Initial Boot: Hangs after BIOS Splash Screen

davidvkimball

davidvkimball

Lumia Fanatic
Member
Messages
117
Location
Seattle, WA
I have a strange problem on my Windows 8 machine.

I've had my HP Pavilion p6331p for at least four years now and I upgraded it to Windows 8 a few months ago.

I recently have done a clean install of Windows 8, but one problem seems persistent.

When I turn on my computer, it splashes the HP Pavilion BIOS screen and then hangs at a blank screen with a white "_" blinking (as if it was looking for a drive to boot from).

If I hit the "esc" key during boot, however, it loads the boot menu, displaying my hard drive, the DVD drive, and my external hard drive. When I select the main drive, it boots up just fine.

Any reason for this? One individual suggested I update my BIOS because it's a 2010 version. Any tips on how to do that? I've never upgraded BIOS before, and frankly I'm a bit intimidated to.

Thanks for your help, I'll be willing to supply more information if you need it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z97-A LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GTX750TI-OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP
    Sound Card
    NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz 1ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD 3D and 20" 2009m HP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 and 1600 x 900
    Hard Drives
    Intel 730 Series 2.5" 240GB SSD (OS + programs) WD Blue 1 TB HDD: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM (personal files)
    PSU
    Antec HCG M Series HCG-620M 620W ATX12V
    Case
    AZZA Solano 1000 Black Japanese SECC Steel/Metal mesh in front MicroATX/ATX/Full ATX
    Cooling
    Fans. Everywhere. (but they're surprisingly silent)
    Keyboard
    HP USB keyboard, 6 ft cable, Height: 1.1 inch, Width: 6.3 inches, Length: 17.3 inches
    Mouse
    HP USB mouse, 6 ft cable,
    Internet Speed
    36 Mbps download, 6 Mbps upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + MalwareBytes
Try resetting the BIOS.

Power off, unplug the power cord.
Open the case.
Remove the CMOS battery (silver, about the size of a quarter).
Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds to let all the capacitors drain.
Put the battery back in.
Check all the cables and connectors, make sure they are firmly seated.
Close the case.
Plug in the power cord and power up.

You will get an error message about corrupted CMOS, Press F1 or F2. Press the key to go into Setup.
Load defaults(Fn key or a selection on one of the screens).
Save and exit.

See if that makes a difference.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Hi there
Another possible cause is that this can sometimes happen if you have several USB devices (especially USB 3) connected when booting.

If you do simply unplug them and re-boot -- connect afterwards. I see you have an external drive -- try unplugging that and re-boot.

Ensure also that your windows update is run and all the USB drivers are up to date. You might also need a BIOS update from HP - but be careful when doing these otherwise you can get really hosed up.

Cheers
jimbo
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I just had this same thing happen on a PC that I'm fixing for my son's friend and I had to set the BIOS to "fail safe mode" to get it to boot into Windows. Now I'm going through the BIOS, changing one setting at a time, then booting into Windows to be sure it's not causing a problem. eventually, I'll figure out what setting was causing the problem. Takes a lot of something I don't have much of... patience! Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
davidvkimball said:
I have a strange problem on my Windows 8 machine.

I've had my HP Pavilion p6331p for at least four years now and I upgraded it to Windows 8 a few months ago.

I recently have done a clean install of Windows 8, but one problem seems persistent.

When I turn on my computer, it splashes the HP Pavilion BIOS screen and then hangs at a blank screen with a white "_" blinking (as if it was looking for a drive to boot from).

If I hit the "esc" key during boot, however, it loads the boot menu, displaying my hard drive, the DVD drive, and my external hard drive. When I select the main drive, it boots up just fine.

Any reason for this? One individual suggested I update my BIOS because it's a 2010 version. Any tips on how to do that? I've never upgraded BIOS before, and frankly I'm a bit intimidated to.

Thanks for your help, I'll be willing to supply more information if you need it.
Click to expand...
I assume your HDD is shown first, right? If yes, try doing an automatic repair. Just search for automatic repair using the the forum search. Not convenient for me to provide a link right now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
Boot order in the bios? It could be trying to boot form a USB device, like Jimbo suggested. This doesnt sound like a windows issue at all. Something in the boot order...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top