HP Pavilion DV6 Laptop - Start up Problem

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LucianH
LucianH Posts: 445 Forumite
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edited 31 August 2015 at 7:57AM in Techie Stuff
I've got a problem with an old, but otherwise serviceable, HP Pavilion DV6 1216sa laptop. It came with vista and I recently did a clean install of Win8.1pro and have since upgraded to Win10.

The problem I have is that it freezes on a cold startup. It gets past the BIOS and on to the screen with the Windows logo and the spinning dots. It freezes at this point (the dots stop spinning) at which point I have to do a hard shutdown (press and holding power button). When I then power it up again it usually boots up fine (at least 9 times out of 10). Occasionally it will fire up for about one second and then just switch off - when this happens it normally takes four or five attempts to get it to start up and then run through the boot and start up process.

I've just tried a test where once it got to the login screen I did a shut down instead of logging in. When I tried to power it up (after approx 10 secs) it locked up on the logo screen again. I then repeated the test, but instead of doing a controlled shutdown from the login screen I simply did a hard shutdown. In this case it booted up fine. It appears that if it does a controlled windows shutdown, it then locks up when its next switched on.

Restarts work fine by the way.

This problem was occurring with both Vista and Win8.1 (I was hoping that a clean install of the operating systems would have solved it but it didn't).

I've done a hard reset and have also replaced the CMOS battery (seemed like a good idea at the time!). I've also run memory and disk test with no errors. Still no luck.

Any help in solving this would be most appreciated.
Never let it get you down... unless it really is as bad as it seems.
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  • fishybusiness
    fishybusiness Posts: 1,263 Forumite
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    Ah... I used to run an IT business, around about the time DV6's were popular.

    They develop mainboard issues, not a DIY fix. At the time HP funded replacement boards on some serial numbers.

    Sounds to me like the board is on its way.

    Other things to check are to fire it up without a battery fitted, does it make a difference, and check the health of the hard drive with a bootable CD or USB, of the hard drive manufacturers diagnostic tool.
  • LucianH
    LucianH Posts: 445 Forumite
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    Removing battery makes no difference.

    I'm hoping that it's not a M/B issue. Once it's successfully booted up there's no problems with it whatsoever. It's always has been, and still is, very robust and I can't remember the last time it crashed in use.

    Could it be something to do with the CMOS/BIOS? Is there a way of verifying the BIOS or resetting it?
    Never let it get you down... unless it really is as bad as it seems.
  • fishybusiness
    fishybusiness Posts: 1,263 Forumite
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    Try taking out the battery, removing from mains, and then remove the memory and refit it - it will reseat it. Wouldn't be the first time a computer wouldn't start due to badly seated memory.

    Re BIOS, doubt it as it has got past the requirement to find the boot device - it has started loading Windows.

    Unless something like the video memory has been changed, but from memory those units have a discrete video memory not shared memory.

    You could check BIOS settings such as DMA32 access is on, and all the hard drive settings are as they should be.
  • BlueEyedGirl
    BlueEyedGirl Posts: 1,753 Forumite
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    Could It be a Windows 10 problem. There was / still is a lot of problems with HP Pavilion / Envy's and Windows 10.
  • LucianH
    LucianH Posts: 445 Forumite
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    BlueEyedGirl wrote: »
    Could It be a Windows 10 problem. There was / still is a lot of problems with HP Pavilion / Envy's and Windows 10.
    Unfortunately I was seeing the issue with both Vista and win8.1.

    Thanks anyway.
    Never let it get you down... unless it really is as bad as it seems.
  • LucianH
    LucianH Posts: 445 Forumite
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    LucianH wrote: »
    Could it be something to do with the CMOS/BIOS? Is there a way of verifying the BIOS or resetting it?

    Having looked at it a bit more, I've just noticed that, following a controlled shutdown, when it boots up and displays the BIOS HP logo the "press esc to enter setup" option text at the bottom left missing. It will then go on to the windows logo and then lock-up.

    Following a hard power down (once it's locked up), and then powering up, the "press esc ..." option is displayed. The option text is also displayed whenever a restart is performed.

    This appears to be so consistent that I have difficulties in seeing how it's a hardware problem as opposes to a firmware/software issue.

    Is there any that can happen in the bios for the set-up option from not being displayed?
    Never let it get you down... unless it really is as bad as it seems.
  • bod1467
    bod1467 Posts: 15,214 Forumite
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    Just throwing it out there ... is there an updated BIOS you can flash to see if it helps?

    I had to flash my BIOS to get the laptop screen to work in Windows 10. I know you said you've had this problem with other OSes but an update may help anyway. Even a reflash of the existing BIOS may help.
  • Mark_Sanders
    Mark_Sanders Posts: 29 Forumite
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    I had a HP Pavillon DV6 and it got very hot... I suppose it is a M/B problem. I also tried to downgrade to windows 7 and xp... but nothing, fan speed was too high. A meltdown could happen!
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    Have to tried running Troubleshoot and/or Recovery?
  • LucianH
    LucianH Posts: 445 Forumite
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    Mark_Sanders wrote: »
    I had a HP Pavillon DV6 and it got very hot... I suppose it is a M/B problem. I also tried to downgrade to windows 7 and xp... but nothing, fan speed was too high. A meltdown could happen!

    I do also have this problem but it's likely to be caused by dust build up rather than a motherboard problem. Rather than the expense of stripping it down and cleaning it I normally use in on a USB powered fan tray or make sure it gets a good airflow (ie, raise it slightly).
    Bedsit_Bob wrote: »
    Have to tried running Troubleshoot and/or Recovery?

    Thanks for the suggestion but its a clean windows install so I don't think it's an OS issue.
    bod1467 wrote: »
    Even a reflash of the existing BIOS may help.

    I've been putting this off but I suspect that this will be the next thing I try. If there is some underlying problem with the existing BIOS, or some obscure M/B fault, I'm a bit apprehensive about doing a BIOS upgrade in case it totally fries it.

    I'll give it a go at the weekend though and report back.
    Never let it get you down... unless it really is as bad as it seems.
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