Recovery partition

[JJ 3000]

I have an HP Pavilion dv5000 laptop.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=1149448&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&submit.y=0&submit.x=0&lang=en&cc=us

It was given to me because the previous owner could not get it to work.
The problems is that windows will not load up in any mode. I disabled automatic restart and got the stop code: coooo21a(fatal system error).

When I boot I can see the message to enter setup but not for recovery.
I can boot to an Ubuntu disk and see the 1GB partition that I assume is the recovery partition.

I cant figure out how to access it, and like I said, I cant get into Windows (XP Media Center).

The only thing I can think to do is just a clean install.
Can anyone help me?

[drmsucks]

I disabled automatic restart and got the stop code: coooo21a(fatal system error).

Curious...how did you do this without getting into Windows?

To access your Recovery Partition, try F11 after you power on.

[JJ 3000]

I disabled automatic restart and got the stop code: coooo21a(fatal system error).

Curious...how did you do this without getting into Windows?

By pressing F8 while it is loading I got to the Windows advanced options menu. One of the choices there is Disable Automatic Restarts on System Failures.

To access your Recovery Partition, try F11 after you power on.

Okay, I just tried F11 and it looked like it was going to work but then it just went back to the stop code again and said the system was shut down

[drmsucks]

Can you boot to Safe Mode? If so, try Last Configuration..., or revert to a Restore point.

Since you can boot from CD, why not order Recovery Disks from HP?

[Broni]

Check here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316503

[JJ 3000]

I managed to borrow a media center disk. I thought if I could get into the recovery console then I might be able to fix my problem. Before I could even begin typing any commands the computer just completely shut off. No warning and I had it plugged in when it just blinked off.

I thought that was odd so I tried again. The same thing happened. The second time I noticed the bottom of the machine was really hot, so I just left it off for awhile to let it cool down. The third attempt was the same, even after I had let it cool for 45 minutes.

So I pulled out the Ubuntu CD and booted it. It loaded fine and has now been on for over an hour. The bootom of the computer is still relatively cool which leads me to believe it could be a problem with the hard drive.

I have never disassembled a laptop before. I take desktops apart and put them back together all the time. I'm kind of afraid of breaking something.
What do you guys think?

[Broni]

If you suspect HD, it should be an easy task: screwdriver + 2 screws:
Manual: http://www.frc-tech.com/docs/manuals/SG/hpcompaq/MSG%20-%20HP%20Pavilion%20dv5000.pdf

[JJ 3000]

Wow that was a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be.

I've checked online and the cheapest hard drive I could find was 75 bucks.

I would hate to spend the money on that and find out that the hard drive was not the culprit. The reason I suspect the hard drive is bad is that Ubuntu loads from the CD into RAM without involving the hard drive. When I boot to the windows disk the machine cuts off. However, the heat that I noticed was not coming from the hard drive.

So I am wondering if anyone here has any other suggestions as to what may cause this. Ubuntu shows that the battery is fully charged.

[Broni]

Run HD diagnostic: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287