Electronics

[Tabbycat]

Hi all. I am on DH computer  asking you guys the questions here.

I got my Dell to open in safe mode but it was acting crazy and page didn't look like it always does.... Black background.

 The safe mode help page would't close ,but I could get to the control panel. It wouldn't let me do anything. McAfee said computer wasn't protected and to turn scan on. I clicked but it wouldn't scan. I shut it back down for now. I think I have made some progress though. I will go back to it in a while. I need to settle myself down for a bit. Gosh this stuff makes me nervous.. I'll let you know how it goes a little later. Thanks so very much. I love you guys

[PinkyPetunia]

Safe mode doesn't look like the regular desktop.  The icons are very large and you may not see them all.  Background is black, I believe.   Don't give up.  Google your problem from another computer and see if that gives you some ideas. 

Can someone else help you like your husband, friend or neighbor?

[Tabbycat]

@PinkyPetunia ...  TY ..... Yes, hubs should be home soon. He may be able to get me straightened out with all the tips I've been given. Probably not till tomorrow, though. I like to try and figure these things out on my own, because I remember it better that way. I've learned so much about computering on these forums over the years.

Just found out on Monday my BP is way too high and sodium is too low, have decided to wait for him and not send it soaring again.

I will update with final results, Thanks ALL.

[ThinkOutsidetheBox]

Windows 7 has a known issue with some Microsoft updates causing the PC to fail in various ways. This is often, but not always, hardware dependent due to the age of one piece of hardware. On my PC, when trouble showed up, I got the blue screen of death.

To resolve YOUR problem, you should first try to roll back the computer to a previous state before whatever update caused the issue. Gardenman's instruction in an earlier post to this thread tell you how to do that. It is simple to do, and I would try this before assuming that you have a virus.

Just so that you know, when you restart a computer in safe mode, only the minimum drivers are loaded, so you do not see your desktop background, the images on the screen appear large and distorted, and anti-virus has often been disabled, since the anti-virus drivers are not part of the minimum set allowed to load in safe mode.

The hard part of fixing this problem, if it IS a MS update conflict, is figuring out which update is the problem so that you can avoid that one update. It involves doing one update at a time, rebooting between each one, and once you have the problem again, doing another rollback and only allowing the updates that do not cause a problem. It is not hard, it is just time consuming. I am a female, almost 50, and I do all my own computer building and repair....software and hardware. It is really not complicated. Good luck!

[Nuttmeg]

Information on a system repair for a Dell. http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN85604/EN

This is a video about restoring a computer to factory setting like new. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ECjkiGFYM

This method will wipe your hard drive of data.

You need to backup your computer before a restore.

This software will give you a record of all installed programs

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

[Tabbycat]

I HAVE A POSITIVE UPDATE.... YEA!!

First ... I want to thank ALL of you who responded with your tips ((HUGS)) You guys are simply ... AWESOME

This morning my nerves finally felt steady enough to give this a shot.  Hubs left me to fend for myself on this one.

I had to try several times because the last shut down wasn't complete.... got through that.

 I got in by holding down the f8 button at boot-up. I tried the "start-up repair" first ( thanks gardenman ) and it offered me a restore. I clicked, it tried to restore, it was not successful. BUT .... I got my screen back to normal and I was able to get around!!

I tried to let the computer do several fixes. It looks like something is wrong with the network connection. It won't let me do a system restore either. I'm done with it anyway after this fiasco..

 My heart's not in it anymore to try to fix it.

I have a couple of 64gb flashdrives. So .... I'm letting McAfee scan everything, then I'm going to get my important things off and retire it.

I'll keep using DH laptop. It's an 8.1 and we have Windows 10 reserved.  Windows 7 will be going away eventually, so I'm starting anew.

Another positive learning experience for this 60 year old biddy!  ~~smiles~~

Have a great weekend ALL!!  Sincerely, Tabby

[Nuttmeg]

Hi Do not give up on your computer. Take a break and go back to the problem. It is good what you are during to backup your data.

Please review the YouTube video on restoring your computer back to factory setting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ECjkiGFYM

IMHO, Do not install Window 10 unless you understand the process. If the upgrade goes poorly what will you do.

[Tabbycat]

nutmeg3 said ...

Hi Do not give up on your computer. Take a break and go back to the problem. It is good what you are during to backup your data.

Please review the YouTube video on restoring your computer back to factory setting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ECjkiGFYM

IMHO, Do not install Window 10 unless you understand the process. If the upgrade goes poorly what will you do.

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Hi nutmeg3, I will review the YouTube video, thank you. I also do not plan to load anything into my current laptop until Windows 10 is installed and working properly. I will need to take another little break and maybe it will get done by then. My cataract surgery is rescheduled and coming up soon. Maybe after the first eye. Thanks so much. This has been a brain drainer for me but I have made progress.

[chickenbutt]

I wouldn't think that your network connection has anything to do with the BSOD.  

Not that that is helpful (sorry about that!), but that would be a separate issue that you can tackle whenever you are able to get the computer to boot up properly.

I hope you are getting there!  I know how frustrating this kind of thing can be.  I just upgraded my internet, in the course of which I had a whole new network.  Man!  Sometimes that can be a pita all on its own.  Getting the computers on the network is a snap.  But getting the Tivos on takes a lot more work and my printers were a major pain, especially one of them.  All of that was a two-day deal, as it turned out.  *whew*

Best wishes!