[realwales]

Hello,

I have an emachines ET1840 desktop computer.

During the last month or so, I have had problems at startup. I get the welcome page from emachines, and then the Windows startup welcome message, but then, more often than not, I get a blank, black page with just the mouse cursor arrow on it.

I should also point out that I've also had problems with Norton Internet Security recently, but this may or may not be connected.

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance. It's driving me up the wall!

[Stig]

It's a Windows problem, possible a corrupted user profile.

Have you tried starting in Safe Mode? Tap the F8 key repeatedly after you switch on.

[shhftw]

Originally Posted by realwales

Hello,

I have an emachines ET1840 desktop computer.

During the last month or so, I have had problems at startup. I get the welcome page from emachines, and then the Windows startup welcome message, but then, more often than not, I get a blank, black page with just the mouse cursor arrow on it.

I should also point out that I've also had problems with Norton Internet Security recently, but this may or may not be connected.

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance. It's driving me up the wall!

Maybe uninstall Norton then use the Norton Removal tool to make sure it's gone. Then see if your problems persist.

[realwales]

Thank you for your replies. It hasn't been the best of days, to be honest. Here are the problems:

- Whenever I try removing Norton, it messes up my USB ports. When I look up 'Devices Manager', I see '!' next to the ports.

- I'm now finding it takes many, many attempts to start up my computer successfully. More often than not, I get the Windows startup then a black screen with just the cursor on it.

I'm running out of ideas, to be honest.

[BrokenArrow]

When it does start up, does it run normally with no problems ?

[realwales]

Originally Posted by BrokenArrow

When it does start up, does it run normally with no problems ?

Yes and no. I have no problems accessing my files, going online etc. It isn't slowing down or anything like that.

However, I can't get Norton to run. If I try removing it, it prevents my USB ports from working.

[LION8TIGER]

Originally Posted by realwales

Yes and no. I have no problems accessing my files, going online etc. It isn't slowing down or anything like that.

However, I can't get Norton to run. If I try removing it, it prevents my USB ports from working.

I can't see the connection between your USB ports and Norton, makes no sense to me.
Run the Norton Removal tool as in post #3.

[max99]

Backup your files and if you still haven't got this fixed by tomorrow evening, restore to factory settings.

[realwales]

Originally Posted by LION8TIGER

I can't see the connection between your USB ports and Norton, makes no sense to me.
Run the Norton Removal tool as in post #3.

I did do, and it messed up my USB ports, when I looked it up in Control Panel > System and Security > Device Manager > Portable Devices.

I had to use 'System Restore' go get my USB ports working again, which involved many attempts of going to the blank screen with the mouse curser on startup.

[realwales]

Some progress: I have created a new user account, removed and reinstalled Norton, which is now working well.

My USB ports are working, however, when I click Control Panel > System and Security > System > Device Manager > Portable Devices, I notice that there is a '!' next to E:\ through to I:\. What are these supposed to do? And what isn't working as a result? I can't work it out.

As for my startup issues, I'm a bit nervous about shutting it down, just in case it takes me ages to start it up again. I'll let you know in due course.

Thanks for your help so far......

[realwales]

Everything seems to be working fine now. Thanks for your help and suggestions guys. Setting up a new user account and starting from scratch seems to have worked. That 'Portable Devices' thing I mentioned in my last post seems to have sorted itself out now, but I'd still like to know what it meant if anybody knows.

[shhftw]

Originally Posted by realwales

Some progress: I have created a new user account, removed and reinstalled Norton, which is now working well.

My USB ports are working, however, when I click Control Panel > System and Security > System > Device Manager > Portable Devices, I notice that there is a '!' next to E:\ through to I:\. What are these supposed to do? And what isn't working as a result? I can't work it out.

As for my startup issues, I'm a bit nervous about shutting it down, just in case it takes me ages to start it up again. I'll let you know in due course.

Thanks for your help so far......

Originally Posted by realwales

Everything seems to be working fine now. Thanks for your help and suggestions guys. Setting up a new user account and starting from scratch seems to have worked. That 'Portable Devices' thing I mentioned in my last post seems to have sorted itself out now, but I'd still like to know what it meant if anybody knows.

Nobody was awake!

E: through I: were devices like scanners, cameras, phones, printers, etc. that were being misdetected either due to your USB driver being corrupt or not installed properly, but it sounds like your user profile was damaged based on your reply.

I hope it is the last of your Norton problems, it does get it's hooks into Windows in some pretty awful ways at times.

[realwales]

Originally Posted by shhftw

Nobody was awake!

E: through I: were devices like scanners, cameras, phones, printers, etc. that were being misdetected either due to your USB driver being corrupt or not installed properly, but it sounds like your user profile was damaged based on your reply.

I hope it is the last of your Norton problems, it does get it's hooks into Windows in some pretty awful ways at times.

Thanks for clearing that up. Everything seems to be sorted now - it's running like new! Yeah, Norton can be a pain on times!