Vista-32 bit OS load problem

[R.H. Breener]

"Gene E. Bloch" wrote in message


There are. I've got two of them. They came with Microsoft keyboards and
mice while ago. They're the green thing in the picture here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812338063

- Bill

I found an adaptor but the KB will not work at all with the adapter so I had
to remove it. I reset the BIOS as per:

Step 1: Resetting BIOS
First, reset the BIOS to make sure the BIOS settings are correct:
Turn on the computer and press F10 repeatedly to open the BIOS setup screen.
Press the F5 key to reset the default BIOS settings. Use the arrow keys to
select Yes or OK and press Enter .
Press the F10 key to save settings and exit. Use the arrow keys to select
Yes or OK and press Enter .
Turn off the computer.
Remove the power cord.
Press and hold the power button for five seconds.
Reconnect the power cord and turn on the computer.
If the startup problem is gone, you are done.

It did no good at all. I have the blue screen with the F11 System Recovery
but no way to choose it. The KB doesn't work with the blue screen. Now
what? Where do I go from here?

The disks I made when I bought the PC, of the OS, as per HP.... do not work.
The PC will not boot to #1 recovery disk. I must have put almost 40 hrs
into this PC since that update and here I sit looking at the blue screen and
can't do anything.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I have too much quoted text for the free NSP so have to cut some text -
sorry!


I had no idea they could affect how a computer boots
up, but it made no difference.

First, it was a bit of a semi-desperate shot in the dark. When things
are bad, try everything...

Second, it wasn't about how the computer booted, but about how the
hardware was detected. Hubs are bad sometimes (been there, been
annoyed!).

In your case it was the mouse, not the keyboard, IIRC, but as I said,
desperate situations call for desperate measures.

 

[R. H. Breener]

You mean to say that when you press Esc the boot menu doesn't come up?

No. When the blue screen is there, nothing happens. It's like it's not
connected to the KB or mouse. It's like the PC is in another world
somewhere.

 

[R. H. Breener]

REFORMAT YOUR COMPUTERS AND INSTALL OPEN SOURCE LINUX UBUNTU 12.04 LONG
TERM SUPPORT RELEASE 2 WEB! JUST FYI! THREAD CLOSED!

I can only reformat using the HP copy of Vista. Of course that reformats
and then installs Vista. I have no choice.

 

[R. H. Breener]

You mean to say that when you press Esc the boot menu doesn't come up?

When that screen comes up the KB doesn't work so I can't select anything.
No, the Esc key doesn't work. I have to shut the PC off, wait a few seconds
and turn it on again. After a few tries, the OS finally loads.

 

[R. H. Breener]

"R. H. Breener Jr." wrote in message


I want to see if we can get you into the setup screens and tell the
machine to restore BIOS settings. But without a working keyboard, this is
difficult. The way to do it without a keyboard isn't that complicated,
but depending on how the machine has been customized, it could totally
disable it. And comparing what you've said about the machine and what
I've found out about it's factory setup, it's definitely been customized.
So, let's not go there just yet.

Note that this is not Windows restore we're talking about. You've done
that already. This is much lower level than that.

Open the following page, which has the technical data for your computer.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...foCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3715498

Then scroll down until you get to the section titled "I/O PORTS" and the
subsection "BACK I/O PORTS". The port marked 1 is the PS/2 mouse
connector and the one marked 14 is PS/2 keyboard connector. From the data
a but further on it appears the machine came with a PS/2 keyboard and
mouse. Please verify, did your original keyboard and mouse plug into these
connectors?

I honestly don't remember as I replaced the cheap flimsy KB a few days after
buying the computer and that was several years ago. The original mouse died
and was also repleced after about 2 years. Both KB and mouse are plugged
into USB ports and have been since back then. I think the original KB is
still out in the storage building. The mouse was thrown away.

The four connectors marked with 12 are USB ports. There are also two more
of these on the front of the machine. Do you new mouse and keyboard plug
into any of these connectors?

They could but there are also USB ports on the HP monitor that came with the
PC. They're plugged in there. It's keeps them out of the way.

And while we're collecting information, is there anything else plugged
into any of those USB ports? Front or rear?

I have a Seagate backup drive also connected by a USB port but tried
removing that and it made no difference.

Is there anything plugged into the IEEE 1394a connector, marked 4?

The back of my PC doesn't look like that at all and there is no IEEE 1394a
connector. Nothing resembling the picture.

Also observe the VGA connector, marked 3 on the picture. From what you've
said about video related errors, I’m pretty sure your monitor is not
plugged in here, but please just let us know for sure.

Yes, although my machine doesn't look like that at all. It's the only
connector that the monitor could be plugged into. This is the original
monitor that came with the PC.

Again, from what you've said, I expect you monitor is plugged into a card
in a PCI slot, immediately to the right of the connectors marked 8, 9 and
10 on the picture.

No. It would never fit in one of those. The only place it can fit is where
it is - the VGA connector.

So, the questions are:
1. Did your original keyboard and mouse plug into the PS/2 connectors 1 &
14 ?

I can't sure as mentioned above. But I've been using this mouse and KB for
years now without a problem.

2. Do your current keyboard and mouse plug into the USB connectors marked
12 (or the similar ports on the front) ?
Yes.

3. Is there anything else plugged into any of the USB connectors marked 12
(or the similar ports on the front) ?

Occasionally I plug in the Flash Drive to move information to the laptop.
That's nothing new either. Now it appears the dog got the flash drive
because we can't find it.

4. Is anything plugged into the IEEE 1394a connector marked 4 ?

That doesn't exist in my computer. Nothing looks like that back there.

5. Is your monitor plugged into the VGA connector marked 3 ?
Yes.

6. Is your monitor plugged into the PCI x16 slot, immediately to the right
of the audio (8, 9 & 10) connectors ?

It doesn't look like that behind my PC so I can't say. It looks more like
12 where it's plugged in. I followed the original directions as to where to
plug things in that came with the PC.

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Oh, you say that you found that this is a common problem. Please give me
the URL of one or two of those pages you found.

Just Google "Computer wont start" or "Vista fails to boot"... or something
similar and you'll have reading material for a week.

 

[R. H. Breener]

Open the following page, which has the technical data for your computer.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...foCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3715498

My PC is the Pavilion a6333w

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...uct+specifications&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&submit=