Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft Windows => Windows Vista and 7 => Topic started by: itsallaboutthecomputers on March 04, 2009, 10:09:14 PM
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HP Media Center Desktop PC M8400F I would give other spec's but I'm almost 100% positive none of them are going to assist in a solution to my problem.
1.) Bought System Recovery disc's from HP...
2.) Backed up all files on external 500 GB Seagate FreeAgent Desktop hard drive
3.) Popped in disc 1 switched boot priorities to boot from CD drive
4.) followed steps...reformatted windows installation partition
5.) let it do it's thing...formatting and reinstalling original files
6.) at end says you should do these things after you get back into windows etc etc update security stuff etc I click Finish system reboots.
7.) Loads Hp logo etc ...."Windows Loading Files" with white progress bar on bottom...then motion bar "Microsoft Corporation"
8.) Pops up with a background showing a computer with a CD with binary numbers floating around the CD (01010101) with a wand pointed at the middle hole in the CD...title in the background reads "Flex Build 2.0" "HP Restricted"
9.) There is a cmd window that pops up entitled startnet.cmd I researched a bit found out that I THINK it's in the Window's PE mode (Preinstallation Environment)
10.) loads some text up onto the cmd ...some things it said were...ModeExecution BuildPartition....calling maestro...Searching for USER partition....
11.)After waiting for a couple of seconds...it changes from that to a completely new screen with a grey background http://www.sunyit.edu/images/scp7.jpg it has two folders and the paper transfer animation and that's it...I had to go to work and left it running for my 4 hour shift thinking it will do what it needs to do by the time I get back I get back it's the same screen...so I thought well I'm screwed at this point...nothing would take 4 hours...not to mention the harddrive activity light didn't even show signs of activity just a steady blink blink blink every 2 seconds...
My goal is to get vista back onto this computer and get it working like normal again...the system recovery discs I only ordered to avoid issues with not having the proper drivers for the computer...seeing as these are formatted differently than say a regular ole Vista 32 bit OEM disc...it might not be doing the same things...so my last solution in my opinion would be to buy a normal vista disc and then obtain all the drivers for the system and upload them via jumpdrive...
But so far I'm lost...any help would be greatly appreciated...if any other info is needed just post...and I'll do what i can do get it on here.
Thanks
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Did you ever get to part where you insert disk two?
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Yep yep i've done that part probably about 6-7 times now..put disc one in disc 2 etc...then reboot
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It looks like wrong CD. Call them back. Their support is open 24/7
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Why did you have to reinstall windows in the first place?
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It looks like wrong CD. Call them back. Their support is open 24/7
I'm pretty sure it's not the wrong CD. I put in the correct serial number and went to my product's page on their website to order the recovery disc. Why did you have to reinstall windows in the first place?
I have to reinstall because after I was trying to get rid of some viruses I was trying to fix some anti virus program decided to reboot and it rebooted with windows loading files like i said above and took me to the system recovery screen only this one is the vista one not what comes up with the discs which is specifically the "Recovery Manager" an option within the system recovery dialog box that came up at that time along with several other options this one: http://www.rm.com/_RMVirtual/Media/Images/SystemRecoveryOptions2.jpg...Recovery Manger using recovery discs appearance: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/Doc/images/c00829914.gif
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Hmm...
Are you sure you dont have a recovery partition on your hard drive?
Take the CD out, boot back up, and tap F11 repeatedly as the the computer starts.
What happens?
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It takes me to the screen I described in my first post...and Yes I did have a recovery partition...it was titled FACTORY IMAGE in my computer when I had the desktop up and running was like 9 gigs or so...
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It takes you to this screen?
two folders and the paper transfer animation and that's it...
Are you saying that you tried the recovery partiton first - then ordered the recovery CD after that didn't work?
Could be a problem with your hard drive. Download diagnostic CD
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
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well I couldn't get any of those options to work before hand (the first image I posted after my topic post) so yes I said lets get recovery discs...
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Btw how am I going to run that software if i can't boot into windows...
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How are you posting your messages?
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Laptop lol
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Do you know what brand of hard drive you have in your copmuter?
If you dont, you might have to open it up and look. There will be a sticker on your hard drive with the brand and model printed on it.
Download the disk to your laptop. Use a utility like http://cdburnerxp.se/download
to burn an image onto a physical disk. Then place it in your computer and boot to it.
Have you called HP to troubleshoot your problem? 800-HP invent or 800-474-6836
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Could be a problem with your hard drive.
You may use SMART test for hard drive in BIOS. It will check the hard drive for errors. By the way you have two hard drives installed on your computer. I suggest you to test each drive with SMART:
1. Start the PC.
2. Press the F10 key on the keyboard to access the Main tab of the BIOS Setup utility.
3. Use the arrow keys to select a recognized hard disk drive device in list and press Enter To help you find the drive name, some common examples of hard drive names are:
* [MAXTOR 6Y160M0]
* [SAMSUNG SV8004H]
* [ST3120026AS]
* [WDC WD800AB-22CB]
4. Select SMART Support and press Enter .
5. Select - >
SMART Extended Self-Test: Runs an Extended self-test on the hard disk drive. This may take some time. Press Enter .
6. Press Enter to start the test.
7. The test begins and the test status displays.
8. Press Esc when the test is complete.
if the test passed, perform a recovery with a single hard drive connected. Also remove any external hdds, USB devices , printers before the recovery.
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Some pictures : http://uploadingit.com/view/1052628_6nbos
http://uploadingit.com/view/1052627_gxl8b
http://uploadingit.com/view/1052626_vsxyw
I will be uploading a startup video to youtube soon
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That's right. You can look in BIOS to see the brand of your hard drive. I should have thought about that :-[
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Youtube startup sequence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT-96JvV2Ds
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Could be a dirty CD or CD drive.
Clean the CD.
Do you have another optical drive that you can swap in there?
Did you try using the diagnostics CD?
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My computer isn't even a year old and I got the recovery discs 3 days ago...
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If it's less than a Year old i would be exercising the Warranty on it Pronto...
# things that can cause this issue:
HDD issues
Bad RAM
Wrong Recovery CD's.
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Mnfctr's warranty is void because I installed a new GPU and PS a while back.
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There you have it....
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Yup...
...time to buy a new windows CD
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So yeah that is what I'm planning on doing but can anyone explain what the flex build thing is at all? I'm curious as to what it is and why it's "Restricted" ...
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Doesn't sound like an official version to me...
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Well well,
I have the same problem with an HP M8020N. It's stuck on step 8 (startnet.com window open on the HP background thing).
The CDs are the original from HP and no mods were made to the PC.
Sooo all the nice theories about dirty CDs and mods probably don't apply.
My warranty is expired and considering HP track record, I am not in the mood to pay more money to get bad service.
Any brilliant idea?
Time to Shine! ;)
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Have you ever solved your problem?
I am having the same problem, i.e. going through factory recovery process with HP M8400F recovery disk from HP and stuck with the screen with two folders and the paper transfer animation for hours.
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Let me rephrase here, I was asking about the posting from ComputerFreak09 back in 03-04-2009 as follows. I am having the same problem and wondering what happened to his?
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HP Media Center Desktop PC M8400F I would give other spec's but I'm almost 100% positive none of them are going to assist in a solution to my problem.
1.) Bought System Recovery disc's from HP...
2.) Backed up all files on external 500 GB Seagate FreeAgent Desktop hard drive
3.) Popped in disc 1 switched boot priorities to boot from CD drive
4.) followed steps...reformatted windows installation partition
5.) let it do it's thing...formatting and reinstalling original files
6.) at end says you should do these things after you get back into windows etc etc update security stuff etc I click Finish system reboots.
7.) Loads Hp logo etc ...."Windows Loading Files" with white progress bar on bottom...then motion bar "Microsoft Corporation"
8.) Pops up with a background showing a computer with a CD with binary numbers floating around the CD (01010101) with a wand pointed at the middle hole in the CD...title in the background reads "Flex Build 2.0" "HP Restricted"
9.) There is a cmd window that pops up entitled startnet.cmd I researched a bit found out that I THINK it's in the Window's PE mode (Preinstallation Environment)
10.) loads some text up onto the cmd ...some things it said were...ModeExecution BuildPartition....calling maestro...Searching for USER partition....
11.)After waiting for a couple of seconds...it changes from that to a completely new screen with a grey background http://www.sunyit.edu/images/scp7.jpg it has two folders and the paper transfer animation and that's it...I had to go to work and left it running for my 4 hour shift thinking it will do what it needs to do by the time I get back I get back it's the same screen...so I thought well I'm screwed at this point...nothing would take 4 hours...not to mention the harddrive activity light didn't even show signs of activity just a steady blink blink blink every 2 seconds...
My goal is to get vista back onto this computer and get it working like normal again...the system recovery discs I only ordered to avoid issues with not having the proper drivers for the computer...seeing as these are formatted differently than say a regular ole Vista 32 bit OEM disc...it might not be doing the same things...so my last solution in my opinion would be to buy a normal vista disc and then obtain all the drivers for the system and upload them via jumpdrive...
But so far I'm lost...any help would be greatly appreciated...if any other info is needed just post...and I'll do what i can do get it on here.
Thanks
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Oh boy.
My post is old and my brain, older...
Can't help you except this suggestion:
Install Ubuntu. This will prove wheter or not a hardware issue is bugging you down.
Also, Ubuntu will rewrite your hard drive, master boot record and all that jazz.
Once you know that everything is OK, try reinstalling vista.
Do not bother with the dual boot. This is more headache than anything else in your situation.
Good luck.
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Oh boy.
My post is old and my brain, older...
Can't help you except this suggestion:
Install Ubuntu. This will prove wheter or not a hardware issue is bugging you down.
Also, Ubuntu will rewrite your hard drive, master boot record and all that jazz.
Once you know that everything is OK, try reinstalling vista.
Do not bother with the dual boot. This is more headache than anything else in your situation.
Good luck.
Feel free to ignore the advice above...
Plus you should actually start a new Topic with your issues so it can recieve the proper attention.
Welcome Aboard.