Major Problem!
 

Okay, I have this really major problem that I need to be solved. Hopefully someone can help. Here is the info. Today in the morning I went on my computer like I always do, and I didn't alter it in any way. I logged on to play counter-strike (:D) and eventually turned it off to go play basketball. I got back recently, only to see that it would not get passed the "HP pavilion" screen at startup. I tried restarting about 6 times, and even attempted a boot disk. After no help from the boot disk, I decided to give my computer a nice format. When I inserted my first recovery cd, it wouldn't do anything. I turned off my computer, left it off for over 30 seconds, turned it back on, only to find the windows recovery cd still failed. I attempted this various times, with no solution. I come here now to beg for a solution. Please, if you could help me out in any way possible, my grattitude is yours.

Sounds like hardware failure. Im not sure what, but it sounds like something crapped out on you. Try Memtest86 to test the memory (http://www.memtest86.com/).

Beleive it or not... ...I had this same problem on my Compaq laptop just a few days ago.

After a dozen hard boots it was still doing the same thing.

Then, I removed the Wi-Fi PC card and it resumed normal operation.

In my past experiences, with a normal PC, I would just power down the machine and remove all of the card and disconnect all the hardware a do a fresh boot. If all comes up well, I would add the hardware and peripherals back, one at a time, until the suspect hardware was found.

Try the memtest, that might give you some clues.

-SF

If you don't mind doing a restore, many HP's will do this by hitting F10 repeatedly while restarting at the "invent" splash screen.

Try removing your PCI cards and memory, one by one. Once, my old Compaq Presario wouldn't turn on because a TV tuner card that it had was killed by a lightning strike. It took three days and a call to a 1337 semi-distant relative to diagnose the problem.

Yeah, something in there is crapped out. The memtest is the first thing I would do just because it doesnt involve removing any of the hardware. Then go for pulling things out, one by one.

You mentioned that you can't get pas the "HP screen"...is there a way to not show the screen, and see the post messages? Or can you hit delete, and go into BIOS?

This deos sound like the computer's not passing the post or memory test. So, you need to fund out what's causing the failure.

on hp's, i'm not sure if delete gets you into bios.... it think it's either F1 or F2. but try delete first.

I've repaired 5 HP's in the last year due to failed Fujitsu hard drives. but if you can't get into bios or boot from a cd, then that's not your prob...failed cards, maybe the power supply is shot too. make sure that's good as well as peripherals.

Well, I solved my problem. I started off with the RAM. It was simple, because I only have 2 RAM cards, so I figured it was either one or the other. It turned out that the problem was not RAM at all. (For those of you who told me to take the memtest, or the bios, If you can't get passed the main HP screen, you are not able to do anything). The problem turned out to be something really stupid. My little eight year old brother, who knows nothing, suggested "maybe it's that mouse your friend gave you (my friend gave me a Microsoft mouse.) I figured that wasn't the answer, since a mouse can't really affect so much. It turns out, it was the mouse, and I later found out the same thing happened to one of my friends. The thing is, many Microsoft mouses, after the waranty expires, they fuck up on you. What you have to do is

1) Get a mouse that isn't a microsoft
or
2) Make sure your mouse is unplugged whenever you startup your computer, and then plug it in once it starts up.

Although I solved my problem, I would still like to thank every single one of you. You were all a great help and support, and am thankful that there are people like you on these forums that aren't jerks, and actually try to help people out. Thanks guys :D

glad you got it fixed, and it wasn't an expensive piece of hardware to replace!

btw, been running a microsoft intellimouse optical for over 2 years, plugged into usb to ps2 converter without a hitch.

Just throwing this out there. As opposed to plugging the mouse in after the system boots it would probably be wiser to buy a new mouse. There is voltage on the PS/2 connectors after it is powered up and hot swapping those connections pose a good risk of burning out a board.

Wow, I've never before heard that a mouse would be capable of keeping you from starting up your computer!
I bet that if the mouse had a monitor it it, it would have a blue screen... ;)

I had this exact same problem with my old hp pavillion. I bought a Microsoft Wireless Intellimouse explorer (optical) and had the same problem. Fortunately for me, I figured it out without even having to open the case. Remember, when troubleshooting your computer, take one thing out at a time and see how it goes. I always start with the USB peripherals first then move on to memory, pci cards, then hard drive.