I have an IBM T40 laptop (which was running slow) and after running lavasoft's adware and letting the program delete files that it said were harmful, my screen went blank!

Now when I restart my laptop, the numlock and capslock indicators don't blink like they used to at startup (but the fan turns on and it seems like the laptop is booting up) and the screen never shows anything.

Is there anything I can do to fix this -- revert back to before lavasoft tried to delete malicious programs and f***ed everything up?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304449

BTW, I've been on these forums since 1999 and I've never once heard of Ad-Aware messing things up. Most likely pure coincidence.

From what you are saying it might turn out to be a hardware fault.

DerekW

Recently some were casting blame on the Adwatch component (part of Ad-aware Pro) in connection with the odious '.lnk' issue, but that's about it - other than the caveat about breaking the Winsock when removing some kinds of spyware like NewDotNet

It's difficult to see cause and effect here - have any other Windows modes been attempted, such as Safe, VGA or 'last known good configuration'?

I'm not one of those who think Bill Gates is the devil. I simply suspect that if Microsoft ever met up with the devil, it wouldn't need an interpreter.

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Thanks for the help. May be its pure coincidence that the screen went blank shortly after running lavasoft.

I would love to try out your suggestions (safe mode, system restore) but the problem is that I can't see anything on the screen. Any suggestions to get past that stage? Should I try to bring it to work and connect to a desktop screen?

PS: Does anyone know the right key combination to invoke safe mode on an IBM T40?

Thanks again for your suggestions.

On any machine you should get to the Safe Mode option by tapping F8 key whilst booting.

Otherwise, it would be well worth checking with a monitor for starters, as you said.

DerekW

Thanks. I'll try both those and report back later today / tomorrow.

Sure thing - - just to clarify, if you are unable to see the normal startup screen that lists the hardware and performs the memory count - - that all occurs outside of Windows, and would indicate a hardware issue.

If you do see the normal startup, and are able to launch Windows in one of the troubleshooting modes via F8, then you can try restoring or repairing

I'm not one of those who think Bill Gates is the devil. I simply suspect that if Microsoft ever met up with the devil, it wouldn't need an interpreter.

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Update -- The machine booted up on it own (I had the battery out for a few days before) over the weekend.
+ Ran spybot and cleaned a few things
+ Updated definitions on Norton AV and it started catching VUNDO
+ Downloaded vundofix.exe and cleaned it out as well
+ Machine has the following erratic behavior:
++ On most attempts, the screen doesn't turn on (seems to me that the laptop doesnt go past hardware checking either)
++ Occasionally it will start and ask if I want to start windows in safe mode etc. No matter what I choose, it hangs on the windows start-up screen

=(

Can anyone shed some light on what might be going on? I am getting desperate.

Thanks.

I assume your problems still shows up if you run on mains rather than battery.

Might be worth running chkdsk. Right click C drive/Properties/Tools/Check Now button

Unless you want it to take ages just tick the top button "Automatically fix file system errors". It runs on the next boot.

DerekW

Last night I tried just powering up on the battery and it failed even after several attempts. The only light that comes on is the "z" between the hard-disk light and the battery indicator (The caps and num lock lights flash once when I hit the power button).

I have also tried taking the battery out and just using the power chord, but to no avail. Could it be that some physical part of the laptop is loose? Should I try to open some screws in the back and re-tighten them or something along those lines?

Thanks for continuing to monitor this site and providing guidance!

Pity but we don't seem to be getting far - not even enough to really decide whether this is a hardware or software issue. On balance hardware sounds most likely.

Laptops can be fiddling to get inside but if anything is loose it is likely to be internal plug connections.

It could be the power supply unit, or any number of other things I'm afraid.

DerekW

I have the same problem with my laptop. I found this link online. This is the same problem that I am having.

http://www.futurehardware.in/556694...

OMG I have the exact problem. I am glad I found this site. My laptop was my old computer at work which they sold to me when we upgraded. Everything was fine till one day I was checking my email and the problems stated above happened to me. What am I to do when the screen will not show anything. When I boot up the caps loc and other lights do not light up. Please help

charm77

I doubt your problem is exactly the same so you'd be better off to start a new post. Just choose your operating system (XP or whatever) at top left and take a note of the number it gives you. Not too many helpers will come to this old thread now.

It does sound like a hardware problem but there are a stack of possibilities. Laptops are not the best machines to work on and don't lend themselves too well to remote diagnostics. Worth getting the team on it tho.

DerekW

ok, i have the exact same problem and i am burnt. one thing i did try was putting the HDD into another T40. worked for one day and then boom, same issue. i can leave it for a while and it will work and then Boom. I am thinking bios or something, but i cant get to the bios to upgrade it. one thing i did notice was that a couple of times before it went blank, the screen would scramble like a bad signal was going through. Not sure why a HDD would affect the screen from the bootup but that is all i have for now.