i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

Chad Harris;1017900 Wrote:
r3--

This is one test to see if an HP Pavillion HD is damaged.

Restart PCtap F10 when you see the HP or Compaq logo screenwhen you
reach
bios setup use the keys to select the diagnostics tabselect "hard
drive
self test" and press enterfind something entertaining to do for 40
minutesthe grading system is pass/fail here.

Good luck,

CH


'HP PAVILION BIOS hard drive test new - Test, New, and Drive'
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/3520188/HP...drive-test-new)

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did the startup repair, which didnt work. I also did the cmd prompt
thing and enter those 3 commands. but it doesnt work.

Both resulted in 5 mins wait of the Vista Loading Bar Screen. Then
the
Blue screen comes out. then restarts my computer.

So i guess my only chance is to take it to a professional right?


--
r3n3r4d3


--
r3n3r4d3

Hey r3--

Thanks for the feedback letting me know you ran the bootrec commands
correctly. They are powerful when they work, and they have pulled me out
over the last 3 years with Vista and a couple times with builds of Win 7
recently very nicely. Sorry they didn't work.

I gave you a very simple way to test whether your hard drive is in the land
of the living and working in the post labled HP Hard Drive test. It isn't
100 percent perfect, but it's darn close.

I want you to do that simple test--click on the post labled HP Pavillion HD
Test, and I want you to follow these directions to use Seagate tools. Since
we're trying to diagnose something very important, whether we have a working
hard drive, I want you to run ***both tests.*** Seagate provides good
instructions at the link I'm going to give you, but if you have any
questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Seatools won't hurt your Windows installation at all. Scan the explanations
I provided in the tutorial, but don't spend a lot of time reading the
tutorial or the .pdf below it. The HP test is very reliable and takes just
seconds to start, so get that going. It takes 30-40 minutes to run.
Actually, if it says your HD passes, I'd go on and try the System Restores
and Last Known Good but to be sure Seagate is another test of your HD.



Seatools
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/sup...loads/seatools

Seatools Tutorial
http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/cr...p?DocId=170511

Seatools Explanation
http://www.seagate.com/support/seato...or_Windows.pdf

Remember if your hard drive passes both the Seatools test, and the simple
one I gave you that HP Pavillion provides at the bios setup reached by
tapping the F10 key, then I want you to run System restore at 3 places on
the menu you reach from tapping the F8 key. If none of the 3 is successful,
and by that I mean

Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Command
Safe Mode with Networking

then I want you to be sure and try Last Known Good. LKG is a longer
shot--it's a registry snapshot, but like in a football game, when you throw
a "Hail Mary pass" and you win--the crowd cheers, and the babes follow.

***System Restore***

Why run at 3 locations? Because often one will work when the other don't.
The same for last known good configuration at that menu. Many a person has
lost their information because they were ignorant of the fact they need to
try SR at all 3 locations + Last Known Good Configuration.


I'm sure glad you asked. System restore is still a very useful tool even in
the age of electric cars, Apple touch tablets, and seals shooting pirates
out of the water from destroyers, and the first Argentinean to win the
Masters.

System restore will not lose anything significant whatsoever. It does not
even track or impact your documents which will come back if it is
successful. All your settings will be intact. The only thing that you may
lose, despite the literally hundreds of articles I've read on it including
several from the members of the MSFT team who writes System Restore, after
having done many of them myself and for other people are

1) Applications that you installed AFTER the restore point.
2) Shortcuts that you put on the desktop or somewhere else AFTER the restore
point.

Those are usually not too significant to most people, and they become
completely insignificant if you get back everything else including your
settings intact.

What is system restore and why when it works is it as good as you say it is?

In Vista and Windows 7, System Restore is a snapshot of your settings and
everything else using a system from the Windows server technology that
originated in Win Server 2003 called Volume Shadow copies which back up your
registry and system files. VSS operates at the block level. It takes
snapshots of a file or folder on a specific volume at a specific point in
time. There are a lot of nuances, and I can give you a bibliography when you
have the time and desire to read it. There are nuance differences between
Vista Home and the more expensive versions, but the bottom line is

***You won't lose anything significant and sometimes you don't even lose
shortcuts or apps installed SINCE THE RESTORE POINT. If the restore point
is very recent, there aren't many of those likely. You will not lose your
documents or your schoolwork related files. I repeat you will not lose your
documents or your schoolwork related files.***

How System Restore's VSS Works MSFT Technet
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../cc785914.aspx

Good luck,

CH





"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

Hi CH

One Question before i do System restore.

Does System Restore mean all my files are wiped and the whole system
restores or..?

For the command Prompt. I did exactly what you said. and each time it
says successful. When i typed bootrec /rebuildbcd, it told me to wait
for a bit, then the Successful message came on afterwards.

I don't know how to do the Seagate hard drive test, do i use a USB
stick? (sorry i'm not that good with computers when problems arise
because i'm scared i'll do something wrong and completely destroy my
computer)

Thanks
R3n

Chad Harris;1017882 Wrote:
r3--

Tell me exactly how you "did the command prompt thing" step by step and
type
the 3 commands for me. And when you did those commands if you did
them, did
you get a "successful" response after each one on the command
prompt--because I hear all the time things like "I did the command
prompt
thing" only to find out that someone didn't do it correctly.

Further, besides wanting to know exactly what you did so I know if you
ran
the 3 commands correctly by getting you to type them and telling me
that you
accessed the command prompt in startup repair you make no mention at
all
about several other things I told you to do:

I'll reiterate one more time. I told you:

1) Run the Seagate hard drive test
2) Search the web using "the google" for any HP hard drive diagnostic
and
run it
3) Assure me by showing me how you did it and typing the commands what
you
did at the command prompt if you were able to get there. The reason
I'm
insisting on this is that many people will say they did something, only
to
mean they couldn't get it done.
4) You made no mention, and did not try I'll assume to use all of the
options available to you after restarting and tapping the F8 key once
per
second at the bios splash or HP firmware screen. I intend for you
specifically to get to the F8 screen that I've screenshot for you
already,
and run system restore at:

1) Safe Mode
2) Safe Mode with Networking
3) Safe Mode with Command typing
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
at the command prompt.

By my count, I'm asking you to do each and every one of these things
before
you book off to someone you're paying. My logic is that hundreds if
not
thousands of times, I've seen them work collectively. Further you
don't
know the exact status of your hard drive. Unless and until you do, you
can't
assume it's fried. If it isn't, then you have no reason in the world
not to
take the few minutes doing what I've asked you to do.

That's:

1) Run a Seagate tool to assess the HD on your HP.
2) Find or call HP for the tool that assess your HD.

These assessment tools aren't perfect, but they're accurate about 90%
of the
time.

3) Show me how you did the 3 boot rec commands and tell me what the
command
prompt said after you ran each of them:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd

***There is a space after the c and before the "/"

4) System Restore from Safe Mode by tapping F8
5) System Restore from Safe Mode with Command by tapping F8 using the
command I gave you for that location.
6) System Restore from Safe Mode with Networking
7) Last Known Good Configuration which takes all of a nanosecond to
run.

I've given you homework of 7 tasks before I'd encourage you to spend
your
money with a "professional" because most of us here have been students
at
some college, and beyond and most of us remember that we didn't have a
helluva lot of extra money to spend before we saw if we could get
something
done for free. I'm curious at this point while we have spent time
trying to
help you just how many of these 7 things you've checked off your list.

I want to know exactly how you did the bootrec commands and what the
command
prompt told you after each one. Did it say "not recognized" in which
case
you didn't type them correctly, or did it tell you each one was
successful?

If you haven't done the other 6 on the list, what are you waiting for?

Best,

CH



Thanks,

CH

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did the startup repair, which didnt work. I also did the cmd prompt
thing and enter those 3 commands. but it doesnt work.

Both resulted in 5 mins wait of the Vista Loading Bar Screen. Then
the
Blue screen comes out. then restarts my computer.

So i guess my only chance is to take it to a professional right?


--
r3n3r4d3


--
r3n3r4d3

r3--

It's looking like you then ***may*** have to replace the HD. But if I were
you, before coming to that conclusion, and seeing how much the local
information retrievers would charge you to get information back from it, I'd
sure run the Seatools diagnostics. And I would certainly try the system
restores and last known good since they cost nothing but a few minutes of
your time.

With these modalities, ya never know 'til you try and there is no downside
to doing them.

CH

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

Chad Harris;1017900 Wrote:
r3--

This is one test to see if an HP Pavillion HD is damaged.

Restart PCtap F10 when you see the HP or Compaq logo screenwhen you
reach
bios setup use the keys to select the diagnostics tabselect "hard
drive
self test" and press enterfind something entertaining to do for 40
minutesthe grading system is pass/fail here.

Good luck,

CH


'HP PAVILION BIOS hard drive test new - Test, New, and Drive'
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/3520188/HP...drive-test-new)

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did the startup repair, which didnt work. I also did the cmd prompt
thing and enter those 3 commands. but it doesnt work.

Both resulted in 5 mins wait of the Vista Loading Bar Screen. Then
the
Blue screen comes out. then restarts my computer.

So i guess my only chance is to take it to a professional right?


--
r3n3r4d3


--
r3n3r4d3

On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:38:39 -0500, r3n3r4d3
wrote:


i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

How much more "fail" can you get than "Replace Hard Disk"!??



Chad Harris;1017900 Wrote:
r3--

This is one test to see if an HP Pavillion HD is damaged.

Restart PCtap F10 when you see the HP or Compaq logo screenwhen you
reach
bios setup use the keys to select the diagnostics tabselect "hard
drive
self test" and press enterfind something entertaining to do for 40
minutesthe grading system is pass/fail here.

Good luck,

CH


'HP PAVILION BIOS hard drive test new - Test, New, and Drive'
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/3520188/HP...drive-test-new)

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did the startup repair, which didnt work. I also did the cmd prompt
thing and enter those 3 commands. but it doesnt work.

Both resulted in 5 mins wait of the Vista Loading Bar Screen. Then
the
Blue screen comes out. then restarts my computer.

So i guess my only chance is to take it to a professional right?


--
r3n3r4d3

On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:14:20 -0500, r3n3r4d3
wrote:

Does System Restore mean all my files are wiped and the whole system
restores or..?

Not if you mean the System Restore that Windows uses.

If you mean "System Recovery"... yeah, it wipes everything.

On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:38:39 -0500, r3n3r4d3
wrote:


i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

It failed. Replace it.

Hi Steve--

if you followed the thread, he was asking about F8 which reaches the Win
Advanced Options menu where you can acess system restore, some other
options, and "last known good configuration". Only system restore is
available behind the safe modes I mentioned in about 5 posts and linked.
You said "system recovery" (which is really a vague term) wipes everything.

If you mean the erratic and often no efficacy OEM piece of junk recovery
discs, or recovery partitions, they restore back to "factory settings" but
a high percent of the time do absolutely zip. I have hundreds of posts on
this group over 3 + years trying to fix Won't Boot Vistas, and I've never
recommended them since I did the same thing on the XP groups.

None of the options from Vista Startup Repair lose anything either when they
work, or when they don't.

None of the options I ever suggest lose anything significant. System
restore sometimes as I repeatedly said, can lose the shortcuts on the
desktop since the RESTORE point, or programs/updates installed since the
restore point. Otherwise it loses nothing when it works or when it does
not.

CH

"Steve McGarrett" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:14:20 -0500, r3n3r4d3
wrote:

Does System Restore mean all my files are wiped and the whole system
restores or..?

Not if you mean the System Restore that Windows uses.

If you mean "System Recovery"... yeah, it wipes everything.

Cody typed: "How much more "fail" can you get than "Replace Hard Disk"!??"

That's one exclmation point and two ?? from Cody.

That's a great question Cody. If you had read any of my posts, I
explained that explicitly, and I'm happy to teach it to you again. If you
read the literature on any of the hard drive tests they all have a
percentage of accuracy. It ain't 100% and the best like the HP utility at
its bios setup and the Seagate tools are about 75%- 90%. There are
thousands of others and their accuracy hovers in the 75% range.

We are talking about someone in college who in all probability may not have
enough money to pay someone to recover from his HD. Since there is NO DOWN
SIDE, it makes perfect sense to

1) Confirm the HP HD test that has an accuracy anywhere from 75-90% which
means it can be wrong a significant percent of the time with some other HD
test that is reliable--hence I recommended Seagate.

2) There is absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain if the other
options I suggested work and the OP falls in the category where the HD tests
missed the boat.

If you check, you'll find that there are 100s of medical lab and other
tests. They all have a percentage of accuracy, of false positives, and
false negatives. It's no different here. That means to stop with the HP HD
diagnostic is to risk the chance of being wrong with a big expense at the
other end.

CH

"Cody Jarrett" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:38:39 -0500, r3n3r4d3
wrote:


i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

How much more "fail" can you get than "Replace Hard Disk"!??



Chad Harris;1017900 Wrote:
r3--

This is one test to see if an HP Pavillion HD is damaged.

Restart PCtap F10 when you see the HP or Compaq logo screenwhen you
reach
bios setup use the keys to select the diagnostics tabselect "hard
drive
self test" and press enterfind something entertaining to do for 40
minutesthe grading system is pass/fail here.

Good luck,

CH


'HP PAVILION BIOS hard drive test new - Test, New, and Drive'
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/3520188/HP...drive-test-new)

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did the startup repair, which didnt work. I also did the cmd
prompt
thing and enter those 3 commands. but it doesnt work.

Both resulted in 5 mins wait of the Vista Loading Bar Screen. Then
the
Blue screen comes out. then restarts my computer.

So i guess my only chance is to take it to a professional right?


--
r3n3r4d3

If MDs practiced medicine the way you suggest Steve, a lot more people would
be dead. You didn't read the info I provided, and you're ignorant of the
fact that no hard drive diagnostic is 100%. The best are 75-90% accurate.
That's why as in medicine, it's wise to do another test.

And again there is no downside to using the F8 options at all. If HP and
Seagate fall in the category that the HD is still intact, and there's a 25%
chance they do, then the OP has thrown a lot of money away when he could
have recovered his OS for free with a few minutes time.

I had a Dell diagnostic I ran on a box that began to say that said the HD
had failed after the firmware or DELL screen. It booted perfectly. I ran a
specific Dell diagnostic run by the hardware team at Roundrock, and not
understood by the contract phone support for Dell at all. It confirmed the
hard drive was "failing."

Two years later, I was still running the hard drive with the same speed, and
no problems booting or problems requiring a chkdsk or anything else with the
HD. So my experience there fell in the 25% false positive range.

When you test patients for SLE or Lupus, many of the major tests have as
high as a 35%-40% false positive. You'd be stupid to Dx them all with
Lupus. There are a list of about 50 other situations where the Lupus lab
tests are false positive as well. Do yourself a favor or not and google for
specificity, sensitivity, false positive, and false negative.

My advice was on the money.

BTW you didn't volunteer it but to jump and pay for hard drive recovery can
average about $1600. That's more than valet parking on a Saturday night and
a lot for a college student or a good number of people.

CH

"Steve McGarrett" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:38:39 -0500, r3n3r4d3
wrote:


i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

It failed. Replace it.

For this particular OP, r3, his issue was that he didn't want to lose his
school related docs and files which he apparently hadn't backed up (or he
wouldn't be worried about losing them). If the OP were someone who didn't
care what was on the HD, then I'd be a lot quicker to say go out and buy a
SATA or two HD with as much storage space as you can afford, which are
always on sale rather drastically reduced.

If you find yourself trying to recover files from a HD, then you've screwed
up and haven't heeded the warning to Backup, Backup, Backup regularly.

None of the points below was made by the brilliant posts to sack the HD
based on a test that has limited accuracy and that's unfortunte.

1) If and when the F8 options recovery the OS via Sys Restore or LKG, run
the HD diagnostics again. They are rough guides at best, and if they say
"failed" the HD may be "failing" and it could go the next minute or it could
go many months from now. Back up your important files, docs, folders, pics,
and music to DVD or to a working hard drive.



2) Often an increased load on the power supply can cause apparent HD
failure, although this isn't well known and appreciated. An example would
be a hot new vid/graphics card that demanded more power. If you had it
available, you could try adding a new PSU, but most people won't and most
times they are proprietary although HPs aren't as a rule, so you could
remove components that might be placing demand on the power.

3) If the temp is fine, and the PSU is not the problem, cables can be the
problem and the HD can be fine. Simply replacing the cables with a known
good cable, including the power cable before you give up on the HD makes
sense. It costs pennies,and takes all of about 20 minutes tops. Power
cables rarely fail, but they do fail.

4) Try connecting the HD to a different interface with a different MOBO.
Try installing the HD in another system that is working, and see what
happens. If it works, it gives you time to recover what you don't want to
lose and back it up. Then replacing the HD is no big deal.

5) As loopy as this sounds, this is recommended by all the O'Reilly HD
experts and rarely they work. These are hail marys: a) You have nothing
whatsoever to lose by taking the HD out and giving it a thump against a
padded surface, and if it starts up hit it with a rubber mallot. Sure,
there will always be a brain surgeon that will post that anyone suggesting
it needs a padded cell, but no less than Thompson and Thompson recommend
this in every one of their excellent books on repairing boxes.

b) You can try to restore electromagnetism to the HD by placing it plastic
protected in a freezer for an hour, taking it out and hooking up.

CH





"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did that already. and it came out as Test Status: #10009- Replace Hard
Disk

But it doesnt say Pass/Fail

Chad Harris;1017900 Wrote:
r3--

This is one test to see if an HP Pavillion HD is damaged.

Restart PCtap F10 when you see the HP or Compaq logo screenwhen you
reach
bios setup use the keys to select the diagnostics tabselect "hard
drive
self test" and press enterfind something entertaining to do for 40
minutesthe grading system is pass/fail here.

Good luck,

CH


'HP PAVILION BIOS hard drive test new - Test, New, and Drive'
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/3520188/HP...drive-test-new)

"r3n3r4d3" wrote in message
...

i did the startup repair, which didnt work. I also did the cmd prompt
thing and enter those 3 commands. but it doesnt work.

Both resulted in 5 mins wait of the Vista Loading Bar Screen. Then
the
Blue screen comes out. then restarts my computer.

So i guess my only chance is to take it to a professional right?


--
r3n3r4d3


--
r3n3r4d3