Pavilion dv6 startup problem

[ElwoodP]

Hi, I'm trying to fix a Pavilion dv6 for a friend.

On booting the computer displays a screen headed with "Windows Error Recovery". Options are

1. Launch Startup Repair (recommended)
2. Start Windows Normally

Choosing Option 1 -> Computer displays a screen headed wirth "Windows Boot Manager".

Text includes:

Windows failed to start... Insert your windows installation disc...

Status: 0xc000000f

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

Choosing Option 2 -> Computer starts to load windows. Ends with black screen with pointer cursor that you can move with mouse but nothing else.

I have no recovery disk. I removed the HDD to have a look and there is a recovery partition. I can't get the computer to boot using this. I can access the Bios startup Menu pressin Esc on startup which gives me options such as:

F9 Boot Device Options

F11 System Recovery

Enter Continue to Startup

But nothing happens when I press either F9 or F11. Pressing Enter send me to the "Windows Error Recovery" screen.

I have tried performing a forced reset (detailed here: http://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c01684768). Also tried removing and reseating the RAM.

Thanks for any help, I'm stuck! 🙂

[The_Fossette]

Hi @ElwoodP

Welcome to the HP Forums!

It is a great way to engage, post questions and find resolutions by working with specialists in the HP community.

I reviewed your post and I understand that you are unable to boot to windows and getting an error message.

I’d love to help!

Awesome job on diagnosing the issue correctly and performing smart troubleshooting before posting your question on HP forums. Kudos to you on that score.  It is a privilege to work with tech-savvy and technically competent customers like you and we greatly value your business with HP. It is a genuine pleasure to share this platform with you. 

I recommend you to contact phone support and order recovery media for your computer. Using the recovery media, you can reset the computer back to its original factory settings.

Follow below steps to contact phone support.

Step 1. Open link:  www.hp.com/contacthp/

Step 2. Enter Product number or select to auto detect

Step 3. Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"

Step 4. Scroll down and click on HP contact options - click on Get phone number

Hope that answers your question and you have a good day ahead.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care!

Cheers!

[ElwoodP]

Hi Fosette,

Thanks for your reply.

I have a version of Windows 7 on USB and the computer won't boot from it. I can't access the bios options to check boot order. As I say Startup Menu displays but doesn't respond to pressing F10 to enter "Bios Setup" or F9 to enter "Boot Device Options".

Any advice on how how to resolve?

[The_Fossette]

Hi @ElwoodP

Thank you for posting back.

I recommend you to try using an external keyboard and check if it helps.

Let me know how it works and you have a good day ahead.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care!

Cheers!

[ElwoodP]

 Thanks Fosette, actually I already tried this, plugging in a USB keyboard from a Mac. It didn't work. Should it? I tried all 4 USB porst, none worked.

[WAWood]

ElwoodP

A few comments ...

I had almost the same exact thing happen to me with my  DV6 -- and that was because I was foolish enough to believe the MS Upgrade tool when it told me the laptop was 100% compatible with Win10!  Imagine my surprise when it CRASHED partway through the upgrade -- and presented the same error code when it would not reboot.

In my case, I had an image backup I had made of Win7, so I was able to restore the PC to working condition.

Is your DV6 version able to boot from CD/DVD?  If so, you might be able to repair the Windows boot loader files enough to get it booting again by following these directions :

You will need access to a working PC for this step in order to create the media needed to repair your PC boot loader.

You will need to create something known as a Win7 Repair CD -- which you could have made for free when Win7 was working. This will repair the boot loader files, and if that is the problem, your PC will boot OK after that.

But now, that can be obtained (for a fee) from this link: http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/

When you download this file, it will be an ISO file.

To make a bootable CD from it, you will need to download and install ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/

Once you have that installed, run it, select the option "Write image file to disc" and select the ISO file you downloaded, and point it to a blank CD.

Boot from the media you created, and follow the directions in this link: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

You will probably have to run Startup Repair three times for it to fix all the boot loader problems.

When done, your PC should boot OK. If it does not, there is a more serious problem.

Good Luck

[ElwoodP]

WAWood

Thanks, I found a free version. I'll have to go buy some CDs since I threw everything CD related away about 10 years ago! I hope the bios is set to boot from CD...