Vista laptop has arrow and black screen during boot

[Vistarocks]

When I try to boot my Vista laptop, it boots fine until after the green
scrolling bar completes. Then, it goes to a black screen, then a darker shade,
then a lighter shade of black. Then, an arrow appears. Nothing happens
afterward. The screensaver will come on after a while. System restore doesn't
fix it. What could I do or what could be the cause? Thanks for any help!!!

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Does it do the same thing when you try to enter Safe mode by hitting F8 at
boot?

[Nonny]

How are you running system restore when your screen is black?

[Mick Murphy]

You can run System Restore from the Vista DVD if you boot from it!

[Nonny]

No sh**? NEAT!

ANY Vista CD?

[Mick Murphy]

Vista is DVD, not CD!

Nah. Has to be a MS disk(OEM or Retail); not an OEM computer manufacturer's
crap Recovery disk, with all their crap programs included, and no option
other than factory reinstall..
-

[Vistarocks via WindowsKB.com]

Yes, it does. I also try "Last Known Good Configuration" and it does the same
thing.

[Colin Barnhorst]

Not necessarily. The first recovery disk for my wife's HP is a slightly
modified Windows dvd and works just fine for recovery options. He should at
least try it.