Bootup Takes Two Tries  

I am a little concerned if the system double boots when booting to a flash drive, there may be something buried in the bios. If we think it is a Windows situation, maybe burning an Ubuntu DVD and booting might give an indication if it is related to Windows or not. Booting to a Windows 7 Install DVD might show the same indication since it seems to work with Windows 7. If you need one of those, the .iso file can be downloaded and burned to a DVD.

The way to boot to a flash drive is to select it during boot with a special key sequence which brings up a Boot Device Menu, or using the bios and selecting some type of Boot Override to boot directly to the flash drive, or DVD. Setting it as first priority in the bios may or may not hold when a restart is done, depending on how old the system is.

I have no experience with a "little thingy" but those highly technical terms always confuse me... If that system was set up to do some special type of boot for the Entertainment option, perhaps there is something in the bios you can turn off, if you can get there. I may go to the HP site and check around.

I changed the boot order from USB Floppy to my SSD, which, BTW, wasn't named SSD.

Can you turn off the floppy in the bios, do you actually have a floppy drive? And how was the SSD designated?

Saltgrass said:

I am a little concerned if the system double boots when booting to a flash drive, there may be something buried in the bios. If we think it is a Windows situation, maybe burning an Ubuntu DVD and booting might give an indication if it is related to Windows or not. Booting to a Windows 7 Install DVD might show the same indication since it seems to work with Windows 7. If you need one of those, the .iso file can be downloaded and burned to a DVD.
.....

Thanks for reminding me: see Post# 25 for the HP information.

I asked about the BIOS version - there are a few updates, but I don't know what version is on the machine now.

Wynona can tell us that when she catches up.

Slartybart said:

Thanks for reminding me: see Post# 25 for the HP information.

I asked about the BIOS version - there are a few updates, but I don't know what version is on the machine now.

Wynona can tell us that when she catches up.

Just got outta there! According to one place, the BIOS version is F 4.3; however, when I get to the setup menu, I see "Insyde H20 Setup Utility Rev. 3.5.

I've changed the boot order once more:
Internal CD/DVD
Notebook HDD
USB CD/DVD
USB Diskette on Key/USB HDD
! Network Adapter
! USB Floppy

Boot capability will be disabled if the device with the exclamation mark (Exact wording of this statement)

CD-ROM Boot - Enabled
Internal Network Adapter Boot - Disabled
Floppy Boot - Disabled

Virtualization - HP says:
Virtualization Technology: Hardware VT enables a processor feature for running multiple simultaneous Virtual Machines allowing specialized software applications to run in full isolation of each other. HP recommends that this feature remain disabled unless specialized applications are being used.

Virtualization - Enabled

Gee, Bill, I already ran SFC /ScanNow and got a message identical to yours. I'm going to go ahead and attach it since I already ran it. I couldn't figure out how to get into safe mode with Win 10, though. Oh, phooey! I'm on the desktop (more comfy to type on), so I'll attach the file in the next post.

Once again, I apologize - the SFC has a lot of errors re: can't decompress the file - as far as I can tell - these are all Win10 preview related and shouldn't be a concern. I'll take a look at the file you post - if it's too large, you can either pack it in a zip folder or just forget I ever mentioned SFC

Please post a System information file.
Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> System Information
File menu -> save

This will create a .NFO file - you'll have to put that in a zip folder because the forum doesn't allow .NFO file uploads

This file should accurately provide the BIOS information, plus a whole lot more.

Virtualization enable - allows you to run Virtual Machines using the AMD stack.

Thanks for bearing with me. I think Saltgrass might be onto something - I remember thinking "How cool is that - I can run CDs without booting" when I got my machine. Never used it though. I'm not sure how that might cause this issue though.

The little thingy might be a remote control.

Bill
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Slartybart said:

Once again, I apologize - the SFC has a lot of errors re: can't decompress the file - as far as I can tell - these are all Win10 preview related and shouldn't be a concern. I'll take a look at the file you post - if it's too large, you can either pack it in a zip folder or just forget I ever mentioned SFC

No problem. I'm just glad you're willing to help me figure out what's wrong with this little feller.

Slartybart said:

Please post a System information file.
Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> System Information
File menu -> save

This will create a .NFO file - you'll have to put that in a zip folder because the forum doesn't allow .NFO file uploads

This file should accurately provide the BIOS information, plus a whole lot more.

Will do tomorrow AM when I'm fresher. That way I'll be able to figure out where things are in 10 a little easier.

Slartybart said:

Virtualization enable - allows you to run Virtual Machines using the AMD stack.

Yeah. I was pointing out that the laptop shipped with VT enabled, contrary to the BIOS recommendation.

Slartybart said:

Thanks for bearing with me. I think Saltgrass might be onto something - I remember thinking "How cool is that - I can run CDs without booting" when I got my machine. Never used it though. I'm not sure how that might cause this issue though.

The little thingy might be a remote control.

Yep, it be a remote control for Media Center in Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate. Guess it's a tad bit useless by now, but I may try it out tomorrow, just for grins and to see if it'll do anything. I think I saw Media Center on here, although I've heard it's not.

And I'm still leaning toward something common to Windows 8.1/8.1.1/10 that's causing the problem. There's just not any hardware except for the DVD drive I can remove from this machine. Besides, I didn't have to try twice to boot with Win Vista, 7 or 8.

As I looked around on HP, I was reminded that HP is recalling certain power blocks. You might want to check yours to see if it qualifies.

See: HP Notebook PC AC Power Cord Safety Recall and Replacement Program Announced August 26, 2014 HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx Entertainment Notebook PC | HP® Support

It's not just your machine, it's any laptop with the power brick identified in the link I provided.

This is unrelated to the issue at hand, just thought I'd bring it to your attention.

Bill
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Wynona said:

... According to one place, the BIOS version is F 4.3; however, when I get to the setup menu, I see "Insyde H20 Setup Utility Rev. 3.5.

I'm going to guess that your BIOS is F.43 (not F 4.3), but guessing is never good where BIOS is concerned

Here's the list of BIOS fixes - the last few are of note (future OS support)

F.33:

• Fixes an intermittent issue where the notebook stops responding (hangs) and displays a black screen when resuming from Standby (F3) mode.

F.35:

• Fixes an intermittent issue where the function buttons that are located in the same row as the Power button may not work.

F.41:

• Updates AMD CPU AGESA code to improve compatibility and system stability.
• Fixes an issue where the system wakes up from Standby (S3) mode when the battery power is less than three percent.
• Fixes an issue where the system enters Hibernation mode earlier than specified in the Power Scheme setting for a critically low battery condition.

F.43:

• Fixes an intermittent issue where the display panel randomly turns on and shuts off when attaching the AC adapter to a notebook/laptop that does not contain a battery.
• Fixes an issue where a "blue screen" 0xF4 event may be returned after resuming from Sleep (S3) mode if the notebook/laptop contains a Western Digital hard drive.

F.44:

• Modifies the thermal policy for supporting the Boston Power Battery Pack.

F.46:

• Fixes an issue where the DV-out function on the 1394 port does not work.
• Fixes an intermittent issue where the notebook/laptop cannot be powered on.

F.47:

• Adds support for the Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System with Service Pack 2 (SP2).
• Adds support for future Microsoft Windows Operating Systems.

F.48:

• Adds support for future Microsoft Windows Operating Systems.
• Updates some strings in the BIOS Setup Utility (F10).

F.49:

• Updates the Computrace OPROM to support the next generation of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems.

How to install
1. Download the file by clicking the Download or Obtain Software button and save the file to a folder on your hard drive (make a note of the folder where the downloaded file is saved).
2. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.

Just a list for now - let's see what version is on your system. Technically, you should be able to update to the latest, but on rare occasion, there's an issue. Being prepared with a fallback option and understanding the flash methods are important.

Slartybart said:

As I looked around on HP, I was reminded that HP is recalling certain power blocks. You might want to check yours to see if it qualifies.

See: HP Notebook PC AC Power Cord Safety Recall and Replacement Program Announced August 26, 2014 HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx Entertainment Notebook PC | HP® Support

It's not just your machine, it's any laptop with the power brick identified in the link I provided.

This is unrelated to the issue at hand, just thought I'd bring it to your attention.

Bill
.

It's the power cord only and neither of my power cords in use is affected. Down in the guts of the notice, it says the power block isn't affected.

I do have one other that's crawled off into a dark corner and hidden somewhere . . . or StarFerret has taken it and hidden it in her stash.

I saw that yesterday but hadn't taken the time to look it up.

Thanks for making me look at it.

topgundcp said:

Sorry to be late to reply. When you buy an SSD. Usually, there's a CD that comes with it including the software ultilities and one of the option is to check for firmware update if the current firmware of the SSD is out of date, it will have an option to update it.

BTW, did you have AHCI mode enabled in the BIOS ?

Thanks, TopGun.

There was nothing but the SSD and a leaflet in the box. Since I know it's a Patriot Blaze, I can probably go to the Patriot site and look for it?

I've gone through every page of the BIOS and don't see AHCI mode at all.