Hey guys,
Help needed ... again.
Case: Friend's HP laptop with Win7 Home Premium 64bit.
Issue: Clicking on "Restart" (Start?Shutdown) goes as far as the screen "To enter setup press Escape" and hangs there.
Background info: On Aug. 7th, HP (sorry, don't remember the utility name) did a BIOS update which seems to have gone ok. He made an image with Paragon Backup & Recovery 10 Home afterwards. Went about doing his usual stuff with no issues (or at least none noticed) for the next couple of days. Then went on holiday and returned today. Checked for and got 10 MS updates, required reboot couldn't complete as machine hang at the above mentioned screen. Pressed shut-down button, cold started laptop, updates completed.
This is what the situation is as of today: the system doesn't complete restarts. I asked him to uninstall the MS updates, he did so but the problem persists. Unfortunately, he didn't keep an image or a Restore Point from before Aug. 7th, so can't go back.
I haven't yet gotten the machine in my hands, but I asked him to look into the Event Log and there's nth worrying in there apart from a number of Event ID 41 errors - looked it up, it's caused by force shutting down the system (pressing the shut-down button).
But that made me wonder, if the system recognizes it as a force shut-down, is it possible that the system does restart though it's visually stuck at that screen? In other words, could this be graphics related? Forgot to mention that the laptop has a second on-board graphics card and a manager that swaps them depending on the power source.
Could this be BIOS related? HP has a function to revert to the previous version.
Or something else?
I'm trying to narrow down the possible causes, so I can have a plan on how to troublshoot this when I get the machine.
All ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks ahead.
I am human
Hey FD - WOW, so many possibilities!!
I had this exact same thing happen to me many moons ago with a Dell. Unfortunately, I can't remember how I ended up fixing it.....which is a great help, I know.
Has your friend created a Windows 7 System Repair Disc?
Will the laptop boot from CD/DVD okay?
What happens if, when it hangs, you press "Escape" to enter setup, can you access BIOS okay?
(I realise you may not be able to answer those questions right now, just something to think about when you get your hands on the machine)
I believe you were possibly on the right track with the Windows Updates, may well be some sort of software issue/conflict/incompatibility.
First thing I would be doing is trying a restart into Safe Mode. Go to msconfig, open the Boot tab and select Safe Boot.
If the system then restarts okay that would definitely point to software. Then go to Programs and Features and see if anything new has been installed in the past few weeks.
Even though BIOS has been updated recently, I don't think that would be the cause. Because the machine is still booting fine from a cold start.....but I could be wrong.
I'm sure Dave and/or Zigqie will have some more/better ideas FD.......stand by!
Cheers......Jim
[quote="Flying Dutchman":yaor0y8k]
Issue: Clicking on "Restart" (Start?Shutdown) goes as far as the screen "To enter setup press Escape" and hangs there.[/quote:yaor0y8k]
Is this the Windows setup or the BIOS setup?
Any POST errors (beeping on startup)?
How did he uninstall the Windows Updates (or attempt to) if he can't get past this screen?
Is there a CD in the drive?
And as Jim said -- so many possibilities.
Hey guys,
Ok, maybe I wasn't clear enough in my first post.
The laptop cold boots with absolutely no problems and shuts down with absolutely no problems either - press the power button and all goes well, click Start>Shutdown and all goes well.
Problem is when you have it running and you click Start>Restart or some program asks for a restart, the restart cycle doesn't complete. It goes as far as the first boot screen with the HP logo and that line at the bottom. At this point, he has to press the power button to completely shut the laptop down. When he pressses the power button again, he gets into Windows with no hassle.
[quote="ozbloke":3m6wwolf]Has your friend created a Windows 7 System Repair Disc?
Will the laptop boot from CD/DVD okay?[/quote:3m6wwolf]
Yes and yes.
[quote="ozbloke":3m6wwolf]What happens if, when it hangs, you press "Escape" to enter setup, can you access BIOS okay?[/quote:3m6wwolf]
Didn't ask him to try it, don't trust him with that.
[color=#FF0000:3m6wwolf]EDIT:[/color:3m6wwolf]
Ok, asked him to try: Nth happens, the machine is not reacting to it. He also said that the HDD LED is not blinking at that stage - could it be a failing HDD though everything else works?
[quote="ozbloke":3m6wwolf]First thing I would be doing is trying a restart into Safe Mode. Go to msconfig, open the Boot tab and select Safe Boot.
see if anything new has been installed in the past few weeks.[/quote:3m6wwolf]
Will try Safe Boot with him tomorrow and report back. As for new installations, I don't think so as he always consults with me first but I'll have a look anyway.
[quote="Ziggie":3m6wwolf]Is this the Windows setup or the BIOS setup? [/quote:3m6wwolf]
Can't remember anymore, I think it brings up a screen with a number of choices, one of them being to access BIOS - but again, I'm not sure.
[quote="Ziggie":3m6wwolf]Any POST errors (beeping on startup)?
Is there a CD in the drive?[/quote:3m6wwolf]
No and no.
So, any other questions or suggestions?
Thanks again.
I am human
Hey FD,
If there are no post error beeps at all then that would seem to indicate there are no problems with hardware and it is most likely a software issue. It is an indication only, not absolute.
I would be trying the restart into Safe Mode first. If the machine restarts okay into Safe Mode then that will help confirm it is most likely a software issue. Check all startup items and non-Microsoft services via msconfig. Check Device Manager for any possible driver issues. Check through Windows Update history and see if any new drivers have been automatically installed/updated in the past few weeks (if found, Roll Back Driver).
Other options:
* Disconnect all non-essential peripheral devices; printer, flash drive (if one is connected), etc.
* Double check that the most current Windows updates were indeed uninstalled. Uninstall any from around the time of the incident and just before.
* Boot into Safe Mode and select "Last known good configuration".
* Seeing it is a laptop - Check all 'Power Plan' settings, restore to default settings if necessary.
* Access BIOS and check through all settings. (this issue appeared around the same time BIOS was updated - maybe just coincidence, maybe not).
* Boot the System Repair disc and run the "Startup Repair" component.
* Run sfc /scannow to check for any missing/corrupt system files - In Windows 7, sfc /scannow must be run from an elevated command prompt. Click [b:1h7oikpx]Start[/b:1h7oikpx] and then type [b:1h7oikpx]cmd[/b:1h7oikpx] into the Search dialogue box. Right click on [b:1h7oikpx]cmd.exe[/b:1h7oikpx] (in the results) and select "Run as administrator".
* Run a thorough/full malware scan with either MBAM or SAS (never heard of malware causing anything like this but you never know - and it wouldn't hurt to check anyway)
* Run chkdsk /f - Right click on the entry for the main drive in "Computer" and select [b:1h7oikpx]Properties[/b:1h7oikpx]. Open the [b:1h7oikpx]Tools[/b:1h7oikpx] tab and, under "Error-checking", click on the [b:1h7oikpx]Check Now[/b:1h7oikpx] button. Enable the option to "Automatically fix file system errors". Leave the second option disabled.
(This chkdsk function will run only after a restart, so may or may not co-operate ).
These are all pretty simple/basic operations which should generally be first response. Hardware is a possibility, although at this stage I believe unlikely. Anyway, we can cross that bridge if/when we come to it.
Cheers....Jim
Hi Jim,
I got the laptop today and glad to say that I didn't have to go through your list.
I had a suspicion that it was MBR related, so did a MBR repair and all is good now - restart the machine around 5 times so far, just to make sure.
Now I have to get all the MS Updates again, grrr!
Thanks again .
I am human
Jim Hillier
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