HP Recovery DVD Freezes on Install

[Beckrl]

I need help in figuring out why this laptop will not allow a recovery install. First the the lady that gave me this laptop said that she dropped it. There is a small piece cracked on one of the corners, but that seems only cosmetic.


HP Dandelion Breeze 15.6" Pavilion G6-1B59WM Laptop PC with AMD Dual-Core A4-3300M Processor

With the AMD Dual-Core A4-3300M processor ( 2.5GHz) and 4GB DDR3 SDRAM. There was no recovery disk made and the laptop was unable to boot from the recovery partition. This system runs Windows 7 home premium 64 bit. So I order the recovery disks from Hp. When I try to install a clean copy of Windows it freezes at the "Starting Windows" screen.

Here are the things that I have tryed:

I've run test on the Ram which passed
I've tryed using only one Ram stick at a time.
I've run test on the harddisk which passed.
I've tryed with a new harddisk that I had.
I tryed removing the battery and only using AC.
I've removed the wireless card.
I've disabled all devices in Bios.
I've updated the Bios from version 21 to 44


Now here's what else I tryed, I tryed using my Windows Vista and guess what It installed although it took more time than normal. The problem with installing Vista is that there are no drivers for this laptop.


What else should I try? I read where Windows 7 is known for freezeing becasue of low power due to the PSU and USB devices. Well as I mentioned I updated the Bios , but it has nothing that is to disable the USB and is using the AC

[shepherdsword]

I would run a scan on the DVD to make sure of it's integrity before doing anything. Make sure it is clean and without scratches.I would also make sure the laptop is in it's original hardware configuration.(as in only the hardware that came with the laptop from the factory) If both of these check good and it fails then go to the next steps

Download the diagnostic software from HP for your laptop. List here:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...op diagnostics

The selected program should allow you to create a bootable CD/DVD. Focus on the video and chipset. You have dealt with the ram and HD but I would check them anyway.Especially the old HD. I would debug the HD to destroy any partition data.Newer versions of windows should do this during install but I usually do it manually anyway. (link for script below)There should be temp monitor and cpu fan test to check for overheating.

Before you run the diags return the bios to original configuration. There should be a "reset configuration" data option if they are using an award or phoenix bios. If not there are utilities that can clear cmos data for you. If all check ok run the restore DVD again. Some of them have store a log file that you can read to see where the restore failed if it happens to fail again.


debug script(requires dos boot cd)
Dos boot: http://www.bootdisk.com/
Debug script:


The debug script will invoke the bios interrupt 13h which can reach outside the boundaries of the classic int 20/21h of microsoft. Please note that if the HD has a recovery image on it it will be destroyed.

type "debug' at command line(don't do this on a sata drive see below for sata script)
-F 220 L1000 0 (ENTER)

-A CS: 100 (ENTER)

xxxx:0100 MOV AX,301 (ENTER)

xxxx:0103 MOV BX,200 (ENTER)

xxxx:0106 MOV CX,1 (ENTER)

xxxx:0109 MOV DX,80 (ENTER) <---"80" for hd1, "81" for hd2 >

xxxx:010C INT 13 (ENTER)

xxxx:010E INT 20 (ENTER)

xxxx:0110 (ENTER) <-------BLANK LINE "VERY IMPORTANT" >

-G (ENTER)

Program terminated normally

- (CTRL)-(ALT)-(DEL) to reboot system

For sata drives:

debug
- A 100
xxxx:0100 INT 13
xxxx:0102 (Leave this line blank. Press <Enter> to continue.)
- RAX
AX 0000: 0301
- RBX
BX 0000: 0200
- F 200 L 200 0
- RCX
CX 0000: 0001
- RDX
DX 0000: 0080
- P
- Q

[Beckrl]

I downloading the diagnostic software, so I will post that info later. As mentioned when installing Vista I deleted all partitions and created one new one. I also check the data log file which said "No data" on each try to install.

[shepherdsword]

I downloading the diagnostic software, so I will post that info later. As mentioned when installing Vista I deleted all partitions and created one new one. I also check the data log file which said "No data" on each try to install.

Make sure of the restore DVD's integrity and return the laptop to it's factory hardware configuration. Be sure to reset configuration data after you do so.

*edit*
I also mentioned that sometimes the windows setup doesn't removed all the data in the sectors mentioned above in the debug script.

[Beckrl]

Make sure of the restore DVD's integrity and return the laptop to it's factory hardware configuration. Be sure to reset configuration data after you do so.

*edit*
I also mentioned that sometimes the windows setup doesn't removed all the data in the sectors mentioned above in the debug script.

I finally run another diagtool, but not the HP version becasue it required to have windows running to install the diagtool. In windows is when you could make the bootable cd. It all check out good using both diagtools. There must be something that windows 7 don't like wheither it's the power level are something else becasue vista is running great on it, but lack a couple of drivers.

And the restore DVD works on another pc as while as my own windows vista and 7.

[Beckrl]

So here's what I'm trying now. I read in the HP forums from a HP employee that with factory dvd's takes 4-6 hours to complete.

HP shipped media process is a little different than the rest.



HP shipped media covers multiple series and many different configurations. (One set of discs may cover a series that has 10 or even many more unique configurations)



Because of this the process first lays down a 'base' image, and then customizes the image for that specific configuration.



The last phase of the HP shipped recovery is installing and customizing the software for that specific model. This last phase can take a very long time, can have popup windows (that should not be clicked), and can involve multiple reboots. Specifically around 12%-19% on the display is where this occurs.



Please don't interact with the PC during this time.

Don't click on any popups unless the system completely stops for significant time.Unless there is a unknown error, the recovery process is actually designed to handle this.



For notebooks, this process can take 4-6 hours on certain configurations.

So we'll see I never waited no longer than 1 hour before.

[NHL Fever]

For some reason it can take an extremely long time sometimes. If you have an SSD you could try it on that to see if its faster. Otherwise, start the install and go to bed then see what happened in the morning.

[Beckrl]

I finally found the correct Hp diagnostic tool which created a partition called "HP_TOOLS" and by restarting pressing F2 it brought up full version of an GUI diagnostic tool which I checked and all Passed.

I did wait around 4 hours by still nothing, so I'm going to start it again and check it in the morning.

[NHL Fever]

Come to think of it, I had this same problem with my last motherboard. Let me try to remember what was wrong and I'll get back to you......

[NHL Fever]

Sorry I could not remember what I did, but I think it was freezing at the same point. I had an EVGA 750i SLI motherboard. Could you post the exact model and specs for the laptop and also a screenshot of when it freezes?

I would also try HP tech support.

[shepherdsword]

Because of this the process first lays down a 'base' image, and then customizes the image for that specific configuration.

This is why it is important to return the laptop to the original factory hardware configuration. If this has not been done(you didn't mention it) then this would be a good reason for the hang. I was level 3 tech support at Dell and our restores would hang every time if this wasn't done.

[Beckrl]

This is why it is important to return the laptop to the original factory hardware configuration. If this has not been done(you didn't mention it) then this would be a good reason for the hang. I was level 3 tech support at Dell and our restores would hang every time if this wasn't done.

You mean returning the bios back to it's orginal? It was hanging [if that's what it doing] even with the orginal settings. As for all of the other devices they are all from the factory.

Update: I waited all night and while it did go through the recovey on one of the restarts it hang again and I'm still waiting. I'm doing this for free, so I'm about to give it back as one in a million I just couldn't fix.

I'm thinking it's more of a malfunction of the usb controller, wireless or the power jack.

[Beckrl]

I take it to a local computer shop to see what they can come up with.

[Beckrl]

Well I got the laptop back today and the shop said that they couldn't fix it. They determined that it was motherboard related. So I'm going to give it another shot. I know the motherboard is operational because I can install and run Windows Vista 32bit. All that is non-fuctional is the wireless and nic and that is becasue of non-drivers. We will see, if not then I will leave Vista on it and get an usb wireless.

[shepherdsword]

Have you tried a raw win7 disk(as in not the recovery disk)? Try one in 32 bit mode