Reboot Computer - F8 Safe Mode or Complete Restore

Reboot computer to Safe Mode by pressing F8 during startup will provide you a troubleshooting mode. If you have installed a new video card and installed the wrong driver you might have a black screen when you start your computer. You can reboot the computer to Safe Mode and go into the Device Manager and remove the wrong video driver. Now you can restart the computer normally and you should have the monitor working again. At this point you can reinstall the correct video driver and restart the computer normally.

The next option is to reboot computer to its factory settings by pressing the F12 key during startup or using a restore CD that came with the computer. The problem with going back to the factory settings is that you lose all your saved files, installed programs, and security updates. Not the best option because it will take some time to get back to a working configuration and reload your backup files.

The best option is reboot computer to an optimum configuration that has all your restore programs, updates, and saved files. This can be accomplished using imaging software. There are several imaging software packages available. I prefer Norton Ghost because it works with DOS. I have created DOS partitions on my hard drive that will allow me to reboot the computer and restore it to an optimum configuration that I saved as an image. I also have an image burned onto a DVD that I can use to just restore the operating system and not delete my saved files. This has saved me many hours of trying to find all the programs, software drivers, and files needed to get my computer back to a working state. I have two HupPages that might also help Slow Computer and Partimage. Also I have a YouTube video on creating images that you might find helpful.

The Reboot Computer website might also provide some useful information.