Start Up Issue - Black Screen w/ Cursor...HELP!!

Alright, so I have had this issue for many months and I attempted to fix it a while ago, but gave up after no success. Please take the time to read the details of this thread as I really would like to fix this issue.

The problem: When I first turn on my laptop (Alienware M14x R1) it goes straight to a black screen with a small cursor in the upper left hand corner (right before the screen with BIOS options). The computer gets stuck on this screen I would say about 80% of the time. When it DOES get stuck on this black screen I have to press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to continue through the normal boot sequence. This problem has not caused any other additional problems for my computer, but it still really bugs the hell out of me.

I have a Crucial M4 128GB Solid State Drive in the primary bay and the factory Samsung 500 GB Hard Drive is now in the optical drive (held by a hard drive caddy). Thus, I have no optical drive (I use a portable one) and have dual hard drives.

I believe the black screen problem arose after I tried updating the firmware for the Samsung 500 GB Hard Drive (although I can't remember exactly when it began occurring). If I were to take a guess I would say this problem is probably occurring due to the computer not knowing which hard drive to boot from, but I really am not sure.

I have tried just about everything from going into the BIOS, to doing a full clean install of Windows 7, to trying /fixmbr and other commands of the like...

If you have any ideas on how to possibly fix this or what the issue could possibly be, PLEASE let me know! I would like to upgrade to Windows 8, but want to fix this issue first. Thanks!

 

"Attempted to fix it" as in...?

Try this: How to enable or disable the CTRL+ALT+DELETE sequence for logging on to Windows XP, to Windows Vista, and to Windows 7

If that doesn't work, try using a restore point if applicable (make sure it's dated before you attempted to fix whatever you were trying to fix).

 

Read the post and you will see how I attempted to fix the issue. I currently am dealing with another issue on the computer and I am going to just wipe the SSD and HD with Parted Magic and do a clean install with Windows 8. I am going to just put the one SSD in and leave the hard drive out of the computer all together and see if that fixes it.

 

I misunderstood the phrasing - I was under the impression you had a different issue you were trying to fix when you encountered the current one.

It definitely sounds like firmware then. You could try reseating the CMOS battery to reset the BIOS, and roll back the firmware update if possible. Let us know how it goes with removing the other drive.

 

How do you reseat the CMOS battery? I have an Alienware M14x...Unfortunately my computer is having a really strange issue (almost like it is infected with a virus, but it isn't) on top of this black screen problem. Anyways, I have had it with these problems so I am just going to completely wipe the drives with Parted Magic and do a clean install of Windows 8 and only use the Solid State Drive. However, reseating the CMOS battery sounds intriguing and maybe I should do that along with the clean install?

 

find where the cmos battery is and just remove it for a minute and then put it back. its like a round watch battery.
i have no idea where it is on a m14x but on the m15x you just remove the baseplate and you should be able to see it.
a lot of computers now have it under the keyboard which is a strange place as not as easy to get access to it.

might be worth asking on the alienware thread where its located.

 

I fixed the issue guys...it was what I was suspecting...the computer did not know which hard drive to boot from. I did a wipe of both drives and took out the secondary hard drive. I then did a clean install of Windows 8 and re-added the secondary hard drive later. The problem is now fixed.

 

Good to hear. :thumbsup: No other issues coming up, I hope!