Question : Problem: Computer loses video output

A new, out of the box Dell Optiplex 745, Windows XP Pro, no additional software, no antivirus; USB keyboard, USB mouse, VGA monitor, no additional hardware attached. Internal boot hard drive is connected to SATA 0; addtional hard drive is connected to SATA 1; DVD-ROM is connected to SATA 4; DVD-RAM is connected to SATA 5.

On roughly 3 of 4 boots, the Windows spalsh screen will appear and the computer will continue to boot normally; the lights on the front panel confirm this, but when the splash goes away, in 10 or so seconds, the video signal is lost to the monitor.

This is a computer for a school district and as such was purchased through Dell's edu division and the tech support for edu sales is handled by US techs. I called for support and after explaining the problem, the tech said the problem was either "software or hardware." I didn't call back.

I have moved the boot drive from SATA 0 to all of the other ports; same problem. I'm the technology coordinator for our county school system and deal with problems all the time but this one is different because the problem is intermittent.

Any ideas?

Answer : Problem: Computer loses video output

Danny_E_Lusk,

Here are two possible solutions to resolve your issue that isn't Symantec related...

How Do I Prevent My Dell" OptiPlex" or Dimension" Computer from Pausing at a Black Screen Before Microsoft® Windows® XP Loads When a USB Device is Attached?:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&docid=D0BC6E43C78872A4E030A68F73282607&journalid=44522D0C600ED59BE040A68F2728038D&Query=YmxhY2src2NyZWVu&SystemID=PLX_PNT_P4_745&ServiceTag=&contenttype=-1&os=28791~7~262193&component=-1&lang=-1&doclang=en&toggle=false

Computer stops responding with a black screen when you start Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314503