Having problems with my HP Pavilion desktop - p7 1549

[khauck]

I'm having problems with my desktop, doing some very strange things.  A few weeks ago it wouldn't boot and complained about no boot device found.   I went into bios setup and  simply reset to defaults and it worked for a few weeks.  Now it won't boot at all.

I've tried accessing the system recovery with F11 and it complains about some secure boot options, I've tried turning secure boot off and it still doesn't work.

I tried putting another hard drive in and install Windows to it but I was not successful.  Is there any way to upgrade BIOS by booting into a USB?  I tried downloading the new bios file but it didn't do anything after I ran it (it didn't create a folder for me).  

Everything seems really slow, takes a few minutes to get into bios or boot options.  I've taken the hard drive out and connected it to another computer with an external enclosure and my other computer recognizes the drive.

I've been trying to do a system restore/startup repair/restore to factory defaults and all have not been successful.  I just recently deleted out the main partition on my drive in an attempt to install Windows 10 to the drive.  The computer seems to be frozen for long times before continuing with the installation prompts.

I've pulled the CMOS battery out and pressed the power button with the computer unplugged.

Not sure what else I can try, I'm starting to think something is wrong with the motherboard.  The computer turns on okay and I can boot a windows install USB stick and the keyboard, mouse, and video work.

I think the next thing I'll try is trying to boot to a standalone ubuntu USB stick or updating the bios from boot.

Not really concerned about my data, I just want to get this computer working again.

Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

[old_geekster]

Khauck, welcome to the forum.

The error message that you have been receiving is telling you that your hard drive is failing.  The only solution is to replace it.  I hope that have a backup of your personal data.  You should replace it with one the same size or larger that the one to be replaced.  This will assure that the Recovery media will work.  You can test it further by using SMART from the BIOS.  You can access it by tapping F10 during boot.

Here is a guide to help you replace it.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.

[khauck]

I have tried leaving the drive out and still could not install Windows to another drive I have... is it possible to get a bios update anywhere from bootup?

Just tried F11 again and the exact message I'm getting is Invalid Signature detected.  Check Secure Boot Policy in Setup.

I'm going to try pulling that drive out again and try my other drive.

[khauck]

Hmmm, looks like this may be working now.

If I recall correctly I think I left the original drive in and added a second drive and tried to install Windows to it, it didn't work.

I just completely removed the problem drive and put the other drive in, Windows 10 installer is responding like it should.  Can't believe a bad drive lags up the Windows installer so badly...

I don't have a recovery media disk so I think I'll just have to install Windows from scratch.

There's no way of creating a recovery disk from some online source is there? 

[old_geekster · Accepted solution]

Thank you for the additional information.

No, you can only create one copy of the Recovery media.  However, you may be able to buy the media from HP.  If you decide to do a complete install, check here first to assure that the software and drivers are available.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.