HP Pavilion 9680C & factory supplied Recovery Disks

[James_16]

Is there an inherent problem with this system and/or win98SE?? Is there a hidden secret to restore to the original factory settings?? Problematic from the beginning, I originally had partial successes in debugging with HP's warranty help. I also improved operation by deactivating all unneeded system components. I could never completely debugged the system but made it usuable. Now that the system is out of warranty, the system crashes and lockup frequency increased dramatically. My attempts to restore or format/restore the system (with and without HP's help) remains the same:

1. HP's instructions and restoration disks (original and replacement set) do not work. The system locks up immediately after booting.

2. Attempts at restoring directly from Windows, Windows Safe mode, and a Win98SE recovery floppy had the same lockup results.

Any suggestions other than trashing the unit would be most appreciated

[Sebastien Parayre]

Hi,

My only suggestion as this point would be to verify the BIOS version, and compare it with the one on the HP support site. If it match the one on the support site, Flash it any way, it might just be that the Bios is damage. I would then leave all settings as default and try those HP recovery discs again. Lastly, if you have more then one Pavilion same model, and it is the only one behaving this way then it might need a hardware replacement.

HP support site:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/swindexes/hppavilion19332_swen.html

[James_16]

Sebastien Parayre

Thanks for the input and wish that had been the solution. I resolved my Win98se system stability problem by upgrading to Win2000. This leaves me without drivers for audio, CD Writer, DSL or 56k modem, and multi-function (fax, phone, scanner).

My conclusion is my HP is a real lemon and I have wasted to much time. I am in the process of searching for a replacement (other than HP). As I cannot in good conscience sell this to others, I will trash it.

[Roger Faucher]

Have you explored the possibility that there is a heat problem with the system? Make sure all the fans are running and have a reasonable coast time. Coast time is the time the fan continues to turn after power is removed. If a fan stops abruptly after removing power, there is something wrong with it and it should be replaced, even if it still turns. Another thing that can cause heat buildup is something blocking/obstructing the flow of air through the case. Dust can accumulate on the vent holes in the front of the machine (you may have to remove the front cover to view this) or on the vent holes on the power supply (inside the machine). Let us know how things go.

[Roger Faucher]

Me again:

Check out the following web page re: Pavilions and WIN2K. Not a lot of help but some.

http://www.hp.com/cposupport/swindexes/hppavilion19332_swen.html

[debra shepard]

did you have any luck with the replacement recovery disks......they have not worked for me