HP Envy M6-1115TX - cannot get moving in Recovery Manager and windows 8.1 not working

[reetz_NZ]

My laptop has been playing up for a while, i thought I would do a factory reset and if I could get it running, give it to a family member.  I tried to use HP recovery manager from within windows but after short periods of time, it would freeze so now i'm trying to do it from BIOS (accessed this by constantly pushing F11 from restart). My issue is, when it asked for recover disks, i found them and put the first one in and eventually it recognised it and took me to the recovery manager screen but when I start to use it, it takes so long and eventually throws an error "The destination drive is not connected".  What do I do?  It will sit on Factory image recovery preparation screen, selected option is 'Reformatting the Windows partition of your hard drive' for ages, possible a couple of hours then the error displays saying the same message above?  Then it asks me Which file selection method do you want to use to create your backup?  The two options are, Auto Selection or User Selection.  I thought I had chosen to reset to factory settings so why is it asking me to backup?  So if I play along with it and choose Auto Selection, all items are checked but upon selecting Next, it then tells me "There are no files of the user selected file types to be found."  Also, the recovery disks took six CDs to save and yet it hasn't asked me to put another disk in or anything?  Now it won't restart into Windows, it was previously running Win 8.1, although I do not recall whether 32 or 64 bit.  Has it completed died already?  It's taking me round and round in circles and I was hoping to recover it using the disks.

[iomare]

Hi,

First try performing HP diagnostics on the PC at boot to see if the Hard Drive is good.

Turn off the PC by holding the power button. Turn on PC and continously keep pressing ESC until startup menu appears and then press F2 to enter diagnostics. Try the fast test, or at least the hard drive test.

See if there are any hardware errors.

Next, I would perform a clean install of Windows 10 by creating a bootable pendrive with the OS on it. You can do this on a different PC. No product key needed and Windows will automatically activate once installed.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO

Download the iso and use software such as RUFUS to create a bootable USB Drive.

Let me know,

David

[reetz_NZ]

Thanks, i did what you suggested, SMART check Passed but Short DST Failed.  I had previously done the extensive test, also Failed.  Failure ID: 6C7SL2-6HG9N2-XD7X1F-60T803, Product ID: C7E28PA#ABG, Hard disk 1.  The only option then is Back to Main Menu. I wondered why it is allowing me to use the six disks that i created for recovery, in 2013.  Also if I was able to download windows 10, I wouldn't on this as it didn't take kindly to upgrading to windows 10 previously.  So it has now gone back to the HP Recovery Manager and the only options available are Minimized Image Recovery, Factory Reset, Run Computer Checkup and Show Contact Info.  The options for System Recovery and File Backup are not available/live to be selected.  I'm still going around in circles.  Any new suggestions pls?

[iomare]

Hi,

The Hard Drive has failed and needs to be replaced. You will not be able to install an OS until you replace the drive.

So, what you need is a 2.5" SATA3 HDD or for a great boost in performance you could opt for a 2.5" SATA3 SSD

Examples:

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-Hard-Drive/dp/B07H28QRKN/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784SLQM6/ref=twister_B07PV7KHL3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

On page 48 of the service manual, you can see the steps to replace the drive.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03694820

You can download the Windows 8.1 iso directly from Microsoft (get the 64-bit one) on a different PC. You do not need product key as it is in firmware.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO

Then burn the image to a DVD or use software such as Rufus to create a bootable pendrive

https://rufus.ie/

If you choose this option you will need to use the pendrive to perform a clean install of Windows 8.1. You might need to disable fastboot and secure boot in BIOS (probably not). So, insert the pendrive in the PC and it should boot directly from the drive. If not, turn off the PC by holding the power button. Press the power button and immediately keep pressing ESC until the startup menu appears and then press F9 and choose the pendrive in the boot menu. Once it boots from pendrive follow the procedure to install Windows.

When finished installing allow Windows to completely update and find all or most drivers.

 I recommend installing HP support assistant which will help keep your drivers up to date and much more. You can download the latest version from here.

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html

Once completely updated you can go into device manager and see if there are any missing drivers (there will be yellow exclamation mark next to the device). You can find these drivers and software on HP support page for your product.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-envy-m6-1100-notebook-pc-series/5296045/model/5317303/produc...

While you are at it, I recommend adding another 4GB of DDR3L 1600MHz module in the empty slot. With an SSD and an extra 4GB of RAM, it will seem like a new PC.

Hope it helps,

David

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[reetz_NZ]

Thank you David, this has been very helpful and I guess the realisation that this hard drive is stuffed which means I should move forward.  I will look at getting another HD and read the how to guide/service manual.  Can I just confirm, the advice you gave does apply to this model laptop? You're not referring to a desktop model?  I'm a regular user, I can find my way around and/or follow instructions on software but unsure about hardware.  Do you think the instructions will be easy enough to follow, it sounds straight forward when you explained it but I don't want to mess things up and it costing me more.

[iomare]

You're welcome.

Taking another look. Yes, it has a service door on the bottom of the PC as you can see on page 48-49. So you just need to loosen the screw and remove the service door and you already have access to the hard drive. It is a simple process. All you need is a Phillips head screwdriver.

To create the installation media all you need to do is download the Windows 8.1 iso and then in Rufus (the software linked above) create a bootable USB drive (you will need a 8GB empty USB drive) or burn the iso to a DVD disk. You will need to do this on another PC.

Installation should be simple, the PC will boot from the USB Drive as it will be the only bootable device once inserted in the USB port and you can install Windows on the new empty drive.

I would use a 2.5" SSD as the everyday performance boost will be great and they are quite cheap, especially if you do not need too much capacity.

You should have no problems doing the fix.

Regards,

David

[reetz_NZ]

Hi again, just one other thing since I'm going to be going into this machine and changing parts, it might change your opinion on whether it is worth fixing it.  Another thing that was going wrong with it for months on end was every time you would wake it up to use it, it had lost the network connection.  I would need to keep  troubleshooting the network, it always highlighted something about the network adapter.  I'm not sure whether this is a software or hardware issue but any suggestions before I turn this into a working lappy?

[iomare]

Hi Rita,

The network problem is most likely driver related. A lot of notebooks are having network problems recently. It is worth fixing and then we can take a look at the network problem. It might actually disappear with a new installation of the OS. You can also always replace the wifi module for very cheap. First, you need to get it up and running again.

Regards,

David

[reetz_NZ]

Ok thanks again.  I will get back to you once I've taken the other steps.

[reetz_NZ]

Hi again David, I've resurrected my pc! Followed all your precise instructions and it worked for the new hardrive and ram!  The only thing I wasn't sure about was the Rufus thing as there were like 3 options but i just chose the first and it obviously worked.  I"m now running the the updates and I have loaded on the HP Support Assistant.  It feels faster, I'm so pleased, wish I had contacted you sooner however, I suppose I needed to learn all I had to be able to explain my then predicament!  This has renewed my faith somewhat in HP as I got sore on the brand after this laptop's power cord exploded on me.  I replaced it at my cost then I saw a recall had been done on the power cords due to this exact issue.  I was very annoyed as I had registered my HP so they should have done more to contact me plus I had the HP Support assistant on my pc then!  Obviously I threw the old power cord out but if I had known about the recall, the power cord would have been exchanged for free!  Anyway, thank you so much for your assistance, you've been very knowledgeable and helpful to so that I could get this done.  I'm not sure if I want to give it away now 🙂