Setup Stops with Blank Screen During Final Boot

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

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This behavior can occur if the computer has an older or outdated BIOS.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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q65416
   TITLE     : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

   ARTICLE-ID: Q60781
   TITLE     : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

   ARTICLE-ID: Q60782
   TITLE     : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z