Member Avatar for bugler

I have a compaq cq70 which will only boot into safe mode also, the screen is upside down. I have tried everything I know, but I am now absolutely lost as to what the problem could be.

Any assistance would be gratefully appreciated.

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A concise, non‑destructive diagnostic checklist for , building on points raised by and . Because the machine only reaches Safe Mode and the display is inverted there as well, focus first on isolating software startup components from hardware faults and on capturing boot‑time errors that explain why normal boot fails.

From Safe Mode collect logs and run integrity checks: open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) and export the System and Application logs that correspond to the failed normal‑boot attempts. Run an elevated command prompt and execute sfc /scannow and schedule chkdsk C: /f /r to check system files and disk health. Perform a clean‑boot isolation (System Configuration + Task Manager startup tab) to see whether a non‑Microsoft startup item prevents normal boot — disable non‑Microsoft services and startup entries, then test a normal boot.

Narrow hardware vs display subsystem: attach an external monitor and compare the image. If the external display is correct while the laptop LCD is inverted, attention should go to the LCD assembly/cable/inverter; if both are inverted, the problem is occurring below the OS (graphics hardware/firmware). Run a memory test (Windows Memory Diagnostic or memtest86+) and a SMART check on the drive; power‑cycle the unit (battery out, AC removed, hold power button ~30s) and carefully reseat RAM and the HDD/SSD connectors.

If these diagnostics don’t resolve the symptom, gather the Event Viewer excerpts, basic hardware info (BIOS/revision, model exact SKU) and save important files from Safe Mode to external media before any major OS repair or parts replacement. For physical inspections or BIOS updates, take ESD precautions or consult a service technician.

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Member Avatar for mlesniak

Since you mention 'safe mode' I assume that you are running a Windows operating system. To resolve the upside down screen try using Ctrl/Alt/up arrow.
Are you able to get the boot menu to display by pressing F8 during startup (and before the Windows logo appears)?
It could be a faulty device driver that may be causing the problem. Have you added any new devices?
If you have a Windows installation DVD available, you could try doing a Repair by booting from it.

Member Avatar for toxicandy

Adding to whtat mlesniak said above, with windows you have the default back up and restore program, if you made an backups you may luck out and be able to restore to a previous version. I just had this problem last Wednesday, BSOD on boot but was fine to boot to safe mode, I restored a backup and it fixed the problem.

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