Member Avatar for savvy422

Hey guys,

I have a whole host of issues to ask about - pretty bad for a new poster. :) Thanks in advance for your help.

I have a 3-year-old Pavilion dv6000 with Vista. Yesterday morning, when I tried to start it up, it never reached the login screen - just goes black, with no cursor. From the HP screen I can access the advanced menus, but attempting to start up in Safe Mode, or the last best configuration, or even to Repair the computer, does not work - it all goes to the black screen. I did run a hard drive scan and there seems to be no problem there (thank heaven).

From what I've gathered from other sources, I'm assuming it's an issue with the operating system. Meaning I'll need to back up my hard drive, then use the Vista (or Windows 7 upgrade) CD to restore the problem. Does this sound correct? I've tried all sorts of methods at startup, and nothing has worked thus far.

The other issue is the fact that I'm in Belgium until the first week in August. I have no idea where to go to buy an external hard drive, or an English version of the Windows 7 upgrade. I also would (obviously) rather not pay hundreds of dollars to ship the laptop to the States. Any ideas? Any advice and/or suggestions would be really, really helpful.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Mocha67
Member Avatar for finito

Hmm, I see your predicament.

I am sure you can send it to UK instead.
But lets try to figure out what is wrong with your computer first.

Do you have a recovery Disk?

if not then May I recommend Linux Open source?

Either way we need to make sure that your computer is still functioning properly.

So I suggest you goto LinuxMint.com Download and burn it on a CD.
Set your boot to CD A menu will appear where you should select Try or Load LinuxMint I forgot the exact wording but it's the first option.

Once inside you will have a full fledged OS running from your CD Drive so it will be a little slow.

From here you can tell that your system is still alive and well, and now you can back up your drive.

Once you have backed up your drive you are back to square one. You need an OS.

You have the option of requesting one from HP or you can go out and buy it or just use Linux mint it is a very nice OS.

If nothing else you will be able to use your computer till HP sends you the CD.

Enjoy the world of OpenSource...

Member Avatar for savvy422

Hi - thanks so much for the advice; no, I do not have a recovery disk with me.

I downloaded the Linux software & have it on a CD as an .iso file - however, my laptop won't boot from the CD?

I have the CD drive as #1 in my BIOS boot order.

Edited by savvy422 because: n/a
Member Avatar for finito

Hmm you need to burn the ISO to The Cd with an ISO burner.

Here is a good open source one http://infrarecorder.org/?page_id=5

.ISO is an image file it wont boot, you have to extract it to CD.

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