Slow boot up and continuous loading

[Uberdoyle]

I've been running Windows 10 for about 8 months and on some occasion it would boot up slowly. It was never a huge issue until today. Today when I started my laptop the boot up was slow but allowed me to login (slowly) and as my desktop tried to load it simply stops. My background appears as well as the start bar (which cannot be accessed) but no icons and my curser has the blue loading circle. I have powered down and rebooted multiple times and a couple tries the icons appeared however it stops and I'm stuck with the continuous blue loading curser. How can I repair this?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Shutdown the notebook. 

Tap away at the esc key as you start the notebook to enter the Start-up Menu.  Select the Diagnostic Menu option ( f2 ) and run the tests on the Hard Drive and Memory.

Post back with the results, including any error codes that may be generated.

Can you also post back with the full Model No. and Product No. of your m6 series notebook - see Here for a guide on locating this information.

Regards,

DP-K

[Uberdoyle]

Thank you,

I got hard drive failure ID: PLLC3D-71683G-XD7V61-60T403.

Model #: m6-k022dx
Product #: EOLO6UA#ABA

[DavidPK]

Hi,

The 24 character error code is a failure of the short Disk Self Test ( DST ) and would indicate that the Hard Drive is failing and needs to be replaced.  This is also consistent with the boot issues you describe.

If your notebook is still under warranty, contact HP and arrange to have the drive replaced - If needed, you can check your warranty status Here.

If you live in the US, contact HP Here.

If you are in another part of the world, start Here.

If you are out of warranty and would like a guide on replacing the Hard Drive yourself, please let me know.

Regards,

DP-K

[Uberdoyle]

Sadly, I am out of warranty. I did purchase the notebook from Best Buy and I'm not sure if I'm still under warranty with them. Would this replacement be difficult or would it be best to go through their Geek Squad?

Thanks,

Zach

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

Hi Zach,

Replacing the drive on your notebook is pretty straight forward.

The drive on the link below is an example of one that would be fine for your notebook.

750Gb Notebook Hard Drive.

The procedure to replace the Hard Drive starts on Page 42 of your Maintenance & Service Guide.

Regarding reinstalling Windows 10 on the new drive, as long as the previous installation of Windows 10 had activated Ok after the upgrade from 8.1, you can just perform a clean installation as detailed in the guide on the following link.  Note: At the activation screen, select 'I don't have a Product key' - Windows will activate automatically once the installation has completed.

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

Regards,

DP-K

[Uberdoyle]

Thank you for the help David. One last question, would this hard drive be compatible?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B99JUBQ/ref=psdcmw_1254762011_t1_B004MME0N0

[DavidPK]

Hi Zach,

You're welcome and the 1Tb sshd drive you linked to should be fine

All the best,

DP-K

[Uberdoyle]

Alright David I'm going to pester you (hopefully) for the last time. I got my hard drive and installed it with no problems. How do I install an OS on the new, blank hard drive? I never got the chance to back-up my old drive so I'm assuming I'll need to purchase a new OS.

Thanks again,
Zach

[DavidPK]

Hi Zach,

You don't need to purchase  anything as the previous installation of Windows 10 had activated Ok.

Using another PC, follow the guide on the link below to create your own Windows 10 installation media.

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

When you've created this, nsert the Windows 10 Installation Media and Shutdown the notebook.

Tap away at the esc key as soon as you press the power button to enter the Start-up Menu and then select the Boot Options Menu ( f9 ).

Use the arrow keys to highlight the CDROM (uefi) or USB Flash Driver ( uefi ) option, depending on which typre of media you created, then hit enter - if prompted to 'Press any key to continue....' - do so.

Note: At the activation screen, select 'I don't have a Product key' - Windows will activate automatically once the installation has completed.

Regards,

DP-K