Trouble With HP Pavilion 6630

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted but I'm working on a Pavilion 6630, 500 Celeron, 128 RAM, Windows 98, nightmare for my boss.

This little thing has me baffled quite badly. I have cleaned up all the garbage from this system of my boss's. Still, it has a nightmare of a time loading the desktop. The computer ran very quickly when Norton AV 2004 was removed, temporarily. Now that it's in, I see what he was talking about when he meant SLOW!

The biggest thing is that about every 2 to 3 restarts, the thing loads but my "clouds" desktop will not appear but remains white with all the icons loaded as well as the startup items loaded. When I see this, I know that a Cont-Alt-Delete will show me that "Explorer" is "not responding" It is when this happens that another Cont-Alt-Delete in order to restart the machine.

The trouble is that, during these times, a skandisk will show to be required and, if let run, will turn into a "thorough" skandisk after the initial one. I have, when the machine loads perfectly, ran skandisk (quick and thorough), sfc, name it. All is well with this machine after these things so it's like there is NO problem with it, yet there kind of obviously IS a problem with it.

The only way to get it to load properly again is to, so far, run "scanreg /fix', which seems to do the job. Trouble is that this seems to knock out the settings for the LAN in "winipcfg" every time which I have to correct afterward.

These may be the best clues I have for you all to ponder:

When this machine is loaded, it is VERY picky about being pushed ever so gently and so much as calling for a Control Panel window or whatever, too soon, will give it the creeps and the nightmare starts all over again for me. I also noticed, after installing the new LiteOn burner, that it cannot even load a simple program without blue-screening a read error which, if I tap any key, goes away and the program keeps loading from the CD ROM.

It's like the system is a weakling, with any little jolt causing the aforementioned problems. I cannot give the machine back the way it is.

Does anyone know what is going on here? The machine runs tickety-boo when it DOES run. It just runs like molasses in January if Norton AV is in it. Without the AV, it reboots like a scalded dog. Boss mentioned Norton as a "terribly slow" thing to deal with in it. I got the machine because the original CD ROM was fried and, having an accidental music disk left in it, wouldn't load up at all. That's how this all started. I promised him a care-free machine after I looked it all over. My mistake????

So now what???? He claims that he couldn't even do a System Restore with his HP disc....that it would stop part ways........and now I believe him. It looks like both CD ROMS couldn't be allowed to do their job without the system getting sketchy on them.

What is causing this lamer PC such grief when AV is in? Why is installing so much as a simple program a big deal to this thing? Why even the System Restore problem? What is the sure fire way of "manning up" this little wimp?

Thanx in advance all ye people of a greater knowledge than me.

UPDATE:

Once in a while, if I wait long enough after a "scanreg /fix ", a "Restore My Active Desktop" dialog comes up and I click to restore it and the PC loads up the way it should but my network (winipcfg) still has to be tweaked back to the ethernet card c/w "release then renew ". This is VERY weird, to say the least.

ANYONE???????

UPDATE 2 & QUESTION

So I got a hold of the boss and he will bring in the Restore Disc he couldn't make run. I think if I loosen (disable Norton completely) the system up, it will finish a restore for me vs. how it wouldn't for him. This machine has never been restored and has been through the mill a bit.

SO.......does anyone think that the best cure for this sick chicken is the proverbial axe? (Back up everything, then restore)???

Also, what's with this sytem and how I can't obtain all the necessary drivers for it so that I can go with XP or something else? Is HP always like this or am I so daft as to not be able to find any driver downloads for it? Is it all about these "magic" Restore discs or what with HP??? I love custom boxes. I hate these proprietary things.

Randy

 

That's I would do. Sounds like it has a sick registry.
Back up everything! Afterwards you could try some tricks like Regclean, but I would bet that it slow down again even if that worked in the short term.
Get rid of "View my desktop as a webpage ", if a pretty picture is needed, save it a .bmp file under the Windows folder, it will come up in the list of destops to select.
After you WIPE and "restore" try to get rid of any unneeded baggage (in Add/remove programs). When all the basics are installed, then install Norton AV.

Sorry I can't offer a "quick fix ".

Matt
PS Build him a new machine ASAP

 

Pavilion 6630 Won't Boot!

Hi,

I posted earlier, dealing with this Pavilion 6630.

I have now backed up the data and it will NOT boot from the new CDRW with HP's Disc 1 of 2 of, no matter what. Apparently, my boss had similar experiences with this machine and it's old CD ROM.

In SETUP, I made darn sure it is set to boot from CD ROM first, HD last.

Yet, in another part of SETUP, ( "Main ") it recognizes the HD as primary master but it doesn't see the CDRW as the secondary master it physically is.

I REALLY need to get this thing "restored ", folks.......I REALLY need to get that done ASAP, as people are wondering what the heck I'm doing already. (not to mention impending loss of my mind)

Anyone help this poor canuck????

Randy

FALSE ALARM: I GOT IT!!!!!

Apparently, had I have actually set the jumpers on the CDRW, originally, to "master ", rather than "slave ", things would have been okay.

Thanx anyway, everyone!

MORE TROUBLE???????
So now the Recovery Disc system works all the way up until you choose either "Recovery" or "Format & Recovery" (which you can choose either but.....) it seems to freeze up right at that point. That's probably what the owner was talking about when he said it wouldn't work but stopped part ways.

HELP?????????????

 

Help From Hp Site

Hi,

I found this page on the HP site:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&product=59927&dlc=en&docname=bph07140#N100C9

If you scroll down to the heading "The recovery process starts, then gives an error or locks up ", there is reference to a step by step method of initializing the System Recovery process.

I have gone this route and although the steps are many and one almost loses faith in the whole thing, the PC is now giving me quite the black & white light show in DOS and the recovery process seems to be taking place.

Please take note of how one is instructed to watch out for and answer no to, any of 3 lines, them being either of DRVSPACE, DBLSPACE, or DWCFGMG.

This particular computer only had answer no to one of them as it was the only one of 3 that ever showed up. Unfortunately, I somehow missed step 7 and onward but it's installing everything using a dos display.

Stay tuned and I'll tell you whether I get it done or whether I had to start over and watch for step 7. Watch for "Update from me.

UPDATE 1:

Okay....so I got it loaded somehow this way but since I didn't have to use CD2, I didn't feel well so I tried the Recovery process as it was intended to work and this time it went off like a charm, without freezing like last time so stay tuned for "UPDATE 2 ", okay?

Randy

UPDATE 2

All is well again. The Restore never did require the second disc. It would appear that it is for restoring bundled software only. I think they wanted people to use it rather than to use the 1st disc and end up formatting their systems or something.

Yep......old HP runs like a.......well....an HP with a small Celeron

Seriously, though, it does not resemble the train wreck it was when I got it. It's got that "out of the box" look on the desktop, c/w all the stuff he'll never use but end up clicking on anyways and confusing himself. Maybe it'll help make him feel like he got SO much more with it then I did with my custom. I hope so.

Thanx for trying,
Randy

 

Well done Randy and thanks for the "blow by blow" description . Others may take heart that it is now not "impossible ".

When he's finished with it you should mount it as a trophy

Matt

 

Hey, there, mattman!

Thanx for the the last post. At least someone can appreciate what all happened here the last few days.

Oh, he got the machine today and is probably setting up his dial-up (you read correctly) modem in it through his ISP. I told him to "try before you buy" and to set it up at his house before he pays me for the fiasco.

Yes......the thing turned out just as sweet as it ever was and even with pretty much everything, including the refrigerator, running at startup, it actually ran a lot faster than when I got it and then reduced the startup load to bare bones. It restarts without skandisk prompts.......reasonably quick restarts......all the cool stuff it was meant to do. He hasn't called me yet tonight but will.

Maybe he's having his picture taken, standing beside his "Baby" or something. Like you said.......it should end up being my trophy some day.

Yep......this machine definitely goes into the annals of "things I should have never touched ". No money on this planet will ever compensate me but the experience of it and the success against all odds makes it all good to me.

Thanx for backing me up on the thought of taking the proverbial sick chicken and treating it to the proverbial axe. It was the best thing that I could have done.

You were just great for posting in the first time and made me feel great the second time you did it.

Long live the custom PC!

Long live us, for that matter!

Randy

P.S. I just thought of something. Would you not like to show this machine off, down under???? It may be available for a small fortune now, you know.

(Actually.......it belongs down under all right......about 6 feet down under the ground surface somewhere......make that 3 feet.......it screams for a shallow grave)

 

Hi Randy,
You had quite an ordeal to say the least! Computers, at times, can be so miserable and sometimes so sweet, talk about Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde! Glad you hung in there to bring the sick child back. I have no good things to say about Norton products with one of the problems you mentioned caused by Norton, slow booting, as good enough reason to avoid them.