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HP All-In_One Computer problems
Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer. She
wanted to get into computers and internet. Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program. I now have the computer home. Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second. You couldn't easily access anything. I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up. Nothing. Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts. Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff. BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home. Any ideas? Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it? Thanks. |
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#2
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 14/06/2020 00:11, Todesco wrote:
Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home. Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good.Â* It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it? Thanks. You need to reset the machine to factory settings and start again.Â* I suggest read this doc: https://www.auslogics.com/en/articles/reset-an-hp-laptop-to-factory-settings-win10/ It looks like you need Method 2 because your machine is not bootable or the boot process is corrupted.Â* You are getting what some call black screen of death.Â* Is your 84 year old woman into witch craft and magic?Â* Just a thought.Â* These black widows are are a danger to the society in general! -- With over 1.2 billion devices now running Windows 10, customer satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows. |
#3
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 14/06/2020 00:11, Todesco wrote:
Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good.Â* It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. Perhaps it's coincidental, but it was Update Tuesday this week. ;-) I've just updated my Toshiba laptop and to took MANY hours to accomplish the switch to Windows 10 - version 2004. I suggest you power it down. Switch off mains power. Switch on the mains again and then switch on the computer. THEN LEAVE IT ALONE for 24 hours and await the result. HTH -- David |
#4
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
Todesco wrote:
Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer. She wanted to get into computers and internet. Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program. I now have the computer home. Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second. You couldn't easily access anything. I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up. Nothing. Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts. Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff. BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home. Any ideas? Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it? Thanks. HP PCs - Resetting Your Computer (Windows 10) https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c04742289 You can't really Repair Install and keep user files and programs, if Windows 10 won't boot. If you Reset the PC, that's like re-installing from scratch. The difference is, an HP image with cruftware, would get installed on a Reset. Whereas if you used a Microsoft disc, you get a Microsoft version without HP additions. This is a subtle distinction and not important to the challenge at the moment, which is getting this person running again. Of course the F11 is the fastest way to get there. ******* What you could do, is use any backup software that runs from a CD or DVD, to back up the AIO to an external drive first, before you do the Reset F11 step. This will allow you to capture a copy of the persons email database, so you can put their email back the way you found it. With Thunderbird for example, just copying back the profile folder would do most everything for you. (Install Thunderbird say, see where the empty profile is located, use "profiles.ini" to point to the backup copy you put next to the empty profile.) Backups can usually be accessed as random file access. Macrium allows a backed up C: to be mounted as another drive letter, and you can "pick" files out of it and copy them to the reset C: drive you'll be making. This will allow you to repair at least some of the damage. ******* Windows 10 C: is normally quite repairable with the automation. It takes some serious booboos to blow it up entirely. Although I have lost one or two NTFS along the way, as unrepairable. It does happen. It should not happen very often. The Windows 10 built-in repair makes three tries to repair things. And by then, the file system should be intact (CHKDSK clean). You can also attempt boot repair, from a menu in the Macrium CD. But most operations require the partition to be CHKDSK clean and fully functional. And CHKDSK does not fix everything. But it's all we've got. This is why you teach people about the importance of backups. Paul |
#5
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 14/06/2020 01:04, David_B wrote:
On 14/06/2020 00:11, Todesco wrote: Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. Perhaps it's coincidental, but it was Update Tuesday this week. ;-) I've just updated my Toshiba laptop and to took MANY hours to accomplish the switch to Windows 10 - version 2004. I suggest you power it down. Switch off mains power. Switch on the mains again and then switch on the computer. THEN LEAVE IT ALONE for 24 hours and await the result. HTH Addendum: Does the machine have a guarantee? If bought new in January, it may well have! Worth checking! ;-) I have a friend with a HUGE Microsoft All-in-One. Last autumn I watched as it carried out a self repair - with no owner participation. Pure Magic! :-) |
#6
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 6/13/2020 8:53 PM, David_B wrote:
On 14/06/2020 01:04, David_B wrote: On 14/06/2020 00:11, Todesco wrote: Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. Perhaps it's coincidental, but it was Update Tuesday this week. ;-) I've just updated my Toshiba laptop and to took MANY hours to accomplish the switch to Windows 10 - version 2004. I suggest you power it down. Switch off mains power. Switch on the mains again and then switch on the computer. THEN LEAVE IT ALONE for 24 hours and await the result. HTH Addendum: Does the machine have a guarantee? If bought new in January, it may well have! Worth checking! ;-) I have a friend with a HUGE Microsoft All-in-One. Last autumn I watched as it carried out a self repair - with no owner participation. Pure Magic! :-) It was an open box special at Best Buy so the warranty was 90 days. It has worked perfectly til now which was about double that. |
#7
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 6/13/2020 8:31 PM, Paul wrote:
Todesco wrote: Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. HP PCs - Resetting Your Computer (Windows 10) https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c04742289 You can't really Repair Install and keep user files and programs, if Windows 10 won't boot. If you Reset the PC, that's like re-installing from scratch. The difference is, an HP image with cruftware, would get installed on a Reset. Whereas if you used a Microsoft disc, you get a Microsoft version without HP additions. This is a subtle distinction and not important to the challenge at the moment, which is getting this person running again. Of course the F11 is the fastest way to get there. ******* What you could do, is use any backup software that runs from a CD or DVD, to back up the AIO to an external drive first, before you do the Reset F11 step. This will allow you to capture a copy of the persons email database, so you can put their email back the way you found it. With Thunderbird for example, just copying back the profile folder would do most everything for you. (Install Thunderbird say, see where the empty profile is located, use "profiles.ini" to point to the backup copy you put next to the empty profile.) Backups can usually be accessed as random file access. Macrium allows a backed up C: to be mounted as another drive letter, and you can "pick" files out of it and copy them to the reset C: drive you'll be making. This will allow you to repair at least some of the damage. ******* Windows 10 C: is normally quite repairable with the automation. It takes some serious booboos to blow it up entirely. Although I have lost one or two NTFS along the way, as unrepairable. It does happen. It should not happen very often. The Windows 10 built-in repair makes three tries to repair things. And by then, the file system should be intact (CHKDSK clean). You can also attempt boot repair, from a menu in the Macrium CD. But most operations require the partition to be CHKDSK clean and fully functional. And CHKDSK does not fix everything. But it's all we've got. This is why you teach people about the importance of backups. Â*Â* Paul I think it's too late for that as I've tried the full wipe revival from the recovery thumb drive. It got about 80% through when it quit. |
#8
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
Todesco wrote:
I think it's too late for that as I've tried the full wipe revival from the recovery thumb drive. It got about 80% through when it quit. Any hints as to what's doing that ? Is the USB stick content bad ? Is the internal storage defective ? Has the machine had a RAM test yet ? http://www.memtest.org/ It's an AIO, so it's going to be pretty difficult to determine if a cable has come loose inside it. I repaired an AIO once, and it require prying apart the panel housing to get at the parts inside. And you're trying not to damage the plastic while doing that. That can't just use screws and make it easy to take apart. (The AIO was provided with bad RAM *twice*, and I just went to the store and bought good RAM for it, so I wouldn't have to keep taking it apart.) But any sort of indication on screen, a breadcrumb of some sort, may help point at what's broken. And what to do next. I don't know if what those USB sticks have on them, is protected by a checksum. Macrium backups for instance, are protected by a checksum, so Macrium can know if the content is corrupted. Some storage schemes, have checksums down to the item level, so you can tell precisely which file is affected. I don't think Macrium can do that. Or for that matter, those USB recovery sticks. It depends on how the recovery stick image was made by the manufacturer. Paul |
#9
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 14/06/2020 11:36, Todesco wrote:
On 6/13/2020 8:53 PM, David_B wrote: On 14/06/2020 01:04, David_B wrote: On 14/06/2020 00:11, Todesco wrote: Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer. She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home. Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. Perhaps it's coincidental, but it was Update Tuesday this week. ;-) I've just updated my Toshiba laptop and to took MANY hours to accomplish the switch to Windows 10 - version 2004. I suggest you power it down. Switch off mains power. Switch on the mains again and then switch on the computer. THEN LEAVE IT ALONE for 24 hours and await the result. HTH Addendum: Does the machine have a guarantee? If bought new in January, it may well have! Worth checking! ;-) I have a friend with a HUGE Microsoft All-in-One. Last autumn I watched as it carried out a self repair - with no owner participation. Pure Magic! :-) It was an open box special at Best Buy so the warranty was 90 days.Â* It has worked perfectly til now which was about double that. Oh dear! One does tend to get what one pays for. :-( Did your elderly friend 'get the bug' for computing during her short time of using it? If so, perhaps she should buy a Chromebook this time around. Please tell her from me, as you give her a hug, that "there are no pockets in shrouds"! ;-) -- Kind regards, David |
#10
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 6/13/2020 6:11 PM, Todesco wrote:
Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good.Â* It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. I just got done working a an HP where NO recovery option worked. First thing I did was pull the drive and backup the data. Next I downloaded the latest version of Win10 which is designated 2004 Turned out that Win10 Home will automatically be activated once installed. |
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 6/14/2020 9:46 AM, philo wrote:
On 6/13/2020 6:11 PM, Todesco wrote: Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. I just got done working a an HP where NO recovery option worked. First thing I did was pull the drive and backup the data. Next I downloaded the latest version of Win10Â* which is designated 2004 Turned out that Win10 Home will automatically be activated once installed. Great, thanks. I think next time I will just make a Macrium image of the disk for her recovery media. She really has not stored any files and such. I will try to download the windows 10 thing from MS and install it. I would prefer not to have the HP stuff in the way, anyway. |
#12
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 6/14/2020 8:51 AM, Todesco wrote:
On 6/14/2020 9:46 AM, philo wrote: On 6/13/2020 6:11 PM, Todesco wrote: Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer.Â* She wanted to get into computers and internet.Â* Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program.Â* I now have the computer home.Â* Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second.Â* You couldn't easily access anything.Â* I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up.Â* Nothing.Â* Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts.Â* Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff.Â* BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home.Â* Any ideas?Â* Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it?Â* Thanks. I just got done working a an HP where NO recovery option worked. First thing I did was pull the drive and backup the data. Next I downloaded the latest version of Win10Â* which is designated 2004 Turned out that Win10 Home will automatically be activated once installed. Great, thanks.Â* I think next time I will just make a Macrium image of the disk for her recovery media.Â* She really has not stored any files and such.Â* I will try to download the windows 10 thing from MS and install it.Â* I would prefer not to have the HP stuff in the way, anyway. Hope you get it all back and running. |
#13
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 13 Jun 2020, Todesco wrote
(in article ): Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer. She wanted to get into computers and internet. Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program. I now have the computer home. Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second. You couldn't easily access anything. I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up. Nothing. Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts. Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff. BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home. Any ideas? Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it? Thanks. Frankly, the first problem is that it’s an HP, but that ship’s sailed, so now we try to fix it. HP used to be good, but they’ve been drifting on their past rep for some time now. I would recommend even Dell over HP, and I hate bloody Dell. 1 try to back up the data/applications/anything else except the OS. It may require booting from a data recovery USB device. Acronis TrueImage will allow this for certain. I think that Macrium Reflect will do it, too. 2 nuke from orbit. If necessary, nuke from orbit using a Linux USB stick. Make sure that you have the Windows key available. 3 reinstall using an ISO on a USB stick. HP’s ISO will install HP junk, including the junk which caused the problem in the first place. HP’s installer will, probably, not require you to reenter the Windows key. Microsoft’s installer will also, probably, not require you to reenter the Windows key, as long as you use the right installer (Home, at a guess. Pro is quite unlikely, Education is extremely unlikely, and Enterprise is even less likely. Warning: MS’s installer gets annoyed if you use the wrong key for the version installed.) You really should have the key just in case. 4 verify that it’s running, get updates, verifyb that it’s still running after updates, restore user files. I’ve been using Acronis for well over a decade and I quite like it. The home version is (relatively) cheap and works quite well. I would recommend using Acronis or some other backup system to generate a full, bootable, backup on another, preferably external, volume. Just in case. Once that is done, you can always just restore from the full, bootable, backup to the internal volume. |
#14
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
Tremble, for on Sun, 14 Jun 2020 01:03:39 +0100 on this sandbank of
Apophis 😉 Good Guy 😉 wrote : It looks like you need Method 2 because your machine is not bootable or the boot process is corrupted.Â* You are getting what some call black screen of death.Â* Is your 84 year old woman into witch craft and magic? Just a thought.Â* These black widows are are a danger to the society in general! What the ****?? -- "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." - Voltaire ImperiusDamian - http://theimperium.elementfx.com -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.1 G d- s:+ a+ C++++$ UL+ P L++ !E W+++ N+++ !o K--? w++ !O !M-- !V PS++ PE- Y+ PGP- t+++ 5+++ X+++ R tv@ b++++ DI++ D+++ G e+ h--- r+++ y+++ ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ |
#15
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HP All-In_One Computer problems
On 6/14/2020 12:34 PM, Wolffan wrote:
On 13 Jun 2020, Todesco wrote (in article ): Back in January an 84yo friend bought an HP all in one computer. She wanted to get into computers and internet. Three days ago she called that it wouldn't boot and went into some kind of long term repair, apparently an HP program. I now have the computer home. Originally, it would come up to the desktop, but the screen would flash from black to the background pic about once per second. You couldn't easily access anything. I've tried using the recovery thumb drive to bring it back up. Nothing. Apparently the HP "overlay" program takes over and while it tries to "repair" it usually aborts. Now I can't even get back up in Windows because I think, the repair has overwritten stuff. BTW I've run the HP diagnostics and everything seems good. It's Windows 10, but I don't know which version ... I'm guessing home. Any ideas? Would I be able to download the install from microsoft and run it? Thanks. Frankly, the first problem is that it’s an HP, but that ship’s sailed, so now we try to fix it. HP used to be good, but they’ve been drifting on their past rep for some time now. I would recommend even Dell over HP, and I hate bloody Dell. 1 try to back up the data/applications/anything else except the OS. It may require booting from a data recovery USB device. Acronis TrueImage will allow this for certain. I think that Macrium Reflect will do it, too. 2 nuke from orbit. If necessary, nuke from orbit using a Linux USB stick. Make sure that you have the Windows key available. 3 reinstall using an ISO on a USB stick. HP’s ISO will install HP junk, including the junk which caused the problem in the first place. HP’s installer will, probably, not require you to reenter the Windows key. Microsoft’s installer will also, probably, not require you to reenter the Windows key, as long as you use the right installer (Home, at a guess. Pro is quite unlikely, Education is extremely unlikely, and Enterprise is even less likely. Warning: MS’s installer gets annoyed if you use the wrong key for the version installed.) You really should have the key just in case. 4 verify that it’s running, get updates, verifyb that it’s still running after updates, restore user files. I’ve been using Acronis for well over a decade and I quite like it. The home version is (relatively) cheap and works quite well. I would recommend using Acronis or some other backup system to generate a full, bootable, backup on another, preferably external, volume. Just in case. Once that is done, you can always just restore from the full, bootable, backup to the internal volume. I actually got it running using the w10 download from MS ... for a while. Now it just goes into HP recovery when I try to start it up and then hangs. I thought pumping in the MS W10 load, would avoid the HP junk. I'm thinking it's in the BIOS. The BIOS looks good. There are some diagnostics in the BIOS that all seem to run ok... memory and hard SSD. I thought she invested in the 2 year extended warranty, but I can't find any record of either her or me paying for it, so I guess we take it to Best Buy and pay now. |
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