HP All-In-One passes HP Diagnostics but wiil not start

More nightmare info... I reopened the case and the CD drive faceplate was inside, and it's position was keeping the drawer from opening. Bizarre. But it gets weirder. I put a 64 bit Windows 7 DVD in the tray, booted, got the msg about pressing any key, but pressing any key brought me to the screen that wants me to choose an operating system to start. I don't ever recall that before. But the only option is Windows Setup [EMS Enabled]. I hit <Enter>, got the Loading Files (but it took much longer to complete - about 4 minutes), but now am back ay the Starting Windows screen and it's frozen. Again. But is that Windows Setup OS normal? Shouldn't it have read Windows 7 Home Premium?

Yes that's the choice to boot the disk in some cases

The freeze you describe is common when the UEFI settings are not correct in BIOS. You want to be sure that Legacy BIOS or CSM is enabled. It should be in one of those collapsible settings you didn't expand as I asked.

You can also try booting the DVD as UEFI device since that might be how its installed now.

Another way to tell this is to boot Partition Wizard Boot CD to look at the drive map,

or run Diskpart from Command Line to see if there is an EFI Boot partition. Commands are:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SEL DISK 0 (Win7 disk)
LIST PART

Post back a camera snap or write out the partition details.

gregrocker said:

Yes that's the choice to boot the disk in some cases

The freeze you describe is common when the UEFI settings are not correct in BIOS. You want to be sure that Legacy BIOS or CSM is enabled. It should be in one of those collapsible settings you didn't expand as I asked.

Now, when I put a W7 64 disk in the tray, boot. and hit <esc> for the Startup Menu, the Boot Menu (F9) now has an item underneath the heading 'UEFI Boot Sources'. It is UEFI: hp DVD A DS8A8SH, and since it has the arrow next to it, I assume that's the first boot device.

In the BIOS
File
System Information
Contains Product Name - 120-1123w, SKU Number, Processor Type, Speed, Stepping, Cache Size, Memory Size, System BIOS - ARM_703.rom v7.03, Chassis Serial No
About - Only contains address and phone info fro HP and American Megatrends
Set Time and Date - Self Explanatory
And then the Apply Defaults and Exit, Ignore Changes and Exit, Save Changes and Exit
Storage
Device Configuration - numbers for Hard Disk and CD-ROM
Storage Options - SATA Emulation - AHCI (this item is the default) or IDE
DPS Self Test
Boot Order - We've been over that
Security
Setup Password
Power-On Password
Device Security - System Audio, Network Controller, Onboard Card Reader, SATA0, SATA1 - All have 'Device Available' next to them
USB Security - Lots of USB Ports listed - all enabled
Slot Security - Mini Card Slot - Enabled
Network Boot - Enabled
System IDs - Product Name, Serial #, SKU, UUID, Family Name, Feature Byte, Build ID - Lots of numbers
System Security - Data Execution Prevention-Enabled, Virtualization Technology-Disabled
Power
Hardware Power Management - SATA Power Management-Enabled
- S5 Maximum Power Savings-Disabled
- S5 Wake On LAN-Disabled
Thermal - Displays CPU Fan Speed (hovering about 2400 RPM)
Advanced
Power-On Options - Post Messages-Disabled, After Power Loss-Off, Post Delay(in seconds)-None
BIOS Power-On - Lists all the days of the week - all say Disabled, Lists a Time of 00:00
BUS Options - PCI SERR#-Enabled, PCI VGA Palette Snooping-Disabled
Device Options - Num Lock State at Power-On is set to On
- NIC PXE Option ROM Download - Enabled

And that's it. I'm sure the infomatio you need is in there somewhere. If you need any of the numbers, let me know.

gregrocker said:

You can also try booting the DVD as UEFI device since that might be how its installed now.

Yes, it's automatically using whatever disk I put in the tray as a UEFI device

gregrocker said:

Another way to tell this is to boot Partition Wizard Boot CD to look at the drive map,

or run Diskpart from Command Line to see if there is an EFI Boot partition. Commands are:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SEL DISK 0 (Win7 disk)
LIST PART

Post back a camera snap or write out the partition details.

Downloaded the bootable version of Partition Wizard. Got the iso, but when I tried to burn it to a CD (or DVD - I tried both) using ImgBurn, I got a Verify Failed. Layouts do not match. I just used ImgBurn last week to create the BitDefender disk. When it rains it pours.

And I seem to have no way of getting to a command prompt. Tapping F8 never gives me the Repair your Computer option - just the usual Safe Mode, SM w/N, SM w/CP, Last Good, etc...

Can you boot into Safe Mode?

IF it is booting the DVD as a UEFI device now, then try booting it as a Legacy device.

I see no settings which you typed out for Legacy BIOS, CSM or to otherwise toggle UEFI in any way except boot options. Sometimes we can spot something missed in a picture though.

So try Legacy DVD choice there.

Burn PW CD with WIndows Image Burner from rightclick menu on ISO.

Manuals here: Manuals for HP Omni 120-1123w Desktop PC | HP® Support

More on UEFI for HP: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...link=ot_search

gregrocker said:

Can you boot into Safe Mode?

I can access the screen with the F8 options. None of the 3 Safe Mode options work -the screen fills with a lot of file paths, and eventually freezes.

gregrocker said:

IF it is booting the DVD as a UEFI device now, then try booting it as a Legacy device.

I stand corrected, somewhat. A 32 bit DVD of W7 always boots as a Legacy device. The 64 bit always wants to boot as a UEFI device. I no longer seem to have the ability to change the boot priority off the Startup Menu. I can highlight the device, but pressing enter does not boot that device. I have to hit esc which will use the default boot order set in the BIOS.

gregrocker said:

I see no settings which you typed out for Legacy BIOS, CSM or to otherwise toggle UEFI in any way except boot options. Sometimes we can spot something missed in a picture though.

I supplied you with every BIOS option that was available

gregrocker said:

So try Legacy DVD choice there.

As I said above, I can only alter the boot priority through the BIOS. The BIOS has 2 sets of devices - one for UEFI and one for Legacy. I have prioritized both sets so that it will boot from a DVD first, but what particular set the PC uses seems to be beyond my control.

gregrocker said:

Burn PW CD with WIndows Image Burner from rightclick menu on ISO.

What I'm using to reply to you is an old Dell XP laptop. It has no burning software. The PC that gave me the 'Verify Failed' is another XP tower that I usually use for burning CDs and DVDs. I have a W7 tower upstairs that I'll try to use to create the PW CD.

So I created the PW boot disk. When I boot from it I get a menu with 3 choices - Boot from Partition Wizard Boot Disk, Boot From Partition Wizard Boot Disk (Safe Mode), and Boot from Hard Drive. Both of the first 2 options give me a black screen with file name paths and a lot of periods (much like the BitDefender boot disk). Then it scrolls through more black screens with white lettering before stopping at a screen that has as its last entry: pci 0000:0015.0: PCI bridge to [bus 02-02]. It just stays there. Other phrases on the page are PCI: Probing PCI hardware, PCI: Using configuration type 1 for extended access, and a whole lot of raid6: stuff.

Where is that sledgehammer?

gregrocker said:

The issue is likely a Linux disk not booting for UEFI, so boot the disk as a Legacy CD and not UEFI CD.

More on BIOS choices for HP Omni's: HP Omni Desktop PCs - BIOS Settings for the Leon Motherboard

The Boot Order section says the UEFI always has priority so you may need to find a way to force disk to boot as Legacy. It says to drag the device selected to the top after selecting it with Enter key.

Yeah, there's 2 sets of boot devices, each with their own priority, so in the BIOS I disabled the CD from UEFI and booted the Partition Wizard. No difference. Same non result.

gregrocker said:

If not then the flash stick method will need to be altered using Option One in UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows to boot as a UEFI installer. This is also worth a try since you want an alternative to disk that will boot as either UEFI or Legacy.

I probably won't get to this until tomorrow. I am filled with a complete lack of confidence that it will do anything to erase the total disappointment with which every step has bludgeoned me. No offense to you gr. You've been great.

Can you arrow down to select the Legacy DVD and then HD, select enter, then drag each to the very top as the tutorial implies you can do? This may be why HD is not booting because it's attempting UEFI HD boot since that is higher in the priority list.

I would also disable Floppy if not remove it from the PC as this alone can cause a PC not to boot or function correctly.

At this point I think there's still the chance you are missing a setting elsewhere in BIOS that enables/disables Legacy. But it could be as simple as a bad installer not able to boot either as UEFI or Legacy when trying both.

I have asked for more help on this. There may be others who know these older All-In-Ones and the type of hybrid early UEFI they had.