[Solved] HP dv6000 notebook won't boot after hard disk upgrade

I am facing a peculiar problem on my HP dv6000 series notebook ((dv6885se)). This problem came after I upgraded my HDD to a bigger one and installed XP on it. The old 250GB HDD had vista (factory installed) and XP in dual boot and it never gave a problem in 2 years till it sort of died one day (some bad sectors, reallocated sector count increasing and occasional OS freezes). Didn't want to take a chance with data and hence got a new SATA 500GB seagate drive (ST9500325AS). The problem is that I often get a blank screen after the HP invent logo. I have to keep rebooting (about 5-6 times) till I can see the image of XP booting up. Once the OS boots up, it runs without any problems!

The bad sectors on old HDD were causing OS to hang and it was not clearing the self test in BIOS as well. This is why I got myself the new HDD. The self test on the new one came out clean. I also scanned it with hdtune and it showed no bad sectors. Besides, whenever I manage to boot up after many ctrl-alt-dels, it runs absolutely fine. I just can't understand why my notebook will sometimes hang after the BIOS screen. Please help me out.

Thanks in anticipation!

Note:
- I have 2 partitions C: 50GB and D: 437 GB
- I have gone through the other thread on tomshardware that talks about the 137GB limit of "C:". My problems do not fit into that description.
- Link to that thread is "http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/237351-45-boot-large-hard-drive"

Reply to nishant80

check your memory. take it out and reseat it. and check for heat/dust build up.

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Reply to blackmancer

Hi there,

Tell us more about your system.
When you installed your new HDD, did you clone over your OS and files, or start over with XP and its drivers instead of Vista? Then load in the HP drivers from the original driver disk? Also is your copy of XP a retail version not OEM so it can be installed on any computer?

It sounds like you get through the 2 phases of the BIOS, system setup and system configuration, and you get to the HP splash screen OK? Do you get a single beep telling you it passed the POST? If you get past this milestone, then you can click on F8 to take you to the Advanced Boot Options.

There try to boot using Safe Mode (only minimal drivers) and see if it boots consistently OK. If so then it is most likely a driver that isn't loading properly. You can also choose to turn on use bootlog, and after a failed boot, check the log located in the system folder, to see what the driver is that is listed last. That may point you to the problem.

Another thing to try in Advanced Boot Options, is the command prompt. Type in SFC /scannow, and it will check the system files for errors. If present it will ask you for your XP original disk to reload the driver.

Reply to John_VanKirk

Thanks blackmancer and John_VanKirk for your inputs.

@blackmancer:
I reseated the memory but the problem is still there. The memory self test in BIOS (Phoenix F.56) passes every single time I try. I ensured that the memory and hard disk bay is clean.

@John_VanKirk:
- After installing the new HDD, I installed XP out of a retail CD (no OEM vista this time). I got all XP drivers from HP website.

- I see the HP logo (I guess it is shown just before POST) as soon as I switch on the notebook. The logo remains on the screen for a couple of seconds after which I only see a blank screen. Clicking on F8 does not work (do not see advance boot options). After a couple of F8 clicks the notebook starts beeping at each click but nothing happens (screen stays blank). I suspect that it hangs somewhere during POST. There are no error messages shown at all.

- As mentioned in the first post, I have scanned (full scan took a couple of hours!) the HDD with hdtune and it does not show any error.

Note:
The reason I posted this on the 'Storage/hard Drives' section is because I suspect that the BIOS has some trouble with a 500GB disk. I saw an update of phoenix BIOS on HP's website for my notebook model. But, the release notes do not talk about any HDD size related fix and so I am hesitating to upgrade BIOS.

Reply to nishant80

Are you able to get to the System Setup by clicking on the <del> key or HP's POST key while the HP splash screen is up? If so check and see if it recognizes the new HDD in the CMOS setup. Also that the Hard Drive is 1st in order to boot.

Other thing to try is to take out the HDD altogether, and don't have any other USB drives or anything else connected. See if it will POST (single beep) and then give you the message :

[Non System Disk or Disk Error]

That info may help figure out the problem.

Also do you have all the System Restore Discs containing VISTA that came with the HP laptop?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to John_VanKirk

John_VanKirk wrote :

Are you able to get to the System Setup by clicking on the <del> key or HP's POST key while the HP splash screen is up? If so check and see if it recognizes the new HDD in the CMOS setup. Also that the Hard Drive is 1st in order to boot.

Yes. I can get to the system setup (no problems there) and I can see it recognizing the HDD every time.

John_VanKirk wrote :

Other thing to try is to take out the HDD altogether, and don't have any other USB drives or anything else connected. See if it will POST (single beep) and then give you the message :

[Non System Disk or Disk Error]

That info may help figure out the problem.

That's a good suggestion. I will try it out.

John_VanKirk wrote :

Also do you have all the System Restore Discs containing VISTA that came with the HP laptop?

Yes I have. But I do not plan to use them. I do not like Vista and I love XP
Are you suggesting that the change in OS might have caused this problem?

Reply to nishant80

Best answer

Hi again,
I asked about the restore Vista disks so that if nothing else worked you would have the ability to get the computer working again.

The fact that you can get to the System Setup is good. Check in the BIOS and make sure an entry called "Rapid Boot or Silent Boot is disabled, so you can hear any beep codes prior to boot up if present. Next step is to disconnect the HDD and any USB or connected peripherals, and listen for a single beep after the splash screen, then see if you get the message [Non System Disk or System Error]. where the boot up will stop since there's no HDD connected. If so, it will tell you there is a missing system file or driver on the HDD required for booting.

Next reset the BIOS to the default settings.
On the BIOS Setup screen, press the f9 key to select and load the BIOS Setup Defaults . This returns the settings to the original factory conditions. 1.Press f10 to Save and Exit . Using the arrow keys to select the Yes option or pressenter key to accept the menu choices to Exit Saving Changes? . Restart your computer using the default settings

Next step reboot, and after clicking the On button, repeated tap F8 to see if you can get to the advanced BIOS options. I know you tried it previously, but it is easy to miss. Do that before and after the HP splash screen. If you can get to Advanced Options, click on Safe Mode and see if you can boot to the desktop.

There is a section on HP's help section that talks about a non responding computer after the HP splash screen. Might tak a look at it. Here is the URL
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] 6715#N1382

If any success, report back and we'll work thru the next steps.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to John_VanKirk

John_VanKirk wrote :

Hi again,
I asked about the restore Vista disks so that if nothing else worked

you would have the ability to get the computer working again.

The fact that you can get to the System Setup is good. Check in the

BIOS and make sure an entry called "Rapid Boot or Silent Boot is

disabled, so you can hear any beep codes prior to boot up if present.

Next step is to disconnect the HDD and any USB or connected

peripherals, and listen for a single beep after the splash screen, then

see if you get the message [Non System Disk or System Error]. where the

boot up will stop since there's no HDD connected. If so, it will tell

you there is a missing system file or driver on the HDD required for

booting.

Hey John! Thanks for being there till now. The BIOS I have is phoenix (F.56), it does not have any rapid/silent boot option. I have some interesting updates. I disconnected the HDD and every time I start, I get a nice error "no operating systems found". Then I connected back my old HDD (The one that has OEM Vista and XP on it) and it boots from it every single time!

I connected the new HDD again (one with only XP on it) and I get the same problem of blank screen after the HP logo. As mentioned in the first post, If I keep rebooting the machine, I get lucky on the 5th or 6th reboot and XP boots from it (new HDD). Once it boots up, It runs
absolutely fine. In fact I am typing this while booted on the new HDD. Another info is that while the new HDD is connected, I cannot even get a bootable CD to work immediately. What I mean is that I have to keep rebooting till it boots from CD on the 5th or 6th time. Doesn't this
imply that there is no problem with the MBR? It is something before MBR. I mean why wouldn't it let me boot from CD only when the new HDD
is connected? If I remove the HDD, I can boot from CD every single time.

This is driving me nuts now. I do not believe that the new HDD is bad because:
- The BIOS self test passed every time.
- HDtune clears it every time
- Seagate's disk utility clears it every time as well
- And, if I manage to boot somehow, it gives no problem until rebooted.

John_VanKirk wrote :

Next reset the BIOS to the default settings.
On the BIOS Setup screen, press the f9 key to select and load the BIOS

Setup Defaults . This returns the settings to the original factory

conditions. 1.Press f10 to Save and Exit . Using the arrow keys to

select the Yes option or pressenter key to accept the menu choices to

Exit Saving Changes? . Restart your computer using the default settings

Next step reboot, and after clicking the On button, repeated tap F8 to

see if you can get to the advanced BIOS options. I know you tried it

previously, but it is easy to miss. Do that before and after the HP

splash screen. If you can get to Advanced Options, click on Safe Mode

and see if you can boot to the desktop.

I guess you mean the Windows' advance options. I tried it again with the same result i.e stuck at blank screen.

John_VanKirk wrote :

There is a section on HP's help section that talks about a non

responding computer after the HP splash screen. Might tak a look at it.

Here is the URL
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] &cc=us&lc=

en&dlc=en&product=3686715#N1382

If any success, report back and we'll work thru the next steps.

Thanks for the link. However, it doesn't talk about my problem. For now, the only solution for me is to keep the notebook in standby while not in use. It wakes up from standby whenever I need it.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to nishant80

Great that you can after several trys get it to boot up normally!

The fact that you can get to the [No System Disk] means the CPU, RAM Video Card are OK. There has got to be a corrupt file in the boot load manager or logon manager that just needs replacing. I don't think you have anything else on this new HDD, just trying to get Win XP to work properly

Here's what to do. Try repeatedly to boot into the OS until you are successful.
In the Run line type SFC /scannow That will run thru all the system files and if any are corrupted, will ask for the Win XP CD to replace it. Hopefully that will correct it.

The other thing to consider, now that you know the hardware is fine, and since you probably don't have any data on this troubled XP installation, you could consider cleanly reinstalling Windows XP on this new drive, starting with the installation CD and setting up a new partition which would remove all the old installation.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to John_VanKirk

John_VanKirk wrote :

Great that you can after several trys get it to boot up normally!

The fact that you can get to the [No System Disk] means the CPU, RAM Video Card are OK. There has got to be a corrupt file in the boot load manager or logon manager that just needs replacing. I don't think you have anything else on this new HDD, just trying to get Win XP to work properly

Here's what to do. Try repeatedly to boot into the OS until you are successful.
In the Run line type SFC /scannow That will run thru all the system files and if any are corrupted, will ask for the Win XP CD to replace it. Hopefully that will correct it.

John, thanks again for the prompt reply! I am not as prompt as you because of the timezone gap.
I will try this command and update you.

I was thinking on these lines:
- HP would have hard-wired the BIOS to look for Vista's boot loader (BIOS setup shows a read-only property called "factory installed OS" and it is set to "Vista" )
- I need to find out how to install Vista's boot loader only (not the OS) and make an XP entry in it.

John_VanKirk wrote :

The other thing to consider, now that you know the hardware is fine, and since you probably don't have any data on this troubled XP installation, you could consider cleanly reinstalling Windows XP on this new drive, starting with the installation CD and setting up a new partition which would remove all the old installation.

If all else fails, I will try this option.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to nishant80

nishant80 wrote :

John, thanks again for the prompt reply! I am not as prompt as you because of the timezone gap.
I will try this command and update you.

I was thinking on these lines:
- HP would have hard-wired the BIOS to look for Vista's boot loader (BIOS setup shows a read-only property called "factory installed OS" and it is set to "Vista" )
- I need to find out how to install Vista's boot loader only (not the OS) and make an XP entry in it.

If all else fails, I will try this option.

Hi agina,
What's the exact model number of your HP laptop? Also in the BIOS, is there a way to disable the "factory installed OS Vista"? It is a different bood loader, much like Win-7, so you can't just change a line in the Boot.ini file. Possibly there is a BIOS upgrade that you could flash. Will try to look into it with your Laptop model #.

Reply to John_VanKirk

The exact model is "HP Pavilion dv6885se".

There is no way to change/disable the "factory installed OS Vista".

I know that it is a different boot loader. I have heard that programs like EasyBCD can be used to modify Vista's boot loader. I have to see if it can allow me to install the boot loader without installing Vista.

Upgrading BIOS is also what I was considering and it seems HP has put an updated version (F.58) here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] 6715#N3618

But, this update is shown for Vista and not XP. This makes me think that the new BIOS would have the same issues. And if something goes wrong, I am not sure I will be able to restore the old BIOS.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to nishant80

nishant80 wrote :

The exact model is "HP Pavilion dv6885se".

There is no way to change/disable the "factory installed OS Vista".

I know that it is a different boot loader. I have heard that programs like EasyBCD can be used to modify Vista's boot loader. I have to see if it can allow me to install the boot loader without installing Vista.

Upgrading BIOS is also what I was considering and it seems HP has put an updated version (F.58) here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] 6715#N3618

But, this update is shown for Vista and not XP. This makes me think that the new BIOS would have the same issues. And if something goes wrong, I am not sure I will be able to restore the old BIOS.

You've id'd the problem with this computer, the BIOS does not have a version supporting Win-XP. Here is an article HP discusses downgrading to XP and how they very much discourage it

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] ct=3686715

What I would do is post a new question on the Disk Drive discussion board specifically asking if anyone has been successful downgrading to XP with this computer. Might find someone who has been successful. I'm not surprised HP has locked the BIOS for Vista. I know for business use, lots of Dell computers were purchased with Vista and then downgraded back to XP, but think the BIOS was generic and not specific for 1 OS.

The other option, of course, is reloading Vista on the larger HDD with all the supported HP drivers and using it for now.
I wouldn't get into dual booting on your laptop, as they mentioned.

Reply to John_VanKirk

Thanks John. Your inputs have helped me to identify the actual problem.

Yes, HP seems to have locked this model for Vista use but then I should not be able to boot into XP even after trying repeatedly. The fact that I am able to do so, indicates that the problem is not as bad as it looks and there might be a simple solution.

I will be trying these options:
- Try installing Vista's boot loader and point it to XP.
- start a new thread as you suggested

Reply to nishant80

Best answer selected by nishant80.

Reply to nishant80

Hey John, I thought I will update you on my further observations. I tried another HDD on my notebook that I borrowed from a friend. It is a Seagate 160GB HDD and I freshly installed XP on it after formatting the entire disk. This HDD works fine.

I am now wondering what else could be wrong with the 500GB HDD when it has no bad sectors and it passes the BIOS self test. I have started a new thread here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] b-notebook

Reply to nishant80

Hi again Nish,

Been thinking about your bootup problem and didn't post on your new inquiry to not discourage anyone from contributing their knowledge.

(Vista & Win-7) and Win-XP use completely different boot loaders, and that's got to be where the problem is. It's just setting the bootmgr to point to the correct BCD for Win-XP

In the root directory you will find the Win-XP boot menu file "boot.ini". You can safely look at it by running msconfig, and clicking the Boot tab. It should look like this one:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptOut

That says use Disk0 as listed in the BIOS, and partition 1 on that disk. Not a dual or multiboot, and running Windows.

If not, click on "check all boot paths" to see if there is another option to choose.

The other thing you can do is download the program "EasyBCD" which is a free graphical utillity that can safely make choice changes to the bootmgr and boot menu, Win-XP & Vista. (There is also another free one called "VistaBootPro" which is geared more to Vista, but can set the order correctly). Try EasyBCD first.

Reply to John_VanKirk

John,

This is the boot.ini on my notebook:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

To put things in perspective, I am not worried about "XP not supported on my notebook" anymore. Since the other smaller capacity HDD worked without any problems with XP, I am now doubting the 500GB HDD hardware (The one I am facing problems with) and I am trying to find answers to these questions:
- Is it that, passing the BIOS self test and 0 bad sector count not enough to clear a HDD?
- My notebook is over 2 years old. Is it possible that an old notebook might not handle 500GB disks properly?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to nishant80

nishant80 wrote :

John,

This is the boot.ini on my notebook:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

To put things in perspective, I am not worried about "XP not supported on my notebook" anymore. Since the other smaller capacity HDD worked without any problems with XP, I am now doubting the 500GB HDD hardware (The one I am facing problems with) and I am trying to find answers to these questions:
- Is it that, passing the BIOS self test and 0 bad sector count not enough to clear a HDD?
- My notebook is over 2 years old. Is it possible that an old notebook might not handle 500GB disks properly?

Hi Nish,

The Boot.ini looks fine. This 1st problem has to be in the different ways Win-XP and Win-Vista read their boot configuration databases. You might just download that VistaBootPro and see if it discloses a different BCD for Vista, then move Win-XP first or choose it. You can save your Boot.ini under a different name first (Boot1.ini) so if there is any mixup, you can always go back to the root and rename it back to the original

To answer the other questions, The POST looks for hardware and configures it to use on the computer, it doesn't look in the file system for partitions or sectors. Chkdsk checks the HDD, or use HDTune (free trial and very good program) to check for proper setup of the HDD. HDD's may have a bad sector or two but they are set aside and a "standby" sector is swapped in. Some HDD's dont show you if bad sectors are swapped in so folks don't keep sending back perfectly good HDDs. So 0 bad sectors is great.

A Notebook just 2 years or so old should read a 500 GB HDD fine. I'm sure you have Win-XP Prof SP-3 which has all the latest updates.

Reply to John_VanKirk

Yea, I agree that the 500GB disk should work on my notebook, there is no reason why it shouldn't. Maybe I got plain unlucky this time and the only solution is buying a new one and hoping that it will work. The unfortunate part is that I won't get a replacement of the HDD because no tools show any problems with it. I have scanned it with hdtune and BIOS self test.

Reply to nishant80

Hi Nishant... I have exactly the same problem... and I read what you wrote . For all that you wrote and all the tests that I have done I came to a conclusion, it is also a problem of compatibility between the BIOS and bigger capacity Disks... Many years ago when installing a bigger HDD in an older computer that I had, the computer would do the same, wouldn't start for the same reason. I found out that the BIOS didn't support higher HDD, however, partitioning the disk and formatting it with FAT 32 File System made the disk be recognizable by the BIOS.

Now that it happened again I did the same with my dv6000 (5th or 6th time it boots) I booted from a CD with the Acronis Software for disk installation and after installing the Disk with 1 single partition with FAT32 the problem was gone... After that my problem was that my recovery CD from HP automatically partitions and format again with NTFS and then it makes it fail again =((... so Im going for Ubuntus instead, now, when I plugged the battery (which hadn't been used in months and seem to having died) it started having problems again... that BIOS is just too very picky, these guys from Phoenix Technologies tried too hard to make it start super fast so that they sacrificed Quality in the BIOS setup (which if you can see in the Internet many people are having different troubles with it).

I would suggest you try partitioning and formatting with FAT32 File System if it doesn't work the only way to make it work would be to find a good BIOS ( that HP hasn't provided) or else try to find an editor and play with your BIOS which is quite risky. I'll keep trying to make it stable though I... never give up! if you find anything I will appreciate any additional good results in your case -- erik_apl at yahoo dot com dot mx

Reply to erik_a

Hey Erik !

Thanks for sharing your inputs. I came to the conclusion that my notebook has no problems with smaller drives (<= 250GB). For now, I am gonna buy a new HDD (160GB) and use the bigger one (500GB) as an external portable drive. You would have read in my earlier post that a 160GB HDD worked on my notebook. FAT32 is not an option for me cuz I've a lot of HD video files than are more than 4GB in size and FAT32 won't allow that.

Can you put a smaller capacity HDD in your notebook and see how it goes? Let me know the results.

Reply to nishant80

nishant80 wrote :

Hey John! Thanks for being there till now. The BIOS I have is phoenix (F.56), it does not have any rapid/silent boot option. I have some interesting updates. I disconnected the HDD and every time I start, I get a nice error "no operating systems found". Then I connected back my old HDD (The one that has OEM Vista and XP on it) and it boots from it every single time!

I connected the new HDD again (one with only XP on it) and I get the same problem of blank screen after the HP logo. As mentioned in the first post, If I keep rebooting the machine, I get lucky on the 5th or 6th reboot and XP boots from it (new HDD). Once it boots up, It runs
absolutely fine. In fact I am typing this while booted on the new HDD. Another info is that while the new HDD is connected, I cannot even get a bootable CD to work immediately. What I mean is that I have to keep rebooting till it boots from CD on the 5th or 6th time. Doesn't this
imply that there is no problem with the MBR? It is something before MBR. I mean why wouldn't it let me boot from CD only when the new HDD
is connected? If I remove the HDD, I can boot from CD every single time.

This is driving me nuts now. I do not believe that the new HDD is bad because:
- The BIOS self test passed every time.
- HDtune clears it every time
- Seagate's disk utility clears it every time as well
- And, if I manage to boot somehow, it gives no problem until rebooted.

I guess you mean the Windows' advance options. I tried it again with the same result i.e stuck at blank screen.

the notebook in standby while not in use. It wakes up from standby whenever I need it.

Hey i have the same issue with my dv6000 except mine started with the original hard drive. I changed to the sata hard drive thinking that was the issue and i also upgraded to windows 7 and still the same thing, cant shut the computer down or i get the hp logo screen then a black screen after that and nothing. i have removed the ram and flashed new bios still same issues. the only way i can get it to boot up is by hitting f9 and and selecting cd/dvd rom and some how it loads windows. if i leave it on stand by it works every time i go to use it. i would like to find out what is causing this problem because some software u need to restart the pc and i cant do that at this time. anything that would cause that to happen??????? im open to to any awnser at this time......

Message edited by seth123 on 09-04-2011 at 04:23:25 AM

Reply to seth123

seth123

Reply to seth123

I too had the same problem happening to my dv6501au laptop. Symptoms are very similar to earlier posts, No windows logo after BIOS, formatting drive does not help. I am quite unsure of what is the problem because,

1) I can boot from Live ubuntu linux USB disk (which would mean RAM, Video and other components are OK)
2) When I install Ubuntu to HDD, It does not boot up either. (So it is not just Windows issue)
3) I can boot into either Vista or Ubuntu after a few attempts, just as mentioned in posts above.
4) Bios diagnostics of both RAM and HDD show no problems
5) Whenever I am able to boot successfully (once every 10 attempts), windows vista and ubuntu both work fine.

Now that HP is getting rid of their PC business, I am pretty sure no one there would bother to answer questions for 3/4 year old laptops. I have another laptop since then, but It is a pity that a laptop with all other components working fine just refuses to boot (any operating system). I am suspecting this is more or less a problem with Bios rather than OS or HDD.

Reply to ndigits

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