Computer dead ?

Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.

I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.

Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.

This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.

Anything else I can try ?
__________________
Thanks,
Andy

Andy wrote:

Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.

I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.

Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.

This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.

Anything else I can try ?
__________________
Thanks,
Andy

Try reseating the ram, hdd, cd, and any parts that you can easily get to.
Do you have another hdd with o/s that you can install for testing?

In message , Paul in Houston TX
writes:
Andy wrote:

Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.

My first guess was dead hard drive ...

I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.

Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.

.... but that made me think it's more a matter of the boot options in the
BIOS having become corrupted, which could just be the motherboard cell
has finally run down. (Is an "Hp 6730b" a desktop or a laptop?) If so,
it's trivial (though can be fiddly) to replace it.

If left off overnight, and turned on without internet, does the
clock/calendar still show the right time? (You can find that in the
BIOS, you don't need to boot into Windows.) If not, that's a fair
indication that the cell has run down. (The clock sometimes runs _fast_
when the cell is failing, but will usually show _some_ unexpected
behaviour.) If it's a desktop machine, it's almost certainly a CR2032
(20mm wide, 3.2 thick); you can get a card of them from poundshops in
the UK (usually containing some CR2032, some CR2024, and some CR2016).

This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.

I don't _think_ so.

Anything else I can try ?
__________________
Thanks,
Andy

Try reseating the ram, hdd, cd, and any parts that you can easily get to.
Do you have another hdd with o/s that you can install for testing?

All well worth a try. And/or, can you try the drive from the failing
machine on another one (I wouldn't try booting from it as that could
corrupt the OS's settings as it would be different hardware, just see if
it can be read from via a USB caddy or dock). Even just can you hear it
spin up (and/or does it make any odd noises) when in the caddy/dock,
though you'd need to know what it normally sounds like to be sure. [I'm
assuming it's not a RAID system.]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Radio 4 is the civilising influence in this country ... I think it is the most
important institution in this country. - John Humphrys, Radio Times
7-13/06/2003

Andy wrote:


Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.

POST screen? BIOS screen? Windows Splash screen? Etc.? Which screen.

I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.

An XP or Linux rescue drive? Windows or Linux bootloader on the MBR?
I'm going to assume it was a Windows Rescue disk, and that you called
'fixmbr' or similar, and installed a Windows bootloader.

Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.

Check the boot devices and their order in BIOS. Then try to boot off a
Linux Live CD or, if you have it, a Windows Install CD.

Can you boot into the Windows recovery screen? Then try to repair the
OS option.

This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.

Most times, unless you specify otherwise, Linux will put its own
bootloader on the MBR and configure it to boot whatever OSes are
installed on the hard drive.

Anything else I can try ?

Since initially you could boot off USB/CD, I'm thinking the computer
hardware is okay. You may have a bad hard drive or the Windows install
is corrupted, or both.

Stef

On Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 11:10:48 AM UTC-5, Stef wrote:
Andy wrote:


Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.

POST screen? BIOS screen? Windows Splash screen? Etc.? Which screen.

I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.

An XP or Linux rescue drive? Windows or Linux bootloader on the MBR?
I'm going to assume it was a Windows Rescue disk, and that you called
'fixmbr' or similar, and installed a Windows bootloader.

Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.

Check the boot devices and their order in BIOS. Then try to boot off a
Linux Live CD or, if you have it, a Windows Install CD.

Can you boot into the Windows recovery screen? Then try to repair the
OS option.

This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.

Most times, unless you specify otherwise, Linux will put its own
bootloader on the MBR and configure it to boot whatever OSes are
installed on the hard drive.

Anything else I can try ?

Since initially you could boot off USB/CD, I'm thinking the computer
hardware is okay. You may have a bad hard drive or the Windows install
is corrupted, or both.

Stef

I took the laptop apart and did the following:

1. Cleaned out all the dust, it was pretty caked on the exhaust port.

2. Reseated the RAM

3. I also drilled some holes below the fan to increase the amount of air that
can get to the fan

4. I have a fan underneath that blows air at the holes. It reduced temps by
about 10 degrees F.

Prior to the hole drilling, the bottom of the laptop would scorch the finish off a table. :-)

Take care.

In message , Andy
writes:
[]
Andy wrote:


Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.
[]
I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.
[]
Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.
[]
This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.
[]
Anything else I can try ?
[]
I took the laptop apart and did the following:

1. Cleaned out all the dust, it was pretty caked on the exhaust port.

2. Reseated the RAM

3. I also drilled some holes below the fan to increase the amount of air that
can get to the fan

4. I have a fan underneath that blows air at the holes. It reduced temps by
about 10 degrees F.

Prior to the hole drilling, the bottom of the laptop would scorch the
finish off a table. :-)

Take care.

1. Is this ("the laptop") the "Hp 6730b" you were talking of before?
2. If it is, is all well now (computer no longer "dead")?

I know what you mean about hot underside: I get the same on this netbook
(Samsung NC20). I have some suspicion that it's what caused the drive to
stop dead one day last year (turned out head stuck to platter; I freed
it, and it came back to life, enough for me to get most [9x%] data off
it to transfer to nee drive). I too now usually use it with bottom side
clear of surface, and external fan on when it gets really hot.

I'm a bit surprised about the extra holes though; can you think of a
reason the manufacturer didn't put those in in the first place? It isn't
upsetting the airflow they'd designed, is it, such that some other part
isn't being cooled as effectively? (Probably OK in your case with the
extra external fan.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness. -Leo Tolstoy,
novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)

On Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 4:04:09 AM UTC-5, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Andy
writes:
[]
Andy wrote:


Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.
[]
I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.
[]
Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.
[]
This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.
[]
Anything else I can try ?
[]
I took the laptop apart and did the following:

1. Cleaned out all the dust, it was pretty caked on the exhaust port.

2. Reseated the RAM

3. I also drilled some holes below the fan to increase the amount of air that
can get to the fan

4. I have a fan underneath that blows air at the holes. It reduced temps by
about 10 degrees F.

Prior to the hole drilling, the bottom of the laptop would scorch the
finish off a table. :-)

Take care.

1. Is this ("the laptop") the "Hp 6730b" you were talking of before?
2. If it is, is all well now (computer no longer "dead")?

I know what you mean about hot underside: I get the same on this netbook
(Samsung NC20). I have some suspicion that it's what caused the drive to
stop dead one day last year (turned out head stuck to platter; I freed
it, and it came back to life, enough for me to get most [9x%] data off
it to transfer to nee drive). I too now usually use it with bottom side
clear of surface, and external fan on when it gets really hot.

I'm a bit surprised about the extra holes though; can you think of a
reason the manufacturer didn't put those in in the first place? It isn't
upsetting the airflow they'd designed, is it, such that some other part
isn't being cooled as effectively? (Probably OK in your case with the
extra external fan.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness. -Leo Tolstoy,
novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)

The problem is back.

Can the BIOS go bad ?

It just goes to the startup screen.

Can not get into the BIOS or boot from a pen drive.

Andy

In message , Andy
writes:
On Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 4:04:09 AM UTC-5, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
[]
Andy wrote:


Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.
[]
1. Is this ("the laptop") the "Hp 6730b" you were talking of before?
2. If it is, is all well now (computer no longer "dead")?
[]
The problem is back.

Can the BIOS go bad ?

It just goes to the startup screen.

What do you mean by "the startup screen"? What happens if you boot it
with the hard drive removed (disconnected)?

Can not get into the BIOS or boot from a pen drive.

Andy

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

You can be tough without being rude - Nick Clegg, 2014 July

Andy wrote:

On Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 4:04:09 AM UTC-5, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Andy
writes:
[]
Andy wrote:


Glad I had a backup computer.

My Hp 6730b will not go beyond it's opening screen when cold booting.
[]
I used a rescue pendrive once and reset the mbr etc.
[]
Now it will not let me boot to any pendrive or CD.
[]
This may not be related, but I recently installed Ubuntu.
[]
Anything else I can try ?
[]
I took the laptop apart and did the following:

1. Cleaned out all the dust, it was pretty caked on the exhaust port.

2. Reseated the RAM

3. I also drilled some holes below the fan to increase the amount of air that
can get to the fan

4. I have a fan underneath that blows air at the holes. It reduced temps by
about 10 degrees F.

Prior to the hole drilling, the bottom of the laptop would scorch the
finish off a table. :-)

Take care.

1. Is this ("the laptop") the "Hp 6730b" you were talking of before?
2. If it is, is all well now (computer no longer "dead")?

I know what you mean about hot underside: I get the same on this netbook
(Samsung NC20). I have some suspicion that it's what caused the drive to
stop dead one day last year (turned out head stuck to platter; I freed
it, and it came back to life, enough for me to get most [9x%] data off
it to transfer to nee drive). I too now usually use it with bottom side
clear of surface, and external fan on when it gets really hot.

I'm a bit surprised about the extra holes though; can you think of a
reason the manufacturer didn't put those in in the first place? It isn't
upsetting the airflow they'd designed, is it, such that some other part
isn't being cooled as effectively? (Probably OK in your case with the
extra external fan.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness. -Leo Tolstoy,
novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)

The problem is back.

Well, at least it's repeatable. ;-)

Can the BIOS go bad ?

If it had, nothing would work.

It just goes to the startup screen.

You never specified which screen. So, I'm going to assume you mean the
Windows XP Start Up. Depending, that screen may say "Loading Windows"
or there's the Windows XP logo and a progress indicator. Am I right.
If not describe the screen.

In any case, if the boot got to the Windows Start Up, your hardware is
probably fine. How long have you let it stay at that screen before
turning off the computer? It could be running a filesystem check,
which can take a while, or it's trying to load or is looking for a
particular module which because of some problem no longer exists or is
corrupt.

Can not get into the BIOS or boot from a pen drive.

What have you tried to get into BIOS? Usually, you repeatedly tap the
DEL or ESC key. Or with some systems, it's a different key. Check your
laptop's user manual for the proper key.

If you get into BIOS, check ALL the settings. Check the date/time. Is
it correct? Check the listed boot devices and the boot order. Etc.

Have you tried to get to the Recovery or Repair consoles? Usually it's
the F8 key just after POST, but not always. Check the manual.

If you can get to either one try FSCKing the hard drive or a Repair
Install or both.

Stef