Microsoft KB Archive/154646

= Setup Stops with Blank Screen During Final Boot =

Article ID: 154646

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

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This article was previously published under Q154646



SYMPTOMS
Setup may halt after the GUI-based portion of Setup is finished and you are prompted to restart the computer. During the restart, the screen may go blank with the cursor in the upper left corner of the screen. When this occurs, pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE may not work to restart the computer. You may have to turn the computer off and on to restart it.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the computer has an older or outdated BIOS.



RESOLUTION
Upgrade the computer's BIOS to the latest version.



MORE INFORMATION
The computer's BIOS (Basic Input Output System) controls the basic hard- ware devices on the computer. This includes, but is not limited to, memory (RAM), floppy disk drives, IDE hard disk drives, internal and external caches, and other miscellaneous functions. Because Windows NT interacts closely with the hardware on the computer, it is important to have the latest version of the BIOS for your computer.

In many cases, the BIOS can be upgraded with a program that initializes the BIOS EPROM and replaces the firmware with the latest version. This is called a "Flash BIOS" upgrade. Flash BIOS upgrades can be downloaded from the computer or motherboard manufacturer's Web site or BBS in many cases. However, some computer manufacturers may require that the motherboard be replaced entirely to upgrade the BIOS.

Please refer to the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard for information about the latest BIOS version and upgrade options.

Contact information for system manufacturers can be found in the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Keywords: kbhardware kbsetup KB154646

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