Thanks John.
And I dabble at computers, so my XP keeps going, but probably not as well as it could.
Reading between the lines, sounds like a bad sector on the hard drive, both the cannot get to disk 2 and the boot error.
If you cannot even begin the boot from the CDs then you have a failure in the CD drive itself.
The other possibility is that you have a system that is overheating and shuts itself off, although normally that can be identified by the fan not running, but sometimes the fan is loose and does not cool the cpu, or a gpu on the board has overheated.
All in all, the one thing it seems to not be at fault is the title of the thread, software.
I will be interested to hear what is really the cause, but most of the time, they don’t tell you what they do when you send it away.
I hope it is repaired soon,
Greg
Todd Brody said:
Yes I have original Windows/HP disks sent to me directly from HP. No, it doesn’t boot from these. (here you say it does not boot) There are three disks and it never gets to the second. (next you imply that it did indeed boot from the first one, but then never goes further)While the “2 minute update error” may have been a driver issue, the major error now is in the boot sector and reports as such when you turn on the computer. (bad sector on the hard drive) I asked HP to run all windows updates and check the computer for the 2 minute black screen error before returning it to me. (a defective hard drive has nothing to do with windows updates, it’s a fundamental hardware error)
Luckily, the computer is still under warrantee, and HP paid to overnight the boot disks and is paying for the repair and shipping. FedEx brought me a box today and waited for me to pack it to take it away.
But there is still lots of time lost and there will be lots to reload when it returns.
CSO Number:
BFHF8697-01
CSO Placement Date:
12-02-2014
Reason for Service:
UNIT REBOOT
Model Number:
F9A62AV
Model Description:
HP ENVY CTO 700-215XT
Serial Number:
20MD41200CNC
Creator:
IPOSWBVHewlett-Packard is providing the following service for your product.
BOX PLUS PICKUP & REPAIR, 2 DAY SHIPPINGTotal Charges (including tax, if applicable):
*Materials: $.00 Labor: $.00 Tax: $.00 Total: $.00
- Freight / Uplift Charges are included if applicable.
This quote is valid for 30 days from the date shown above.
There are no “lines” to read between.
There are/were no problems with HD sectors or the CD drive.
And this has nothing to do with overheating. Why would the system be overheated when first turning it on?
Does not “boot” means that the system doesn’t load properly so that I can get to a Windows screen, or even have the “F keys” respond to the electrical “turn on” so further diagnostics can be performed.
At the end of the first disk, the computer asks, “Are there any supplemental disks?” When putting in the second disk, there is no response. Same with the third disk. When the system restarts, off the first disk, it shows the same black screen with 8-bit lettering referencing a bad boot sector. So, in my mind, and for all practical purposes, it doesn’t “boot.”
No bad sectors in the hard drive. At HP request, I ran the 2 hr, 2 minute disk analysis prior to loading the PCFixER and loosing the system. All reported as good and HP was satisfied there were no problems with the drive. Also, system worked fine when restored to May 2014 until Windows updates occurred. HP thought there was a corrupt file in the Directory that was making the updates generate this problem.
THEREFORE, I asked HP to run the windows updates before sending back the computer to make sure that there was not some incompatibility being picked up in the updates. When I first restored the computer to last May, the problem went away, until Windows came in and updated it bringing back the BLACK SCREEN problem.
HP just wanted to load the system, check it out to make sure it works, and send it back before Windows performs these updates. Then the updates would occur on my end. I can’t afford to loose 2 more weeks because they didn’t check for an incompatibility in their version of the software and Windows version, if that is the root of the BLACK SCREEN problem.
Greg, if you don’t think that PCFixER could have caused the problem (which I later found documented and from discussion with techs), I will gladly front the $39.95 so they can have a go at “fixing” your computer. I’m sure if you go to their site and let them look at your system, they can find “plenty wrong” with it. 
I’m actually trying to help you Todd. I’ll try inserting information/help below. Greg
Todd Brody said:
There are no “lines” to read between.
There are/were no problems with HD sectors or the CD drive.
how do you know? Do you have a hard drive sector testing progrem that boots from the CD?
And this has nothing to do with overheating. Why would the system be overheated when first turning it on?
It can overheat shortly after turning on if there is a cooling problem as I described.
Does not “boot” means that the system doesn’t load properly so that I can get to a Windows screen, or even have the “F keys” respond to the electrical “turn on” so further diagnostics can be performed.
no, I was referring to booting from the CD, where you say it boots, then you say it does not boot. The boot process is the process of reading the special boot sectors in the boot partition…
At the end of the first disk, the computer asks, “Are there any supplemental disks?”
therefore it booted from the install disk.
When putting in the second disk, there is no response.
which could mean that there is a bad sector on the hard drive, and this has interfered with continuing.
Same with the third disk.
same as above, but since there was no response when the installation process should have started using the second CD, then I would expect nothing from the third (although I’d like to know the labeling on the disks, since if this is windows 7, it should only take one DVD… are they CD’s or DVD’s?
When the system restarts, off the first disk, it shows the same black screen with 8-bit lettering referencing a bad boot sector.
yes so when the system booted from the first disk, it now is trying to read from the files it installed, and now the data is wrong, normally meaning that the hard disk is damaged
So, in my mind, and for all practical purposes, it doesn’t “boot.”
yes, you cannot boot windows 7, but the system will boot from a CD/DVD as evidenced from your ability to boot from the install disk and start the process
No bad sectors in the hard drive. At HP request, I ran the 2 hr, 2 minute disk analysis prior to loading the PCFixER and loosing the system.
not sure what PCFixER is, did you boot from a disk to run it. Not sure what “loosing the system” means, I assume you mean “losing the system because of a failed install”
All reported as good and HP was satisfied there were no problems with the drive.
interesting, perhaps the hp diagnostic does not check the boot sectors.
Also, system worked fine when restored to May 2014 until Windows updates occurred.
if the theory is that the only problem is some update, then you should be able to reinstall the operating system, which should wipe everything out and take you back earlier in time… but that does not work, so whether or not a windows update caused a problem, that means nothing now because you have a more fundamental problem.
HP thought there was a corrupt file in the Directory that was making the updates generate this problem.
not relevant now since you cannot do a fresh install, the “directory” is gone…
THEREFORE, I asked HP to run the windows updates before sending back the computer to make sure that there was not some incompatibility being picked up in the updates. When I first restored the computer to last May, the problem went away, until Windows came in and updated it bringing back the BLACK SCREEN problem.
good idea, they will fix it… I’d put a small mark on the hard drive and the motherboard, my guess is one or the other or both will be new when you get the computer back.
HP just wanted to load the system, check it out to make sure it works, and send it back before Windows performs these updates. Then the updates would occur on my end. I can’t afford to loose 2 more weeks because they didn’t check for an incompatibility in their version of the software and Windows version, if that is the root of the BLACK SCREEN problem.
Greg, if you don’t think that PCFixER could have caused the problem (which I later found documented and from discussion with techs), I will gladly front the $39.95 so they can have a go at “fixing” your computer. I’m sure if you go to their site and let them look at your system, they can find “plenty wrong” with it.
the fact that you cannot restore the computer fresh from the HP install disks proves that you have a more fundamental problem now. It’s virtually impossible for a piece of software to cause hardware damage.
Hopefully this helps, I’ve got just a few years into this, and hundreds of computers under my belt, besides running the IT department in 4 companies.
Regards, Greg
Sorry Greg, you just don’t understand.
The 2 minute black screen error came about after regular Windows updates, so perhaps there was a corrupt file in the registry causing this. But the system still ran perfectly after 2 minutes of black screen on powering up.
This appears to be a fairly common problem with lots on mention on the web. The 2 minutes of black screen comes after the four “colored orbs” come together to form the Windows logo, but before the User screen. Most people think the computer is just shutting down (look up Black Screen of Death), and that’s what I thought at first, restarting it in Safe Mode, until one time I waited it out. The black screen would occur for exactly the same 2 minute time period each time, so I figured there was a “time out” error/move on in effect.
Taking the computer back to May corrected the black screen problem, but it came back after the updates. This could support a corrupt file in the registry.
Then, under HP direction I ran system diagnostics that looked at the HD. This takes over 2 hours. All reported as good and HP was satisfied that the HD had no problems.
PCFixER is a program that was downloaded from the web to fix the 2 minute black screen error. The program was downloaded after I had performed the diagnostics on the HD. As soon as it installed it reported “All Problems Fixed.” Then it started again, by itself, and went to black screen. When it installed it corrupted the registry making the computer unbootable. You can do a search for PCFixER and find plenty of poo poo.
If the computer won’t read the Windows disks and complete the Windows installation to install the operating system, for whatever reason, I don’t care what you call it, to me it is unbootable in its current configuration.
And if you don’t think that evil software can take down hardware/firmware, even unintentionally, there are plenty of examples to be found.
"
Too bad they won’t pay for the reload etc…
There product did cause … "
Read the fine print in the contract (pre-load) of any software and you’ll be sure to come across one para’ stating they are not responsible for any corruption/failure/meltdown of your system and data !!
Pleasantly surprised to hear the software $ was refunded !
nite.
All quite interesting.
I had a brand new build do the “black screen” thing while installing W8.1
Swapped memory, DVD drives and even CPU’s.
Nothing helped.
Ended up installing W7. Which worked just fine.
Ralph
Todd, I tried to help, but you really always want to be the top dog. Seriously you lecturing me about computers is laughable.
But, if it makes you feel superior, fine, I don’t mind… I’m not the person with the problem, computer or otherwise.
I was focusing on the fact that you have a hardware issue now, and my comments above reflect that over and over.
Seizing on one little item in a futile effort to be the top dog will always end in anguish, I’ll sleep fine tonight.
And your constant misquoting of me, like software taking down hardware as extended to what you said, well, thinking people won’t be confused by your manipulations, and the others, well, they are on their own.
Again, because you cannot restore the computer from the factory install disks, unless you are lying about the fact that you tried to reinstall the operating system, means you now have a hardware issue. There is no way that this program could physically damage your computer.
Any other beliefs, and you need to start wearing tin foil hats to protect from aliens reading your mind.
Over and out…
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
Todd, I tried to help, but you really always want to be the top dog. Seriously you lecturing me about computers is laughable.
But, if it makes you feel superior, fine, I don’t mind… I’m not the person with the problem, computer or otherwise.
I was focusing on the fact that you have a hardware issue now, and my comments above reflect that over and over.
Seizing on one little item in a futile effort to be the top dog will always end in anguish, I’ll sleep fine tonight.
And your constant misquoting of me, like software taking down hardware as extended to what you said, well, thinking people won’t be confused by your manipulations, and the others, well, they are on their own.
Again, because you cannot restore the computer from the factory install disks, unless you are lying about the fact that you tried to reinstall the operating system, means you now have a hardware issue. There is no way that this program could physically damage your computer.
Any other beliefs, and you need to start wearing tin foil hats to protect from aliens reading your mind.
Over and out…
Greg
Greg,
I really don’t know what your problem is. I’m just telling it like it is. And where have I misquoted you? Do you really think that HP wanted to pay to ship the computer both ways via FedEx and fix everything on their dime before sending me a few disks to load?
Maybe you should seek outside help for your “top dog” complex.
Doug Cannon said:
"
Too bad they won’t pay for the reload etc…
There product did cause … "Read the fine print in the contract (pre-load) of any software and you’ll be sure to come across one para’ stating they are not responsible for any corruption/failure/meltdown of your system and data !!
Pleasantly surprised to hear the software $ was refunded !
nite.
Luckily HP is footing the bill for the reload as the computer is under warrentee.
I knew that PCFixER would do no more that refund the $$$, and they did that really fast to get their a–es off the line.
HP let me know today that computer is done and will ship back, all with no charge. The work order just says “Disk Reboot” with no description of the work. Perhaps there will be more info, but I doubt it. We’ll see.
I also “fixed” the CD player (Dire Straits lives again.) I thought the problem to be thermal, and it was… to an extent.
I took it out of the rack and removed its case and inner shielding on the work bench. Everything looked good and it worked fine and never shut down for two days. So I put the shielding and back on and let it play disks for another couple days on the work bench. Again, no problem. So I put the unit back in the rack in service and put in a disk. It played fine until Track 11 when it shut down! ARRRG!
Could it be a bad power cord or power not getting to the plug? I pulled the cord off the back and put in another cord plugged into another outlet in the living room. The unit worked perfectly and never shut down. So I put the factory plug back in and no power.
So, ultimately, the problem was that the player is plugged into a “relay-activated” power strip that powers up using the switched outlet on the back of the receiver. The plug that turns on the relay to activate the strip, plugged into the back of the receiver so that it comes on with the receiver, hangs down and over time has lost its internal connection. But this only happens after the receiver has been on for a while and generated heat back there. When it would cool, it would re-establish its connection. There was nothing wrong with the CD player.
Stuff like that can drive you crazy!
More smiles today!
I think that I’ve been able to fix the Crown! After removing, testing, and replacing the precision resistor that typically fails, and finding it good, I found that the low voltage board that is supposed to put out ± 15 volts was putting out +15.05/-10.94 volts. As soon as I put my screwdriver on the fine adjusting pot, the voltage sprang down to -15.05 volts. I “swept” both pots several times and readjusted both so they fluxuated between ±14.99 and ±15.00 volts.
The main rails supply ±95 volts to the output transistors!
I also found that the slide switch that bridges the channels from stereo to mono, and a couple others, were very gritty, possibly the reason why just one IOC light was staying on. Several cycles smoothed these out.
On the workbench the unit now powers up normally and goes through its usual start-up routine with no error lights remaining on. The low speed fan comes on rather than the high speed.
Tomorrow, it goes back into the system with fingers crossed.
The computer returned today. HP gives good service. But they did not load the updates at the factory like I asked and note that they will need to loaded. I guess we’ll see if the Black Screen returns.
Parts Replaced: None
Repair Actions:
ReloadHarddrive-OS/DriverCorruptorCustomer-RepairClass-SW
So it would appear that a “customer” could corrupt a hard drive so badly that the Windows disks wouldn’t restart it.
With regards to the Crown power amp that went down, my repairs/adjustments appear to have been successful and it is again pushing my subwoofer. 
Gee Todd. That doesn’t sound right. I have reloaded Winders XP on some really messed up drives, and a totally blank drive. I can’t see why they would make seven so it cannot do the same.
Correct, not possible to damage hardware that way. That’s where I was heading when I was trying to help. They just reinstalled the operating system when Todd could not. Either he did not reformat during install or some other cockpit error.
There’s no Heinous Software in this thread.
But of course I must be wrong as Todd said, even with the proof from HP that all they did is reinstall the original OS… Oh, I guess I was wrong about HP not doing the updates either.
I guess Todd is right, I don’t know anything.
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
Correct, not possible to damage hardware that way. That’s where I was heading when I was trying to help. They just reinstalled the operating system when Todd could not. Either he did not reformat during install or some other cockpit error.
There’s no Heinous Software in this thread.
But of course I must be wrong as Todd said, even with the proof from HP that all they did is reinstall the original OS… Oh, I guess I was wrong about HP not doing the updates either.
I guess Todd is right, I don’t know anything.
Greg
Again you are jumping to conclusions.
You have no idea what it took for them to reinstall the HD/operating system. I was on the phone with HP when I loaded their disks that they sent to me following their instructions to no avail which is when they said they will need to redo the system back at the factory.
Remember that you can’t format an HD if you can’t get the FDISK command to come up, which we couldn’t.
And as I recall, you kept insisting that it was a hardware problem such as a bad sector or overheating.
Actually, I do have an idea what happened, and what they did, and in this field, I am an expert.
Remember that they did NOT replace the hard drive.
I did not get too far down the diagnostic path when I tried to help, so trying to pick apart my early suggestions is fruitless and pointless. (but please continue if it makes you feel good)
Merry Christmas
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
Actually, I do have an idea what happened, and what they did, and in this field, I am an expert.
Remember that they did NOT replace the hard drive.
Merry Christmas
Greg
OK, if this is the case, you should be able to describe the screen that I was getting when the disks failed to load (please do),
And the screen/desktop that I got on return of the computer.
Tell us, did they reformat the HD?
(Darn, now I’m stuck with IE11 and had to add this site to the compatibility menu.)