Black Screen of Death

Okay i've been searching around yea...

My girlfriend has a very bad problem with her computer now. It's called a Black Screen of Death (KSOD)

Apparently this is associated with Vista Premium and Dell computers.

When she turns her computer on it starts up fine. The Lil green vista bar comes up and such. But after that no start up noise. No nothing just pitch black. You can see your mouse cursor though


- Tried the methods that were listed on this site : http://thebackroomtech.com/2008/12/30/fi...-aka-ksod/
-Tried Ctrl+Alt+Del
-For some reason she can't system restore. She has no save points or they were deleted
-Dumb Dell didn't include the vista CD
-No keyboard commands work when the black screen pops up.
-Tried pulling out all of the plugs and put them back in
This happened when she just got finished installing a game called Project Torque. Graphically dependant game, and I heard it might be driver card issues. but I doubt it.

If anyone knows how to format without the vista disk. I will be GRATEFUL!

If anyone else has any ideas. or can search up some more information. please do.
It's really making her sad and such. And I can't even think of waiting for her to get it fix by a professional.

Any help is needed....
Thank you for your time <3...

I've never had BLSOD before & I've had Dells for years.. only had BSODs though...Wow, that's a bit strange. Well in order for her to do anything she's going to need that OS CD. There's no way for her to re-install w/o it, unless there's a recovery partition on her HD but that only comes w/ some laptops(toshiba & Acer). Is her PC still under Warranty? & did she call Dell for the CD? They usually will send you one if they forgot to put it in.


Call Dell Tech Support please.. I know it's a pain in the ass to call them but they helped me out loads of times when I had an issue with my OS after I installed a game or had problems with my gfx card or system corruption.

I've never had BLSOD before & I've had Dells for years.. only had BSODs though...Wow, that's a bit strange. Well in order for her to do anything she's going to need that OS CD. There's no way for her to re-install w/o it, unless there's a recovery partition on her HD but that only comes w/ some laptops(toshiba & Acer). Is her PC still under Warranty? & did she call Dell for the CD? They usually will send you one if they forgot to put it in.

I'll try letting her know this. Thank you xP.

Apparently her F8 Menu isn't opening up too on start up... Sigh...

I'll try letting her know this. Thank you xP.

Apparently her F8 Menu isn't opening up too on start up... Sigh...

No problem, anytime

oh wow Setup isn't even opening either.. yikes

Yeah screw talking to "professionals" like BestBuy.. they'll charge you a arm & a leg for consultation.

Unless you know what you're doing (checking the BIOS, backing up old stuff like docs, pics, email / re-partition & re-format the harddisk / installing windows from scratch).

Get that PC fixed by a (local) PC expert or dell themselves, although I don't think dell will back-up stuff what's already on the PC...

Try to see if you can select the type of booting you want. See if she can get into safemode.

Try to see if you can select the type of booting you want. See if she can get into safemode.

Apparently her F8 Menu isn't opening up too on start up... Sigh...

@OP you pretty much have nothing to do but talk to dell... Thats why it's important to make sure you get all the CDs when you buy a computer

Your best bet is to borrow a Vista CD to reinstall using the CD KEY that was brought with the DELL. Seems like a registry problem, did you try booting in Safe Mode?

@OP you pretty much have nothing to do but talk to dell... Thats why it's important to make sure you get all the CDs when you buy a computer

His g/f more then likely didn't know anything about the CDs that come with the PC.. she probably just bought it and assumed everything was ok..

And for the above post..she can't go into safe mode if her F8 button isn't working :f6:

Any news yet btw?

Make sure she starts tapping F8 as soon as it restarts (the second she pushes the power button), if it's going to appear, it will appear before the windows loading bar.

Another thing you can try, download: http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vi...-download/. Then burn it onto a disc for her. On power up, when you see the dell boot screen, press F2. With the disc inserted, select the drive which contains the disc.

Well Safemode doesn't work at all.

Her F8 Option and even Ctrl + F11 Isn't working. And Dell said that on their website that it was an alternative to formatting the thing.

She bought the computer from a weird computer store T_T. Go figure. Bleh Thanks for the advice guys so far. She's still upset about it

We tried the F8 tapping thing too. I have no clue why it isn't working

I think the borrowing Vista CD idea. is a good one so far. Sounds pretty much simple. F2 then boot from the Cd Drive? No?
I hope her F2 works at least.
I also got the computer model
Dell Dimension e521
I really don't know the specs but I think it's just manufacturer specs with no add ons
If that helps?

More ideas would be nice.
Tried talking to Dell on the phone. Very hard getting anywhere when the computer didn't even have the information they asked for.
-Beware of Korean computer shops- T_T

Well Safemode doesn't work at all.

Her F8 Option and even Ctrl + F11 Isn't working. And Dell said that on their website that it was an alternative to formatting the thing.

She bought the computer from a weird computer store T_T. Go figure. Bleh Thanks for the advice guys so far. She's still upset about it

We tried the F8 tapping thing too. I have no clue why it isn't working

I think the borrowing Vista CD idea. is a good one so far. Sounds pretty much simple. F2 then boot from the Cd Drive? No?
I hope her F2 works at least.
I also got the computer model
Dell Dimension e521
I really don't know the specs but I think it's just manufacturer specs with no add ons
If that helps?

More ideas would be nice.
Tried talking to Dell on the phone. Very hard getting anywhere when the computer didn't even have the information they asked for.
-Beware of Korean computer shops- T_T

Oh wow... that totally sucks :/.. Is the PC even a year old? or did she JUST buy it? Yeah, getting it from a rinky dink computer store sucks. They rebuild PCs w/ refurbished parts & say it's a Dell or which ever manufacturer, yes, even with the case & everything, but may only have the owners manual b/c they picked it up at a garage sale or from somebody on craiglist etc... There's a couple of those over by me & I don't dare shop over there.. i usually order it from the manufacturer's website.

I really don't know what to tell you if her F2 button isn't working. Take it to a pro then if Dell can't even help since you don't have the required info for them to assist you.

Keep us updated please if her F2 button isn't functioning.

For some computers, the recovery files are in the harddisk itself. I knew because last time i had a mini laptop which didnt comes with a recovery disc, but had this function. To use this function, you have to choose to boot to this function (couldnt remember how, the mini laptop i have given away so cant test for you). Pay attention when the computer starts to boot up from bios.

This function is something like restore to default factory settings, which practically means recovery everything. If it does not have this function as well, call DELL and screw them.

If the keyboard seems to malfunction, try changing to keyboard using a ps/2 port.

Oh wow... that totally sucks :/.. Is the PC even a year old? or did she JUST buy it? Yeah, getting it from a rinky dink computer store sucks. They rebuild PCs w/ refurbished parts & say it's a Dell or which ever manufacturer, yes, even with the case & everything, but may only have the owners manual b/c they picked it up at a garage sale or from somebody on craiglist etc... There's a couple of those over by me & I don't dare shop over there.. i usually order it from the manufacturer's website.

I really don't know what to tell you if her F2 button isn't working. Take it to a pro then if Dell can't even help since you don't have the required info for them to assist you.

Keep us updated please if her F2 button isn't functioning.

Last night I asked if her F2 was working at least and it does so thats good at least ><.

I also like xgngx's answer. Very nice answer. maybe it really is the keyboard port. I haven't asked if she has a USB keyboard yet. So I'll definitely look into that.

I think the computer is like a year old or so? Not so sure

Thank you Sugar xP. You've been the best so far xD

Last night I asked if her F2 was working at least and it does so thats good at least ><.

I also like xgngx's answer. Very nice answer. maybe it really is the keyboard port. I haven't asked if she has a USB keyboard yet. So I'll definitely look into that.

I think the computer is like a year old or so? Not so sure

Thank you Sugar xP. You've been the best so far xD

you're welcome =) no problem lol. You should also thank everybody else who posted too.. their answers are great resolutions to your problem. Hope you get everything straightened out