Blank Screen with blinking cursor; ESC key couldn't bring up Startup Menu; OS not loading

[Owenson]

Product Name: HP G62 237 CA Notebook PC

Short description of the problems:   
--- Press ESC key couldn’t bring up Startup Menu when booting up
--- Blank screen with blinking cursor thereafter
--- Stuck here forever and OS is not loading

DETAILED INFORMATION:

Product Name and Operating System:      

• Model: HP G62 237 CA Notebook PC
• O/S: Pre-loaded with Win 7 Home Prem
• Processor: Pent. Dual-Core CPU T4500 2.30GHz
• Memory: 4GB
• BIOS Ver. (Insyde): F.17
• System BOARD ID: 1484
• Product #: WQ767UA#ABC
• Product Config ID: 049C110000202710000020000

Description of the Problem History:     

--- Used to have frequent BSOD (got fixed later because of faulty RAM that I suspected)
--- Window couldn’t be loaded
--- Window Repair and HP Recovery were tried but not functioning
--- OEM Hard Drive was then removed & formatted few times by using other computer
--- Hard Drive was then tested by other computer; it can be installed Win XP & Win 7
--- So, Hard Drive was eliminated from the suspect list
--- Replaced with other good RAM from other computers & put back the OEM Hard Drive to my HP G62; everything worked fine, such as: able to reinstall Win 7; listening to music files; got Internet to download latest BIOS from HP support site; connected to my 42 inched TV as my monitor; and even smoothly updated the BIOS from v.17 to v.37!
--- Also, able to receive Window Updates from the Internet; and seemed that all problems were nicely solved
--- Once I believe my system got stabilized; I went back to test the 2 supposedly problematic RAM to see whether they were both faulty or not, then the whole thing has turned around! Completely screwed me up until this moment …
--- After put back the problematic RAM, Window couldn’t be loaded …
--- With a few error messages… such as,
--- The file is possibly corrupt. The file header checksum does not match the computed checksum (see photo below);

--- After the next reboot… an unexpected screen message showed up (see photo below):
Intel ® Cantiga PCI Accelerated SVGA BIOS
Build Number: 1932 PC 14.34 11/11/2009 02:36:14
DECOMPILATION OR DISASSEMBLY PROHIBITED
Copyright © 2000-2003 Intel Corp. All Rights Reserved.

--- After that, OS was not loading …
--- Press ESC key couldn’t bring up the Startup Menu during boot up
--- Blank screen with blinking cursor thereafter and seems stuck here forever

Procedures performed for troubleshooting:

• Tried hard reset for more than 5 times (removed battery, AC adapter disconnected and then hold down the Power button for more than 60 secs) and tried reseating memory too; same result with Blank Screen with blinking cursor after each reboot.

• Connected to an external monitor [Fn + F4/F5] to see whether there was any display, nothing has showed on the external monitor, it seemed that no connection established between the two.

• Finally, took the long journey to follow the Service and Maintenance Guide of HP G62 to remove the CMOS battery for well over 15 minutes and put it back. But the result was again disappointed. Tried 4 times already. The latest error message is (see photo below):      

The CMOS checksum is invalid. The CMOS will be reset to the default configuration and will be rebooted. Please check your BIOS Setup options to see if they change.
CMOS Reset (502)
ENTER – Reboot the system

After this message, the same Blank Screen with blinking cursor came back. And pressing the ESC key couldn’t bring up Startup Menu when booting up …

Note: the fan is still running; the Power button is functioning but seems stuck here forever!

I’ve already carefully read this HP Support document titled “HP BIOS Application Selected is Corrupt or Missing”:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01443485#N144

If really is the BIOS problems, then I will have the difficulties of updating a Window-based BIOS when I couldn’t even load Window!

(Note: Boot from USB has no point because right now I couldn’t change the boot sequence because the various “Startup Menu” options are not showing up!)  

Secondly, I am still stuck with the Blank Screen with a blinking cursor after I passed the first screen of “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” when re-booted again!

Thirdly, I have formatted my Hard Drive more than 3 times during the last few days for testing; I don’t have the OEM pre-loaded Win 7 with me anyone … and I don’t think I have the UEFI installed previously on my system. I did try hold down the Win Key + B with the most updated BIOS in the attached USB …, it came back with the same blank screen with a cursor blinking after reboot.

Note: the Blank Screen I’m experiencing right now is not completely black, in fact, there is background light from behind the screen and on each reboot, I can see the HP logo and the left corner message of: “Press ESC key for Startup Menu” … So, I suppose that my computer screen is not physically broken at least.

Requests:

• Please explain to me that what are the problem areas and the root causes if is possible?
• What steps or other tests can be done to make it work again?
• Do you think replacing the entire MotherBoard can help?

[Warranty: expired! I am the original purchaser & the end-user of this HP G62; acquired 2 years ago directly from a trustworthy source: staples (in Canada). Would HP Support still willing to service it for a fee?]

Thanks in advance for any suggestion and idea!
Owenson
=====================================

[Bruce_T]

Hello Owenson...

I'm sorry that you are having this issue with your notebook computer.

Based on what you've described, I'm afraid that the options for debugging and addressing this problem in the field are limited.  Please contact HP support; if you're in Canada, they can be reached at +1 800 HP-INVENT (+1 800 474-6836).  They can advise you of your options for having the machine serviced.

Good luck!

DISCLAIMER: I am an HP employee, but I am not a spokesperson for HP.

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[Owenson]

Hello Bruce T,

Thank you for viewing and replying my post! It seems to be that the hope of getting my HP G62 fixed is pretty slim or even none… I will try your advice to contact HP Canada for servicing options; and hopeful the cost is not prohibitively high. Thanks again!

Owenson
--------------------------
Note: Today (16-Jan., 2014) is the HP Expert day, do you think is possible to have other HP Experts for further commenting my HP G62’s problems …  at least conceptually because I really want to avoid all these troubles and frustrations again!

[Bruce_T]

Hello Owenson...

It's possible that some other Experts might see your post and reply - that's how I found it.  If they do, I'm curious to see what they might recommend!

Please reply back here and let us know what you were able to determine with HP Support.

Good luck!

DISCLAIMER: I am an HP employee, but I am not a spokesperson for HP.

• If you found this information helpful, please take a moment to click on "Accept as Solution".
• If you'd like to say thanks, please click on the Kudos star!