to reboot from CD.
5. You will now see a highlighted message saying Installing Windows.
6. You need to watch the lower left hand side of the screen carefully. As soon as you see “Installing Devices”, immediately press F10 - this is the loophole.
7. You will see a command console. At the prompt, type in: NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter.
8. You should now have access to all of the accounts in the Control Panel and can change the passwords. If you don’t want a password, type in: control userpasswords2 at the prompt.
9. Exit out of the command box and let the repair run. You may need to enter the product key to complete the repair. Everything should be intact on your machine and only the password should be reset.

Recovery Software

If you still can’t access the Administrator account, you can purchase recovery software that will either wipe out the passwords completely or recover the lost admin password. Two to try are the Spotmau recovery tool or Password Reset Software. Either one should work in your situation and if there is no other way to access the admin account will probably be worth the money.

Hopefully, you will be able to quickly and easily access the administrator account now. Please let us know if we can help you further.

Depending on the extent of the damage, you have a couple of different options for restoring it. Among the more common system restoration strategies are: System Restore, running the System File Checker Utility, and an operating system repair.

System Restore

Both Windows XP and Windows Vista come with a built-in utility called System Restore. In order for System Restore to do any good, System Protection must be turned on. If it is turned on, then your computer will automatically take snapshots (called restore points) of its current configuration and settings. Should something (such as damaged system files, missing device drivers, or strange computer errors) go awry, System Restore allows you to pick a restore point and restore your system to its operating condition at that point in time.

System Restore is located in the System Tools folder (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore).

The System File Checker Utility

Windows also comes with a lesser known utility, the System File Checker utility. This utility may require your Windows installation CD if it finds any corrupt files though it often retrieves fresh copies of files in a system folder. The SFC utility scans your operating system files to make sure that they are in place and properly working. If it comes across a damaged or missing file, it replaces it with a clean copy from the Windows CD or the System32\dllcache folder. If your operating system is acting up, it could be due to a damaged component that SFC can find and replace.

To run this utility, go to the Start button and access Run. Type in: sfc /scannow

Repairing the Operating System

If System Restore and the System File Checker don’t solve the problem, repairing the operating system may do it. This step requires your Windows installation CD. You must insert the disc into your CD drive and temporarily change your BIOS so that Windows boots from CD. To change BIOS, boot your computer and press the key that the onscreen display indicates must be pressed to enter BIOS or Setup. Look for a “boot order” option and change the order so that the CD drive is the first place that BIOS checks for boot instructions. Once your computer is prepared, reboot it with the Windows CD in the drive.

This will launch the Windows Setup program. You will need to press Enter and agree to the license agreement. (Note: despite its name, don’t select the Recovery Console). Once you’ve agreed to the terms, you should see a screen prompting you to select your operating system and an option “Press ‘R’ to repair Windows.” Select your operating system and press ‘R.’ From there, follow any onscreen prompts. While it will look like an installation is taking place, don’t worry. The operating system is being repaired, not reinstalled. Your data will be fine.