Startup Repair Still Running After 2 Hours 20 mins.

[JPinNC]

HP Pavilion dv6t-6100

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Battery is removed - running on AC power

When I attempted to boot my laptop this morning, it got to the Windows logo screen, sat there for about 15 seconds (much longer than normal) and then went to a blue screen. I didn't record the entire error message, but it said something about a "known dll" and could not start. I pressed and held down the power button several seconds to get it to shut off.

After waiting a few seconds, I pressed the power button and the display immediately went to a black screen with the options to Run Repair (recommended) or Start Windows normally. I selected to Run Repair. That was well over 2 hours ago. The display shows the animated progress bar and Microsoft Corporation on a black screen.

Is this to be expected?

I need to leave shortly and will be away for a few hours, and want to know if I should leave it as is. Should I turn it off?

Thanks for any help.

[DavidPK]

Hi,

I would suggest turning it off and then when you have the time, run the tests shown below.

Shutdown the notebook.  Tap away at f10 as you start the notebook to enter the bios menu.  Under the Advanced or Diagnostic tab you should find the facility to run tests on both the Hard Drive and Memory.  Post back with the details of any error messages.

Regards,

DP-K

[JPinNC]

The Primary Hard Disk Self Test resulted in:

"Hard Disk 1 Full (305)."

Since I'm sure it isn't full, I'm going to guess the hard disk failed. Is that correct?

I haven't gotten through the Memory Test yet.

Thank you.

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The 305 error would indicate a failing Hard Drive and this is consistent with the issue you describe in your first post.

If your notebook is under warranty, you should contact HP to get the HDD replaced.

If you live in the US, contact HP Here.

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

If you're out of warranty and would like a guide on replacing the HDD yourself, please let me know - also include the size ( ie 750Gb ) of the HDD you currently have.

Regards,

DP-K

[JPinNC]

Thank you for the help and information.

For whatever it's worth, after running the memory test, the results were, "Memory test pass."

Sadly, I've had this laptop for less than a month and is the second dv6t-6100 to fail in less than a month.

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Sorry to hear that.  On the positive side, at least the HDD will be replaced under warranty.  It's unusual for a Hard Drive to fail so early, but it does happen.  However, it may be wise to run the Bios test on the new HDD say once a month for the first few months, just to keep an eye on it.

All the best,

DP-K

[JPinNC]

Thanks... I'll be sure to do that.

[DavidPK]

Hi,

You're welcome

All the best,

DP-K

[Fran_D]

I have had the same issue with a 2-year old Pavilion DV6, which is now out of warranty.  I get the same 305 error message when doing the disk diagnostics.  My question is, how do I get the user files off the drive?  The backup utility in HP Recovery Manager fails.  However, I can use the command prompt to browse to D: and I can see all the files there.  How do I copy them?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Here are a couple of options you could try.

1.  One possible way to try and retrieve your files from a non-booting drive is to follow the process detailed in the link below.  The Ubuntu operating system CD you create can run from the CD alone ( ie it doesn't have to install on the Hard Drive ) and I've often found it to be successful in retrieving data even from a failing Hard Drive.  When you've created the CD, follow the instructions and see if you can back up your existing files. 

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/use-ubuntu-live-cd-to-backup-files-from-your-dead-windo...

2.  Remove the HDD from the dv6, mount it in an external enclosure, connect this to another PC and see if you can access the files in this way.

As an example, the sort of enclosure you would need to do this can be seen on the following link.

External Notebook HDD Enclosure.

Regards,

DP-K