Member Avatar for mycomputerbroke

i guess this is the right place to put this. i don't know. but. i have a dell laptop from a few years ago [inspiron e1505]. and it's been running smoothly until a few days ago when i guess a virus got in. and random internet browsers would pop up with different and weird websites in them. so i downloaded the free ad-aware software and ran it a few times, and once it required that i restart my computer, so i did that and when it started back up the screen went black. [this is where i can't explain well because i'm technologically challenged].
it turns on and i can see the screen when it's starting up. like the big DELL. and the windows symbol where it has the bar at the bottom with bars running through it like it's starting up and all, but before it gets to the startup screen it goes black like it's turned off and then it just goes back to being black but it's backlit. and an error shows up that says
"the instruction ad '0x004010b4' referenced memory at '0x00000000'. the memory could not be 'written'. click on OK to terminate the progam. cluck on CANCEL to debug the program" and no matter which one i click it still goes black but backlit.
the only response i can get out of it is from pressing shift 5+ times and it makes a kind of. shrill/squeak sound.
and i realize i could just take it in to get fixed, but i'd just like to know if there's a way i could fix it myself incase it happens again. help?
thanks

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Dani AI

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Short diagnosis and context: the "memory could not be written" style error with an address that points to 0x00000000 usually means a program tried to write to a null pointer and crashed the Windows shell or a driver. Because this started after running Ad-Aware and a restart, the crash could be either leftover/misremoved malware or a damaged system file/driver. The fact the screen goes black but stays backlit and pressing Shift five times makes a shrill sound shows Windows is still running (the Sticky Keys dialog/beep), but the desktop/shell or a critical service is failing.

Build on 's suggestion to use the Windows startup options and Safe Mode: if Safe Mode will boot, first copy critical files to external media. Then, in Safe Mode:

  • run a full, up-to-date antivirus + an on-demand antimalware scan; remove anything found.
  • use msconfig to disable non-Microsoft startup items and uninstall any software installed just before the crash.
  • check System Restore and Event Viewer for the faulting executable or driver and roll back to a restore point if available.

If Safe Mode does not work, use external recovery tools before reinstalling:

  • boot from a Windows repair disk or a rescue USB/DVD from another PC; run Startup Repair / System Restore and run chkdsk /r on the system drive.
  • run a bootable memory test (MemTest86) to rule out bad RAM and reseat/remove modules if comfortable doing so.
  • if malware prevents normal removal, use an offline rescue scanner (bootable AV rescue media) to scan the disk.

Cautions: back up data before major repairs, avoid random registry cleaners, and do not overwrite the disk until recovery attempts are done. If repairs fail or disk/RAM is faulty, a clean reinstall after data backup is the safest final step.

Member Avatar for pip22

Power up the PC and immediately keep tapping the F8 key at a rate of about once every second. It should pause at a black screen/white text, with the heading "Advanced Startup Options".

Use the up/down arrow keys to select "last known good configuration" and press [Enter] key. Hopefully, Windows will start.

If it doesn't, repeat the process to bring up the same menu but this time choose "Safe Mode". Safe Mode is only meant for troubleshooting and removing bad software that prevents Windows from starting normally. It will look a bit strange, everything will be too big on the desktop, but this is because safe mode does not load any third-party device drivers (in case one of them is bad and needs removing). If Windows starts in safe mode you can proceed to remove and clean up any bad stuff until it's able to start normally. Try to remember what it was you last installed just before the black screen and error message problem. Start by removing or uninstalling that.

After removing/uninstalling something you think may be the cause, try rebooting to see if Windows will start normally.

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