Safe Mode Cures the Dreaded Blank Screen

Using the System Restore Wizard is great when you notice that things are not working correctly. But, what should you do when Windows XP, itself, fails to work? Microsoft has built into their Windows operating systems a method to recover from catastrophic personal computer problems called Safe Mode.

In most cases, when your Windows XP screen has suddenly and unexpectedly gone completely blank upon bootup Windows XP is actually still running. Microsoft designed the Windows XP around two different shells: cmd.exe and explorer.exe. What has happened is that the Windows visual interface, the usual distinctive look of Windows XP, GUI, or all those fancy Windows, title bars, icons, and your taskbar has failed to launch. You can actually still run most of your programs manually and surf the Web from that blank screen of yours.

Safe Mode Will Fix Your Computer

Beware of Registry Cleaners

All that you will ever will need to fix your personal computer when a catastrophic start up problem occurs is the Safe Mode option that Microsoft has built into Windows XP. Never fall for any of those Registry Cleaners scam offers that you will see all over the Internet.

When you suddenly see just a blank screen or your desktop without any icons the explorer.exe shell has failed to initialize. You may recall that Microsoft had originally come under fire for building their Internet Explorer web browser into their operating system. That is still largely true today, even with all the changes that Microsoft has been forced to make. In Windows XP, Microsoft Internet Explorer is not just another program. Unlike the FireFox web browser, for example, you cannot easily install, uninstall, and then reinstall Internet Explorer a million different times.

One thing is for sure, any type of a Registry Cleaner program, whether an expensive commercial program or Freeware, will never ever be able to automatically fix any type of a personal computer startup problem.

Bootup In Safe Mode

Practicing how to get into Safe Mode correctly while your computer is still working correctly is always a good idea.

When you first turn on your personal computer, try holding down the [F8] key on your keyboard as your computer powers up. When the computer starts beeping release the key. You should end up in the Windows Advanced Options Menu in text mode without mouse support.

Simply scroll up the to very top and select plain old Safe Mode. Follow all the prompts and you will eventually end up into Safe Mode. It looks pretty much like your normal Windows XP normal mode except that the screen resolution is really big or usually at 640 x 480. But, you can actually adjust your screen resolution back to where you want it. However, you can not surf the Web from normal safe mode. Exit from safe mode as usual by clicking on the [Start] button.

Safe Mode alone, in most cases, will restore your Windows XP personal computer to a good enough condition, for you to be able to begin using your computer normally again, even if not all of the Windows XP features are still working.

• Recovering from Screen Problems
• Recovering with Last Known Good Configuration
• Synchronize Outlook and Multiple Computers