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.

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.

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

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

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! :-)

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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------

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.