Bootup Takes Two Tries  

Well there ya go ... the dv7 service manual that matches your machine! Thanks for posting the reference link.
Besides the two wrong ones I posted (both dv7 Svc Mans) I came across 3 others (none were the one you posted

If the CMOS/RTC battery is out of the machine for a few hours, that should be more than enough time to guarantee that the charge on the board has fully dissipated. I usually leave it out overnight, but that's probably overkill - it's more of a scheduling thing (take it out today, put it back in on the morrow).

Only a new CMOS/RTC battery will eliminate it as a possible cause - but clearing CMOS is a starting point. If the issue persists after clearing CMOS, then try a new CMOS/RTC battery.

Bill
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I found this article on About.com about the CMOS. How To Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) [Easy, 10 to 15 Min] In the lower right-hand corner, a popup will appear with an article titled All About CMOS, or something like that. There's also a CMOS article on How To Geek How to Clear Your Computer?s CMOS to Reset BIOS Settings

I've also found a 3M RTC battery with exactly the same numbers as mine on Amazon.com that I'll probably get. I just hate paying $4.99 shipping charge on a $1.79 item!

CMOS batteries are very common.
Check the local supermarket, they may sell them.

Wynona said:

I found this article on About.com about the CMOS. How To Clear CMOS (Reset BIOS) [Easy, 10 to 15 Min] In the lower right-hand corner, a popup will appear with an article titled All About CMOS, or something like that. There's also a CMOS article on How To Geek How to Clear Your Computer?s CMOS to Reset BIOS Settings

I've also found a 3M RTC battery with exactly the same numbers as mine on Amazon.com that I'll probably get. I just hate paying $4.99 shipping charge on a $1.79 item!

DavidE said:

CMOS batteries are very common.
Check the local supermarket, they may sell them.

$5 shipping for a $1.80 part - that's crazy!

Look local - drugstores, hardwares, Home Depot/Lowes, Radio Shack, Staples, Office Depot... how about that local shop you spoke with about the issue and got the drive mount?
- they all carry button or coin batteries - they might have the one you need. Don't drive arouind - you'll probably spend more than $5 in gas - use the phone or the Internet.

DavidE said:

CMOS batteries are very common.
Check the local supermarket, they may sell them.

Not this one, David. It's an RTC, rather than a regular CMOS battery. Here's a pic of the one that goes into this HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx laptop. BTW, this particular one isn't the exact one; I just grabbed the photo because it looks like the one in my laptop.

Slartybart said:

DavidE said:

CMOS batteries are very common.
Check the local supermarket, they may sell them.

$5 shipping for a $1.80 part - that's crazy!

Look local - drugstores, hardwares, Home Depot/Lowes, Radio Shack, Staples, Office Depot... how about that local shop you spoke with about the issue and got the drive mount?
- they all carry button or coin batteries - they might have the one you need. Don't drive arouind - you'll probably spend more than $5 in gas - use the phone or the Internet.

Out here in the boonies, Bill, I spend more than $5 in gas when I leave the house at all. However, we've learned to combine trips "to town".

I hesitate to go back to the local shop for it. The guy's so nice, he seems willing to give me anything he has that isn't new. Although, since it would have to be a new battery, maybe he'd let me pay for it. I just hate to impose on very nice folks.

usasma said:

If you take one of those apart, you'll find that it's just 2 wires attached to the battery (in most cases the CMOS battery is a CR2032)

Good to know, John, but I'll pass on taking it apart for now. Once I replace it, though, I will be caught doing just that.

usasma said:

Or, you can just keep the system plugged into the wall and that'll keep power to the CMOS also (unless you have a power failure).

Nah, laptops are supposed to be portable. Also, replacing the RTC/CMOS battery is a part of our ongoing troubleshooting efforts on this silly laptop that takes two tries to boot.

Thanks for the thoughts, though. Good information to have for future reference.

Update:

It's been raining for the past couple days, so we were running out of some things in the kitchen cabinet; thus, necessitating a run to HEB and/or Walmart. This is where we combine our trip to take care of as much as possible.

After running to the Post Office, I stopped by my friendly computer shop. The more I go there, the more I see that he's essentially more about repair than selling new parts. Looking at his shelves, they're rather bare. But that's kind of the way it is in small towns. I had gone there the first time to get a hard drive, which he didn't have. Today, he doesn't have anything to do with CMOS/RTC. However, when I described why I wanted the battery, he basically said he didn't think the CMOS has anything to do with the two boot tries.

There used to be another computer shop between here and Walmart, so I stopped by there on the way to see if he had one. He's gone out of the computer business entirely and is now selling hospital scrubs! Go figure; however, when I told him what I wanted and why, he essentially told me the same thing my friendly computer guy told me. He did say, though, that these kinds of things could eat your lunch. I know, I know . . . He even said there could be a "spot" on the motherboard as an example. This friend told me to go to Radio Shack, which was right on the way, but I didn't find one there either.


I had taken the laptop's battery out, unplugged the computer and took the RTC/CMOS out last night and just a few minutes ago put everything back. For good measure, though, before I replaced the CMOS, I held down the power button for two minutes at least. When I tried to boot, it told me to press F5 to load CMOS defaults, which I did, and it booted. I restarted (same old same old) then went into the BIOS and updated the time, which had stopped when I took out the battery.

At this point, I haven't succeeded in getting a new RTC/CMOS, but I am quite sure there's nothing wrong with this one. Both of my friends did say (and I agree) that if the laptop's not losing time, the CMOS is quite OK. Both also said that I could do what John (usasma) said, but I'm not going there until I get a new one. And I will get a new one. I'll be going out of town to a friend's house next week, and she's near a Fry's and a Best Buy, so I'll try that avenue next.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I still have a misbehaving laptop that takes two tries to boot.

So, Bill, Greg, John, Saltgrass, DavidE, and anyone else I forgot . . . what's the next step?