DV9000: OS Installs OK and runs, but subsequent (re)Boot fails with "OS not found"

[JohnTheElder]

A Pavillion DV9000 AMD-equipped laptop will install, run and modify the HD contents under1) a reload of the original OEM  Windows XP Media Center 2002; (2) Win XP Professional; (SP 2 or not) or (3) Windows 7. 

     However, any subsequent boot (or Re-boot) fails with "OS not found", UNLESS  a bootable "install" disk for an M$ product (any, not necessarily the OS on the disk) is present in the CD player, and the option "Press any Key to Boot from CD" is declined.  (Actually, if the OEM's system recovery/reinstall disk is inserted, the option "QUIT" works, as the "Press any key to boot from CD" is not offered.)

 Corrective efforts already taken include

(1) Flashing BIOS to F.42 andF.3;

(2) Updating driver for nForce 430/410 SATA Controller to 5.10.2600.666;

(3) Replacing original Seagate Momentum5400 120GB HD with a new Momentum5400 300GB drive (problem occurs regardless of which HD  is installed); 

(4) Deleting all DD partitions on the new drive and repartioning/formatting;

(5) Installing and re-installing (on the new drive) all three OSs mentioned above;

(6) Loading M$ recovery (file: cmdcons) resulting in a dual-boot capability;

(7) Running chkdsk on the new drive -- no errors disclosed

(8) Running FIXMBR and FIXBOOT on the new drive, with a strange result:

         (8-1)  Drive was partitioned by using HP Recovery disk set into C:, D:, and E: partitions, with C: as the Sysyem partition, and D: being labelled as "Recovery" partition.  When FIXMBR (no argument) is invoked, result is "MBR is non-standard or damaged", "Repair?" my response="Y". ( FIXMBR with no arguments defaults to the boot-disk.) However, FIXMBR /C: (or /D: or /E produces no screen output...I presume this means that no error was found... but a rcheck of FIXMBR (no argumenets) once again reports defects in MBR.

NONE of these actions remedied the situation.

Additional Info:

During POST, invoking "ESC" to change the boot order shows only one choice "(2)- ATAPI CD-Rom".

Boot Options screen: the hard drive isn't listed, but   CD-ROM Boot, Floppy Boot, and Internal NIC Boot(disabled) are;

From the Boot Options screen, invoking the"Boot Order" screen shows: BootOrder Options include: Notebook HardDrive / ATAPICD-ROM Drive / USB HardDrive / USB Diskette on Key / USB Floppy and the (disabled) network Adapter...  the order selected does not affect the problem.

I can not see the console output during POST, as the HP splash screen ("HP --  Imagine") occupies the screen.

I can not believe that two different HDs, purchased two years apart, can have the same physical defect which would mangle the MBR or the BootSector.  I have never modified the MBR/BoocSect of the old drive (as I'm hoping to preserve the data on the old drive), which exhibits same symptoms as the new drive.

Can anyone suggest a reason why either drive will boot from the HD ONLY when a bootable CD has first been examined by the system?  Any suggestions as to what I should try next?

Thanks, JTE

[n00311]

I have the same laptop with the exact same problem. Any help would be appreciated.

[n00311]

i have resolved the issue. when hp shipped the laptop they put the hard drive in the secondary drive. move the hard drive to the primary drive slot and worked fine.