Cold Boot OK, loads Windows OK but will not Re-Start (warm boot) on Pavilion dv6-3120sa

[irw]

Pavilion dv6-3120sa. Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit.

When trying a warm boot to Restart for any reason, say, after a Windows Update, laptop tries to restart, gets to the first black screen showing HP logo and 'Press the ESC key for Startup menu' text in white but will not boot any further.  I have to turn off then on again so it can do a cold boot.

Cause:  Laptop has been seriously ill. Had a power cut when repartitioning the drive.  Among many other things, the Recovery partition was corrupted.  Used many repair disk techniques and burnt a new Windows 7 with SP1 DVD.  Did an Inplace 'Upgrade' install.  I preserved all data, profiles and settings but warm boot fails.

BIOS set to default settings.  Run HP Diagnostics but nothing seems to be amiss.

Any ideas please?

[AttackofZaq]

Hello irw.  I understand your notebook only boots properly from a "cold" boot.

You said the notebook has passed the diagnostics so a hardware issue like a failing hard drive or memory can be ruled out.  You've also performed an "in-place" reinstall of the operating system.

There is a possibility that some of the system files are corrupted or otherwise still damaged.  I would like you to use the System File Checker utility to check these files.  Try the following.

1. Click Start, type "CMD," and press Enter.  This opens the Command Prompt.
2. Type the command "sfc /scannow" and press Enter.
3. Allow the process to complete and post the results.

I will be watching for your reply.  Have a great day!

[irw]

Hi AttackofZaq

I agree, it does seem to be something in a Windows file that is not setting the correct parameters for a reboot beyond the HP logo and 'Press the ESC key for Startup menu' text.

Yes, all HP tests passed 100%.  Prior to this mishap, laptop was functioning normally but it did have some viruses my daughter had allowed to slip in, but they were removed.  Several very thorough scans with different Anti V/Anti Mal products have been run and all show it completely clear.

I ran Command as Administrator and it passed 100%.  "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations".

Thanks for helping.  Any more ideas?

Ian

[AttackofZaq]

I would suggest performing a repair installation of Windows as a next step.  The steps are a little long to type out but luckily I have a site bookmarked which can walk you through the process.  This shouldn't erase any of your personal files or anything like that.  Take a look at this article and follow the steps.

Let me know the result.  Cheers!

[irw]

Hi AttackofZaq

Success; this did it.  For the record, this is what I did last time when I described it in my first post as an 'Inplace 'Upgrade' install'.  There is a difference this time.

The first time after doing a Repair Installation, I logged in as Administrator and there was a dialog box saying wait for a .Net upgrade to finish installing and do not Restart.  I waited ages, nothing appeared to be happening and I assumed it had frozen.  I did eventually restart (a cold one).

This time, when I logged in as Administrator, the same dialog box saying wait for a .Net upgrade to finish installing and do not Restart appeared but this time a Windows Update also took place and said to Restart.  This I did and the PC rebooted.  When I logged on as a user, I saw the same warning about the .Net upgrade but it soon disappeared.

The laptop now reboots on demand.  I wonder if the .Net item had frozen the first time and by turning the PC off, I caused the laptop to demand cold boots only.

Thank you very much for the support.

Ian

[irw]

Hi AttackofZaq

I was too hasty to announce success.  it existed but briefly.  The laptop won't warm boot again.  I've downloaded a large number of Windows updates (since the W7 SP1 upgrade install) and done more partioninig work and the problem is back.

Another thing that may or may not be connected is, F11 does not invoke the Recovery Console and the laptop jujst boots into Windows.

I will continue to try corrective action and let you know more.

Ian

[AttackofZaq]

 Good morning irw.

This is a strange problem.  I really feel inclined to say that it is hardware related.  However, it also seems that it could be software related due to the fact that the notebook boots fine--it is loading Windows that seems to be an issue.  I see two possible next steps.  I suggest performing them in this order.

First, you should try running the "Run-In Test" diagnostic.  This is a sort of "stress test" on the notebook and can help determine if there is a hardware problem which was not detected on the less-intensive diagnostics.  Try the following.

1.     Reboot your notebook and press F2 until you can select "System Diagnostics."

2.     From this menu select "Run-In Test" and allow it to run overnight or until it fails with an error.

3.     Post the result.

If this diagnostic does not find hardware problems then it is unlikely (but not impossible) for it to be hardware related.  In this case the next step would be to perform a recovery which it seems you were trying to do.  If you have changed the partition table of the notebook it is possible that the recovery partition is not going to function. In this case you will need a set of recovery CDs.  If you haven't made a set previously you can create one.  This document has the instructions for creating a set of discs.  I want to warn you though, using these recovery discs will not only perform a reinstallation of Windows but will also recreate the default partition scheme.  Make sure to back up ALL of your important data before attempting the recovery.  

If for some reason you cannot create the media you can contact HP Support to order a set of discs.  These are very useful so they're great to have.  If you're in the US/Canada you can give them a call at 1-800-474-6836.  If you're in another country you'll need to visit HP Support Worldwide to get your region's contact information.

I will be looking for your reply.  I hope you have a great weekend!

[irw]

Hi AttachofZaq

Sorry this is a long post...

I ran the Run-In Test for over 14 hours with 31 iterations and all passed.  I ran the other tests too and they all passed.  I did all this before contacting this forum but ran them again last night and today.  The Windows disk Repair seems to do nothing.  I ran CheckDisk on all drives and they pass.  Paragon Hard Disk Manager says some partitions have what it calls 'minor errors' but it seems to let them remain.

I understand you being suspicious of a hardware issue but I think it is MBR or the System partition and, now, driver related.  Everything was fine until I started moving the Recovery and HP_Tools partitions around and having made an Extended one, could not remove it (max 4 Primarys).

The Recovery partition on ‘D’ is possibly partly corrupt because, before the black screen problem mentioned below, when I logged in as a User, not Administrator, I got a message saying the Recycle Bin on D is corrupt and do I want to delete it.  This probably follows from when I first attempted to make 'D' a data partition then reversed it back to Recovery.

One other clue that is probably unrelated, is I cannot remove a drive letter 'F' from the HP_Tools partition that now resides on the Extended partition.

Things have changed.  Apart from the laptop cold booting but not re-starting (warm booting), which is a minor annoyance I want to put right, I now cannot see the 'User logon' screen.

It loads into Safe Mode OK but in Normal mode the screen goes black yet I hear it make all the usual Windows start up sounds and believe it does load Windows OK; just can't see anything.  I've used TeamViewer on it so the laptop is a host.  The client screen is black but when I move the mouse around it highlights sufficient pixels to see the User icons and if I click one, I see the Start logo and some desktop icons but the mouse leave a 'trail' of overlapping images.  I can't describe this very well, but it is like a window not refreshing properly through low GDI resources and if you drag it, it leaves trails of where it has been.

I did try restoring to the last successful log on, but it achieved nothing as I suspect the registry thinks it is logging on OK anyway.

Before embarking on this exercise, I made a backup of my drivers using DriverMax.  This is because the Windows Upgrade Install warned it might obliterate the ATI Catalyst Install Manager; I may have made a copy of that but have not tried doing anything with it.  I have restored the drivers using DriverMax but it makes no difference.  In the early phases of this problem, it only occurred when one particular user logged on not when another user or the Administrator profiles were used.  It now applies before anyone logs on.

Laptop is as original - no different hardware installed or attached.

I really do not want to use Recovery to reset to factory condition.  I'm not sure the Recovery partition is working properly, anyway and don't feel inclined to pay for a set of Recovery CDs.  I feel I am close to success but it keeps slipping away.

I'm happy to edit hex but don't know what the MBR should look like.

I wanted to show the laptop ntbtlog.txt file but this makes my post exceed 50000 characters.  How can I get this info to you?  It shows drivers not loading but I don't know what to do about them.

Ian

[AttackofZaq]

Sorry, I had some technical difficulties getting this to post.  It somehow ended up in the wrong thread.  

Good afternoon irw.

If the diagnostic was able to run for that long it is unlikely to be a hardware issue.  So, that can be taken out of the equation.  

If your disk has been changed to dynamic (meaning you have more than four partitions, here is more information about basic/dynamic disks) you will want to take a look here.  There are a few options and some of them should allow you to keep your data.  Resolving this issue will allow you to to utilize the HP_Tools and Recovery partitions as well, should you ever need them.  

I took a look at the file you messaged me and did not see any errors or anything pointing towards a cause for the issue.  

Unfortunately, the most efficient (and possibly only) method to resolving this issue is going to be either to perform a vanilla install of Windows 7 or to perform the HP System Recovery.  

[irw]

Hello

Thanks for this info.  I have looked at the links and both are new to me so I will study them shortly.

I've seen it said on some sites or maybe this forum, that the HP Tools and Recovery actions put the laptop back to how the disk was when first bought.  Can you say, in general terms, what both actions do e.g. will they re-install Windows by not doing a repair install but a full install and then the HP customisation; will doing either lose my profiles and data?

As soon as I know the cosequences of doing this, I can make a start (on something!).

I have to bear in mind that I am not convinced my Recovery partition is not corrupt.  I'm unsure how to test this and wonder what the consequences are if, part way through, it finds it is corrput and I have a new mess to sort out.

Ian