Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem

Xam27 · 07-24-2008, 12:37 AM

Hi everyone.

Sorry if this topic has been done before, I'm just not sure of the forum rules regarding jumping in on some one else's thread.

After downloading and installing the HP recommended bios (and some other) update(s) last week. My laptop is having problems rebooting. Sometimes it will, and sometimes it takes 1 or 2 tries.

The fan spins up and the DVD drive goes doink, doink, (-: then nothing, just a blank screen.

The bios flash seamed to go well. It was one of those "inside the OS flash utilities". Which I've never used before. Any other time I have ever flashed a bios, it's been from DOS.

I have been to the HP site and tried their suggestions (test power supply and reseat memory), but no change. The page is written from the standpoint of a system that just wont boot at all. So they say that the system must be returned for repairs.

I did throw in an extra 1 gig of Kingston memory a few months ago, and disable all the Vista eye-candy effects. Which gave the system lots more grunt (well I say lots (-: ), but it has run really smoothly ever since.

Is there an easy way to roll back the bios? I did have a go, but I think the .ini file settings prevented me form loading an earlier bios file. I have attached the ini file as a text file, if anyone is interested.

Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Xam27 · 07-26-2008, 05:29 PM

Well, things get solved around here at a blistering pace, don't they.

**TriggerFinger** · 07-26-2008, 05:51 PM

Did this happen after updating the BIOS? I have serious doubts if there is a way to reverse the effect.

Based on what you described it seems to me that the laptop is booting but screen is blank. Try it with an external monitor. Observe if you get anything on screen there.

Xam27 · 07-30-2008, 09:41 PM

Hi TriggerFinger, thanks for your response.

I thought I set my options to receiving email notifications, but I didn't get one for your reply. Hence the late reply from me.

I did as you suggested. But it still dose the same thing. The fan spins up for a few seconds but then throttles back, and both monitors stay blank. Unlike when the laptop does boot.

I'm only guessing about it being a BIOS problem. It could also have been the Vista SP1 update. Stupid me did both consecutive days, and since this problem is intermittent, I may not have noticed it at first.

Do you think I should try uninstalling SP1?

Thanks again for your help TriggerFinger.

-Adrian

**TriggerFinger** · 07-30-2008, 10:00 PM

Hi Adrian,

Just a clarification. When you updated the BIOS and Vista, were you still able to boot successfully after that? When you boot, do you see any LEDs lighting up, do you hear the hard drive trying to spin and the CD/DVD drive initializing but all these stop after a few seconds? I am asking because the symptoms you described point to a corrupt BIOS.

About the SP1, I have doubts that you can uninstall SP1 when the laptop screen is blank.

When you power ON, do you go past the Compaq logo splash screen? Can you at least go into BIOS settings?

Here's a few things I need you to try...

Reset CMOS. Remove the CMOS battery for 30mins at least.
Remove battery and unplug AC adapter then press power ON button for at least 30secs. Put back the battery and plug in AC adapter then power ON as normal.
Remove the hard drive and pop in a bootable CD in your CD drive. Power On the laptop and see if it boots from CD drive.

Xam27 · 08-03-2008, 11:55 PM

A-Hi TriggerFinger, thanks again for your help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriggerFinger

Hi Adrian,

TF-Just a clarification. When you updated the BIOS and Vista, were you still able to boot successfully after that?

A-Yes, I am still able to boot about 2 or 3 times, out of 5 tries.

TF-When you boot, do you see any LEDs lighting up, do you hear the hard drive trying to spin and the CD/DVD drive initializing but all these stop after a few seconds?

A-Yes, that's almost exactly what happens. The power LED(S) goes (and stays blue), and the wireless LED(S) goes red/orange and also stays that way. The other 2 lights don't come on at all. The HDD LED doesn't flash. The fan spins up (and then down), but it's hard to tell if the HDD spins up. If it does, then nothing is read from it.

TF-I am asking because the symptoms you described point to a corrupt BIOS.

A-That's what I first thought, as the system doesn't seam to POST at all.

TF-About the SP1, I have doubts that you can uninstall SP1 when the laptop screen is blank.

A-Yes, that would be correct, but as I said above, I can get into the OS. So an SP1 uninstall is possible. I have read that SP1 (beta?) caused boot failure with some systems, that's why I started to suspect it might have been the problem. Especially when I discovered and updated the BIOS yet again to an even more recent version, with no perceivable change in the boot situation.
See:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/p...m=ob-61396-1&l
c=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3540082&os=2093&lang=en

TF-When you power ON, do you go past the Compaq logo splash screen? Can you at least go into BIOS settings?

A-No, when it fails to boot, nothing appears on screen at all, not even the BIOS menu. This is just an aside, but none of the indicated keys seam to actually take you to a BIOS setting page, and never have done. I guess this is something peculiar to laptops, or maybe just this one.

TF-Here's a few things I need you to try...

A-I will try these things you suggest below and get back to you ASAP. I just need to google how exactly to get at the CMOS battery, (and find my plastic tweezers!) and it will be done.

A-Actually, first, does it matter what the bootable CD is? I have a choice of XP SP2, Ubuntu 6.06, Ultimate Boot CD (DOS), and the set of Vista restore disks I created for the laptop it's self.

A-I really appreciate your very able help, TriggerFinger.

TF-

Reset CMOS. Remove the CMOS battery for 30mins at least.
Remove battery and unplug AC adapter then press power ON button for at least 30secs. Put back the battery and plug in AC adapter then power ON as normal.
Remove the hard drive and pop in a bootable CD in your CD drive. Power On the laptop and see if it boots from CD drive.

Xam27 · 08-04-2008, 12:06 AM

Oops! the HTML tags made my post a little strange, but I'm sure you'll get the idea. (-:

-Thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

**TriggerFinger** · 08-04-2008, 05:20 AM

Hmmm very strange indeed.

If you can uninstall SP1 may be it is worth a try. Also update your video drivers.

Another thing to try is to run it on battery alone or on AC adapter alone. Since the problem is intermittent you may need to run several times on each until you get something concrete. Run this also with the hard drive removed... the objective is to be able to see something on screen and enter BIOS settings.

Btw, is this still in warranty? If so, do not do anything that would void this. I suggest you better bring this back to Compaq and have it repaired or replaced.

Xam27 · 08-04-2008, 09:26 PM

Yes TriggerFinger, it's still under warranty. So I am reluctant to do anything too drastic. I have built several desk tops from scratch, and am the teck guy for my friends. So it's not like it's beyond my experience, but I wouldn't like to void my warranty. Especially if it turns out to be a failing bios chip.

I did think of just going back one version at a time, till I found one that worked. But, and as you surly know, flashing a bios is a bit of a dangerous thing to do. Not much has to go wrong and all your left with is a rather expensive paper weight! (-:

I probably should have ignored the available update in the first place, as I wasn't having any problems. It's just that HP recommended it be done. I should have known better.

But before I try anything else, I will uninstall SP1, just to make sure that's not the problem. To the best of my knowledge the video drivers are up to date.

My main problem with returning the laptop is that there is no HP/Compaq dealer around here that I know of. There is probably one in Cairns or Townsville, but both are a few hours drive from here. So the softest option for me is to do my best to fix it myself.

Please know that your help is greatly appreciated.

-Adrian
(down under)

Xam27 · 08-06-2008, 06:10 AM

Forgot to mention that I tried running on battery alone, then power adaptor alone, with the same result as before.

But I did find that you can't go from pausing the system at the bios menu, straight into setup.

All my other systems you can.

So anyway, I can now get into the bios setup pages. Although I am not sure what I can change that would make a difference.

The other thing I have discovered is that the system will boot many times successfully when it's cold, but as soon as it gets hot is when the trouble starts. So I guess it must be a hardware problem after all.

Sorry if I have wasted your time TriggerFinger.
And thanks heaps anyway.

All the best.
-Adrian

**TriggerFinger** · 08-06-2008, 08:00 AM

Correct me if I am wrong in my understanding of your last post...

Do you mean you have entered into BIOS settings? Hmmm does that also mean that your LCD screen is working at this time? If I remember right, this was one of the original problems, correct? Can you please clarify this? Is your LCD working or NOT?

As for your question if you can rollback to the previous version of the BIOS, I really doubt it. This could be best answered best by HP Support.

I really apologize but it seems you have lost me somewhere... can you clearly state what is the problem again? I ask this because in your previous post you said 'the system will boot many times successfully when it's cold' which for me is very far from the original problem about the BIOS and about the LCD.

Xam27 · 08-06-2008, 05:06 PM

Sorry if I have been unclear TriggerFinger, I'll try again.

I can get into the bios. It was my fault all along that I couldn't. I am used to being able to pause a system during start up, then selecting whichever option I want at the boot options menu. But with this laptop if you do that, the system just boots you to windows.

My boot menu says:
<ESC> Enable Startup Message
<F1> System Information
<F2> Startup Check
<F9> Change Boot Device Order
<F10> BIOS Setup Options
<F11> System Recovery

Some of these will work from "pause", but the F10 option doesn't. As I said, it just boots you to windows.

I have never thought I had a problem with the display. But I did as you suggested (tried an external display), because I didn't really know if the system was continuing to boot, and just the display was staying blank, as you suggested. It was definitly worth a shot.

About the over heating problem. I had not noticed at first that the boot failures only occurred when the system was hot, and never when it is cold. Core Temp is currently showing 50c. The laptop has been running for about an hour and not doing anything much. Okay, just downloaded and installed Thermal Analysis Tool. Core Temp reading jumped to 58c then back to 55c and is now showing 52c. After closing Core Temp and opening Thermal Analysis Tool, TAT is now showing 56c. These temps are rather high I would think.

Is it possible the the recent bios update has caused the system to run at higher temps?

-Adrian

Xam27 · 08-06-2008, 05:41 PM

With TAT placing the CPU under 100% work load for about 10 minutes, the temp climbed to 78c occasionally hitting 79c. I stopped the test, and after about 5 minutes the temp then dropped back to 60c. I then successfully restarted the system 5 times! I don't know, it's got me stuffed. Intermittent problems are definitly the hardest to diagnose.

-Adrian

**TriggerFinger** · 08-06-2008, 06:13 PM

Hi Adrian,

Just to clarify:

1. LCD is working. You can see the Compaq logo at startup, see the laptop POST or even Windows starting (assuming Windows will start).

2. Starting Windows sometimes works and sometimes it does not. No pattern as to when it starts well or not.

3. F10 works and let you enter BIOS settings. (I am not really familiar of the 'pause' thing).

4. Temps are on the high side (50+ degrees C is not alarming but on the high side, 78C is already high).

Let us start with the temps. Give the vents/heatsink a good clean. Make sure it is NOT covered by anything especially when in use. If you can open the laptop up, the clean the insides also. Use an air compressor or a can of compressed air to blow out the dust and other materials that cover the vents/heatsink.

Next is to test your RAM and harddrive. Use Memtest86+ and test the RAM modules individually (remove one while you test the other and vice versa). Run about 2 passes for each stick. As for the HDD, depending on your brand of HDD, run the HDD diagnostic. See HDD Diagnostic Tools link on my sig.

Post back what happens.

Xam27 · 08-06-2008, 08:42 PM

Hi Adrian,

Hi TriggerFinger

Just to clarify:

1. LCD is working. You can see the Compaq logo at startup, see the laptop POST or even Windows starting (assuming Windows will start).

Correct.

2. Starting Windows sometimes works and sometimes it does not. No pattern as to when it starts well or not.

Correct. I even ran the laptop up to 80c with TAT and it restarted successfully.

3. F10 works and let you enter BIOS settings. (I am not really familiar of the 'pause' thing).

Correct. Just hit pause any time before the OS starts to load.

4. Temps are on the high side (50+ degrees C is not alarming but on the high side, 78C is already high).

Correct. After several hours use, the laptop sits at 60c. But peeks at 80c during 100% usage after aprox 15 minutes.

Let us start with the temps. Give the vents/heatsink a good clean. Make sure it is NOT covered by anything especially when in use. If you can open the laptop up, the clean the insides also. Use an air compressor or a can of compressed air to blow out the dust and other materials that cover the vents/heatsink.

The laptop is only about 6 months old, and has been kept in a clean environment it's entire life. All vents look clear.

Next is to test your RAM and harddrive. Use Memtest86+ and test the RAM modules individually (remove one while you test the other and vice versa). Run about 2 passes for each stick. As for the HDD, depending on your brand of HDD, run the HDD diagnostic. See HDD Diagnostic Tools link on my sig.

The HDD is a Toshiba MK8037GSX. According to the linked page from you sig, currently, Toshiba doesn't provide diagnostic tools for hard drives. And suggests contacting your system manufacturer for further details. So will the built in HDD test (F2 in boot options) be satisfactory? It runs before the OS is loaded.

Post back what happens.

Will do. Thanks.

07-26-2008, 05:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Well, things get solved around here at a blistering pace, don't they.

07-26-2008, 05:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: LV, NV, USA Posts: 5,326 OS: DOS 6.0	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Did this happen after updating the BIOS? I have serious doubts if there is a way to reverse the effect. Based on what you described it seems to me that the laptop is booting but screen is blank. Try it with an external monitor. Observe if you get anything on screen there. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Everest Mark the THREAD as SOLVED

07-30-2008, 09:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Hi TriggerFinger, thanks for your response. I thought I set my options to receiving email notifications, but I didn't get one for your reply. Hence the late reply from me. I did as you suggested. But it still dose the same thing. The fan spins up for a few seconds but then throttles back, and both monitors stay blank. Unlike when the laptop does boot. I'm only guessing about it being a BIOS problem. It could also have been the Vista SP1 update. Stupid me did both consecutive days, and since this problem is intermittent, I may not have noticed it at first. Do you think I should try uninstalling SP1? Thanks again for your help TriggerFinger. -Adrian

07-30-2008, 10:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: LV, NV, USA Posts: 5,326 OS: DOS 6.0	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Hi Adrian, Just a clarification. When you updated the BIOS and Vista, were you still able to boot successfully after that? When you boot, do you see any LEDs lighting up, do you hear the hard drive trying to spin and the CD/DVD drive initializing but all these stop after a few seconds? I am asking because the symptoms you described point to a corrupt BIOS. About the SP1, I have doubts that you can uninstall SP1 when the laptop screen is blank. When you power ON, do you go past the Compaq logo splash screen? Can you at least go into BIOS settings? Here's a few things I need you to try... Reset CMOS. Remove the CMOS battery for 30mins at least. Remove battery and unplug AC adapter then press power ON button for at least 30secs. Put back the battery and plug in AC adapter then power ON as normal. Remove the hard drive and pop in a bootable CD in your CD drive. Power On the laptop and see if it boots from CD drive. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Everest Mark the THREAD as SOLVED Last edited by TriggerFinger : 07-30-2008 at 10:03 PM.

08-04-2008, 12:06 AM	#7 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Oops! the HTML tags made my post a little strange, but I'm sure you'll get the idea. (-: -Thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

08-04-2008, 05:20 AM	#8 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: LV, NV, USA Posts: 5,326 OS: DOS 6.0	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Hmmm very strange indeed. If you can uninstall SP1 may be it is worth a try. Also update your video drivers. Another thing to try is to run it on battery alone or on AC adapter alone. Since the problem is intermittent you may need to run several times on each until you get something concrete. Run this also with the hard drive removed... the objective is to be able to see something on screen and enter BIOS settings. Btw, is this still in warranty? If so, do not do anything that would void this. I suggest you better bring this back to Compaq and have it repaired or replaced. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Everest Mark the THREAD as SOLVED

08-04-2008, 09:26 PM	#9 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Yes TriggerFinger, it's still under warranty. So I am reluctant to do anything too drastic. I have built several desk tops from scratch, and am the teck guy for my friends. So it's not like it's beyond my experience, but I wouldn't like to void my warranty. Especially if it turns out to be a failing bios chip. I did think of just going back one version at a time, till I found one that worked. But, and as you surly know, flashing a bios is a bit of a dangerous thing to do. Not much has to go wrong and all your left with is a rather expensive paper weight! (-: I probably should have ignored the available update in the first place, as I wasn't having any problems. It's just that HP recommended it be done. I should have known better. But before I try anything else, I will uninstall SP1, just to make sure that's not the problem. To the best of my knowledge the video drivers are up to date. My main problem with returning the laptop is that there is no HP/Compaq dealer around here that I know of. There is probably one in Cairns or Townsville, but both are a few hours drive from here. So the softest option for me is to do my best to fix it myself. Please know that your help is greatly appreciated. -Adrian (down under)

08-06-2008, 06:10 AM	#10 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Forgot to mention that I tried running on battery alone, then power adaptor alone, with the same result as before. But I did find that you can't go from pausing the system at the bios menu, straight into setup. All my other systems you can. So anyway, I can now get into the bios setup pages. Although I am not sure what I can change that would make a difference. The other thing I have discovered is that the system will boot many times successfully when it's cold, but as soon as it gets hot is when the trouble starts. So I guess it must be a hardware problem after all. Sorry if I have wasted your time TriggerFinger. And thanks heaps anyway. All the best. -Adrian

08-06-2008, 08:00 AM	#11 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: LV, NV, USA Posts: 5,326 OS: DOS 6.0	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Correct me if I am wrong in my understanding of your last post... Do you mean you have entered into BIOS settings? Hmmm does that also mean that your LCD screen is working at this time? If I remember right, this was one of the original problems, correct? Can you please clarify this? Is your LCD working or NOT? As for your question if you can rollback to the previous version of the BIOS, I really doubt it. This could be best answered best by HP Support. I really apologize but it seems you have lost me somewhere... can you clearly state what is the problem again? I ask this because in your previous post you said 'the system will boot many times successfully when it's cold' which for me is very far from the original problem about the BIOS and about the LCD. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Everest Mark the THREAD as SOLVED

08-06-2008, 05:06 PM	#12 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Sorry if I have been unclear TriggerFinger, I'll try again. I can get into the bios. It was my fault all along that I couldn't. I am used to being able to pause a system during start up, then selecting whichever option I want at the boot options menu. But with this laptop if you do that, the system just boots you to windows. My boot menu says: <ESC> Enable Startup Message <F1> System Information <F2> Startup Check <F9> Change Boot Device Order <F10> BIOS Setup Options <F11> System Recovery Some of these will work from "pause", but the F10 option doesn't. As I said, it just boots you to windows. I have never thought I had a problem with the display. But I did as you suggested (tried an external display), because I didn't really know if the system was continuing to boot, and just the display was staying blank, as you suggested. It was definitly worth a shot. About the over heating problem. I had not noticed at first that the boot failures only occurred when the system was hot, and never when it is cold. Core Temp is currently showing 50c. The laptop has been running for about an hour and not doing anything much. Okay, just downloaded and installed Thermal Analysis Tool. Core Temp reading jumped to 58c then back to 55c and is now showing 52c. After closing Core Temp and opening Thermal Analysis Tool, TAT is now showing 56c. These temps are rather high I would think. Is it possible the the recent bios update has caused the system to run at higher temps? -Adrian

08-06-2008, 05:41 PM	#13 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem With TAT placing the CPU under 100% work load for about 10 minutes, the temp climbed to 78c occasionally hitting 79c. I stopped the test, and after about 5 minutes the temp then dropped back to 60c. I then successfully restarted the system 5 times! I don't know, it's got me stuffed. Intermittent problems are definitly the hardest to diagnose. -Adrian

08-06-2008, 06:13 PM	#14 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: LV, NV, USA Posts: 5,326 OS: DOS 6.0	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Hi Adrian, Just to clarify: 1. LCD is working. You can see the Compaq logo at startup, see the laptop POST or even Windows starting (assuming Windows will start). 2. Starting Windows sometimes works and sometimes it does not. No pattern as to when it starts well or not. 3. F10 works and let you enter BIOS settings. (I am not really familiar of the 'pause' thing). 4. Temps are on the high side (50+ degrees C is not alarming but on the high side, 78C is already high). Let us start with the temps. Give the vents/heatsink a good clean. Make sure it is NOT covered by anything especially when in use. If you can open the laptop up, the clean the insides also. Use an air compressor or a can of compressed air to blow out the dust and other materials that cover the vents/heatsink. Next is to test your RAM and harddrive. Use Memtest86+ and test the RAM modules individually (remove one while you test the other and vice versa). Run about 2 passes for each stick. As for the HDD, depending on your brand of HDD, run the HDD diagnostic. See HDD Diagnostic Tools link on my sig. Post back what happens. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Everest Mark the THREAD as SOLVED

08-06-2008, 08:42 PM	#15 (permalink)
Xam27 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 11 OS: XPSP2/Vista H.B. SP1	Re: Compaq presario C710TU Boot Problem Hi Adrian, Hi TriggerFinger Just to clarify: 1. LCD is working. You can see the Compaq logo at startup, see the laptop POST or even Windows starting (assuming Windows will start). Correct. 2. Starting Windows sometimes works and sometimes it does not. No pattern as to when it starts well or not. Correct. I even ran the laptop up to 80c with TAT and it restarted successfully. 3. F10 works and let you enter BIOS settings. (I am not really familiar of the 'pause' thing). Correct. Just hit pause any time before the OS starts to load. 4. Temps are on the high side (50+ degrees C is not alarming but on the high side, 78C is already high). Correct. After several hours use, the laptop sits at 60c. But peeks at 80c during 100% usage after aprox 15 minutes. Let us start with the temps. Give the vents/heatsink a good clean. Make sure it is NOT covered by anything especially when in use. If you can open the laptop up, the clean the insides also. Use an air compressor or a can of compressed air to blow out the dust and other materials that cover the vents/heatsink. The laptop is only about 6 months old, and has been kept in a clean environment it's entire life. All vents look clear. Next is to test your RAM and harddrive. Use Memtest86+ and test the RAM modules individually (remove one while you test the other and vice versa). Run about 2 passes for each stick. As for the HDD, depending on your brand of HDD, run the HDD diagnostic. See HDD Diagnostic Tools link on my sig. The HDD is a Toshiba MK8037GSX. According to the linked page from you sig, currently, Toshiba doesn't provide diagnostic tools for hard drives. And suggests contacting your system manufacturer for further details. So will the built in HDD test (F2 in boot options) be satisfactory? It runs before the OS is loaded. Post back what happens. Will do. Thanks. Last edited by Xam27 : 08-06-2008 at 09:03 PM.

08-06-2008, 08:44 PM	#16 (permalink)