HP Pavillion - "Press ESC for Startup Menu" on boot-up

[kyledow]

Hello,

I have a Pavillion g6 notebook running Windows 7. 

I've run into an issue where booting up the computer displays the message "press the esc key for startup menu" momentarily, the screen goes black, and that message displays again.  No HP logo ever displays, just that message.

I'm able to access the HP Startup Menu, and I've run through each of the diagnostic tests, and each of them have passed (Battery, Memory, HDD, Run-In, and Start-up). I've also reset the BIOS back to it's original settings. It says there is no update for the BIOS, and no previous versions to rollback to.

I haven't installed, modified, or removed any hardware.

I've tried doing a hard reset (remove battery and hold power for 15 seconds). That didn't do anything.

Lastly, the Windows Recovery option takes me right back to the black screen where it asks to press the ESC key.

My questions:

- How accurate are the diagnostic tests in stating that Memory, HDD, and Battery are fine? If they pass those tests, does it rule those components out as being the problem?

- What other things could be causing this?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Any other information needed to help diagnose this, please let me know.

[Mrstenter · Accepted solution]

Hi Kyledow,

I read your post.You could first try following this document on Configuring boot order. As this would take effect before Windows has booted and would not change on system restore.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00364979

The diagnostics are very reliable. Make sure you have removed all external USB devices before doing any steps.

Please let me know.

Thanks.

[kyledow]

Thanks for your reply, mrstenter.

I was able to correct this by running a Windows 7 CD during bootup, and restoring the OS back to a date a few weeks before I ran into this issue.

No problems since!