":( your pc ran into a problem and needs to restart" infinite loop

[sickofthisbulls]

Today I tried to turn on my laptop

It took a ridiculously long time to boot and just sat there on the usual screen displaying the HP logo and those dots that spin around constantly.

I therefore held the power button down and tried to boot it again

Same thing

So I left it a while to see if it just needed a bit longer

I got a blue screen which lasted about half a second so it was difficult to read but it appeared to say something like:

“:( your pc ran into a problem and needs to restart.”

There was some other text as well but it vanished before I could read it.

I think there was a “0%” in there somewhere

So that message came up and vanished and the screen went black and then the startup screen reappeared so I figured the system was rebooting so I waited some more.

I got the exact same blue screen at the end of it, which displayed the same text and lasted the same half a second.

It then went back to the normal startup screen again

A quick google search on my phone revealed that this was a problem that a few people had had before and that this cycle of startupscreen-bsod-starutpscreen-bsod would just continue indefinitely.

I did some more waiting and that indeed appeared to be what is going on with my pc

So i turned on my other, **bleep**ty pc (the one without all the important data (that is new and I have not had time to back up and archive) on it) and hit the internet for possible solutions.

Here are a few things I found:

http://www.kapilarya.com/your-pc-ran-into-a-problem-and-needs-to-restart

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-system/windows-8-stuck-in-restart-loop-y...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhHBdBD_92A

these are just a few examples and virtually all of them require I access system recovery mode.

It took me some time to figure out how to do that on my laptop in the state it’s in.

 I found 2 ways of doing it and neither of them work:

#1: power on and mash f11, screen goes black for half a second, tiny bit of text saying “system recovery” displays in the bottom left corner.

The pc then does not go to system recovery, but instead displays the usual startup screen (with the HP logo and the rotating dots) except with the words “please wait” below the rotating dots.

After a while the screen just goes black and nothing else happens. The pc is still on it’s just not displaying anything.

Waiting for ages changes nothing

#2: power on and mash esc, screen displays a “startup menu” which reads as follows:

Startup menu

F1 system information

F2 system diagnostics

F9 boot device options

F10 BIOS setup

F11 system recovery

Enter – continue startup

For more information, please visit: www.hp.com/go/techcenter/startup

That’s it, so I press f11 and guess what happens…

The pc then does not go to system recovery, but instead displays the usual startup screen (with the HP logo and the rotating dots) excepts with the words “please wait” below the rotating dots.

After a while the screen just goes black and nothing else happens. The pc is still on it’s just not displaying anything

Waiting for ages changes nothing

So basically, it does not seem like I can do anything, and please remember I am not a technician, I have only the vaguest idea what I am actually doing here. (I cant even remember what OS im using, its either 8 or 8.1)

I can access “BIOS setup” but im going to need diagrams and pointy arrows before I **bleep** with that **bleep**

Knowing that I need expert help, and not particularly wanting to have to take it to some kind of repair shop or whatever, I went on to the HP website and found the customer support section.

And after providing it with the specific product, I got a page with a regular customer service thingy with the fields for your name and email address and phone number and a “brief” description of your problem (and with a 512 character limit it meant brief). And I was just about to begin filling it all out, expecting a lengthy e-mail conversation with an advisor as you usually get with these kinds of things, when I realised that there was no way to submit the thing once you had filled it in.

Even when I had filled in all the required and optional fields, there was nothing further you could actually do, that was it.

So I had a bit of a “WHAT THE **bleep** IS THIS **bleep**” moment because this was the ONLY way to contact an advisor (there isn’t even a way to ring up a call centre), excepting on the forums, and it does not even **bleep**ing work!

The site also tried to tell me at one point that my laptop’s warranty had expired the day it was manufactured so that pissed me off too

So here I am, in a last act of desperation (prior to the repair shop), on the forum looking for a solution, can anyone help?

[Resolv_S]

Hello@sickofthisbulls,

Welcome to the HP Support Forums!  It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel.

I understand that are you are unable to Boot the PC to the main screen. Did I get it, right?

I recommend you to try the steps from the link below and check if that helps you solve the issue on the PC.

http://hp.care/2hB6d45

Hope this answers the question. Please let me know more.

Resolv_S

Glad to help you. I work for HP

Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" to say “Thanks” for helping!

"HP respects and is committed to protecting the personal information of our covered individuals." You can read more in the HP Privacy Statement.

[sickofthisbulls]

well i tied that and it ran for a few seconds before saying

"system extensive test : FAILED"

im going to copy the full screen below:

Processor Check : PASSED

Hard Drive SMART Check : Passed

Hard Drive Short DST Check : FAILED

FAILURE ID : PU7XX1-74X8B3-MFPV6J-60T803

PRODUCT ID : F5D51EA#ABU

Hard Drive 1

System Extensive Test : FAILED

Press Escape (esc) to go back to main menu or click on the button below

For more information, please visit: www.hp.com/go/techcenter/PCDiags

that's it. im going to try restarting it now but i dont think that has done anything.

if you have any other ideas please send them to me.

[Resolv_S]

Hi@sickofthisbulls,

Thanks for the response.

The information you shared, indicates that the hard drive on your PC has failed and you will need to replace it with a new component.

After replacing the part, you will need to reinstall the OS (Windows) to get the computer back up and running.

You should be able to do the recovery using the link below provided if you have the recovery media.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03489643

If you need recovery media, I recommend you to reach Phone support using the link below to order one.

http://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp

Hope the information shared will help you. Please share for more.

Resolv_S

Glad to help you. I work for HP

Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" to say “Thanks” for helping!

"HP respects and is committed to protecting the personal information of our covered individuals." You can read more in the HP Privacy Statement.

[sickofthisbulls]

to be honest it may be easier just to buy a new computer.

even if i replace the hard drive its only a matter of time before

something else breaks.

of course that is HP's plan all along, they design these things

not to last so that they break after a couple of years so that

you are constantly buying new ones.

ah well, thanks anyway.