Hewlett-Packard HP G60-535GX Laptop Cannot Boot, Master Boot Record Corrupted&Will Not Accept W7 DVD

[TurtleShroom]

Good evening, and Merry Christmas.

I am trying to repair an old Hewlett-Packard G60 Series Model G60-535DX laptop, in hopes that I can give it to a local Georgian charity. I have been attempting to rectify it on and off, but I have finally ran out of options.

Here is what I know.

When the laptop turns on, it says the following:

WINDOWS FAILED TO START. A RECENT HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE CHANGE MIGHT BE THE CAUSE.

STATUS: 0XC000000F

INFORMATION: THE BOOT SELECTION FAILED BECAUSE A REQUIRED DEVICE IS INACCESSIBLE.

If I press "ENTER" on that screen, I am given one "operating system" to start. It is called "RAMDISK OPTIONS EMS ENABLED". If I try to boot that in Safe Mode (pressing F8) or pressing "ENTER" again, it goes back to the same screen there.

I did some research, and it turns out that this is a problem with the Master Boot Record. I thought that the hard drive was broken or unplugged, but I was able to access the hard drive using some recovery DVD's. The problem is that other than detecting the drive, they could do nothing.

The obvious answer was to insert a "Windows Seven" System Repair Disc. I have three of those, so I tried them all. One was an entire W7 OS Installation DVD and the other two where the system repair discs you an generate from within the loaded OS. I also tried to go to "Repair Your Computer", but it didn't exist (see above), and there was no Start Up Repair for the same reason. See above.

All three of them could not do anything. I would insert them and command them to boot from the CD. The computer would then restart and send me back to the same error screen I first mentioned. I have tried using every other option, but I cannot access the System Recovery.

I tried using a "Trinity Rescue Kit" CD, and got THAT to load, so I know the motherboard is functioning. Unless you are familiar with Linux, the TRK is useless outside of resetting passwords, so I moved on from there. I also tried a "DR-DOS" CD, and that loaded.  Then I tried the "DLC-Boot" CD, which also loaded. It was this program that managed to prove that the hard drive was still plugged in and could be read. I was able to scan the hard drive and all its files using that software. However, when I tried to load one of those Pre-Run Time Environment/PCE things it provided, it failed like the official Windows media. Any attempt to boot from the CD drive failed because of this, sending me right back to the problem I mentioned above.

There must be some way to directly access and fix the Master Boot Record without using the Command Prompt or any official Windows installation media. However, I am unable to figure out anything else.

I now turn to the audience for suggestions, and I hope that I can find some information here.

Thank you for any assistance you may render.

Merry Christmas,

-TURTLESHROOM

[Rainbow23]

Hi @TurtleShroom,

I see that you are facing issues with your HP product.

This could be a hardware issue with the unit and may need repair. 

I suggest that you contact HP Service Center in your location from this weblink: https://support.hp.com/us-en/help/service-center 
Note: Select your country from the dropdown,  enter the city or postal code, select the product, change the radius, and click on search to locate the nearest HP Service center near your location.

Hope this helps.
Take care and have a good day.