Solved SSD upgrade on HP Pavilion dv6- error blue screen after insatllation

[zachs]

I've been trying to upgrade my HP pavilion dv6 3100 CTO laptop, running on windows7 64 bit, from HDD to SSD. I tried to use Samsung SSD 850 EVO. I used Macrium to clone the ssd and after installation, the windows start but then the screen shows message, "Preparing your desktop". And spinning for a long while gives me a blank blue screen with an active cursor. That's about it.

Before cloning and installing the ssd, I had done some research, but got no definite answer to solve my problem. The bios (latest version f.29- sp55299, from Insyde H20) does not allow entry into the set up at boot stage. So no matter what, there is NO option to switch to AHCI mode in the BIOS.

I did all the exercise going through regedit to modify Msahci and IastorV to 0 values, as explained in these forums, while still using the original Hitachi HDD. After that I cloned the HDD to the Samsung SSD and physically installed the SSD in the laptop.

my computer has the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) installed and the System info there shows:- "Intel AHCI Controller: Intel(R) 5 Series 4 Port SATA AHCI Controller."
Where as the Device manager still shows : "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers: Intel(R) 5Series 4 Port SATA AHCI Controller".

I am Not sure if my Computer is now on AHCI mode. I don't know why my laptop still have just a blue screen and not move on to the Desktop. I desperately want to upgrade it to SSD for speed. Right now its painfully slow.

Could you please help???

 

[TVeblen]

Hello zachs. Welcome to the forum.

I think we need to start with why you can't get into the BIOS settings. Is the laptop password protected?

 

[zachs]

I understand that in this particular model of HP laptop computers ( and a few more) that came out around 2010, the BIOS is RSA Signed and that there is no way to enter it to change to IDe /SATA to AHCI mode. Some attempts to modify the bios have resulted in bricked laptops.

 

[zachs]

No my laptop is not password protected. I understand that in this particular model of HP laptop computers ( and a few more) that came out around 2010, the BIOS is RSA Signed and that there is no way to enter it to change to IDe /SATA to AHCI mode. Some attempts to modify the bios have resulted in bricked laptops.

 

[TVeblen]

Well, this has been an education for me.

I had never heard of an RSA signed BIOS, and upon learning about "white-listed BIOS" I am shocked and appalled. These companies are hell bent in making sure the consumer cannot own anything outright, and I find that wrong.

Because the BIOS has a "white-list" of approved hardware built in, it is entirely possible that the reason you are having this problem is because the SSD is not on the list. According to what I read:

"The devious thing that HP did was that if you go out and buy a newer/better device and install it, upon cold booting the computer will check to see if that device is in the "white list". If it isn't, the computer WILL NOT BOOT"
​

So it seems that you are stuck with either buying an "approved" SSD from HP, or modding the BIOS (at risk, as you know).

Not a good position to be in. I think this warrants advising anyone to NEVER buy HP products - as this scheme is pure evil.

 

[derekimo]

Not sure if this will help, but there was another person a while back plagued by that whitelist with a network card.

http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/293403-beware-dreaded-white-list-hp-guilty-charged.html

They did get a favorable outcome by contacting HP as mentioned in this post,

OK, I have an update on all of this.


First and foremost... you can forget about modifying an RSA signed BIOS. It's a real mess. There are some enterprising hackers out there who know a thing or two about RSA security algorithms and can cobble together some hacks to get around it, but the result is generally not reliable. I read about a couple of people who had to pull their CMOS battery every 3 hours because of periodic lock-ups.

I abandoned my quest to modify the BIOS... mainly because HP stepped up to the plate. Here's what happened:

• I wrote an e-mail to HP's 'executive complaint' representatives, describing the white list issue and the significant frustration it presents for the customer. After several days, I received a phone call from HP. They left a message because I could not take the call at that time. When I called back, they put me in touch with a representative from the HP Notebook division.
• The rep from the HP Notebook division was not technical, but conducted a Q&A with me and took additional details from me. I made it clear that I was "not yet" soured with HP, but if I cannot get a good resolution I will likely not be a repeat customer. They took my details and forwarded them to someone in their technical department. I was given contact info and a ticket number so I could check on things.
• Later that same day, the rep called me back and said that they had a replacement WiFi card for me. NO CHARGE! Mind you, I am out of warranty by over a year. This was the "HP sourced" version of the same WiFi card I had tried to install previously. Anyway, we confirmed the details and I was promised that a card would be sent in the mail free of charge.
• HP had actually sent the WiFi card via Fedex, next business day. The call was on late Friday, so I would have to wait for it to ship on Monday and arrive Tuesday. It did arrive today.
• The WiFi card was a little ambiguous. I found two different model numbers, depending upon where I looked. But worst of all, the default WiFi drivers would not function. I had to install the old card again and then seek out the drivers. I also found a Realtek diagnostic utility to help. Anyway, I got the software installed and the WiFi card started working. IMMEDIATELY I noticed an improvement. Whereas before I was getting 2-3 signal strength bars, I was now getting 4-5. An astounding difference.

So...

The Ralink RT5390 is junk. They may have better WiFi cards, but I opted for Realtek and got much better performance. My laptop sits 3 floors up from where the wireless router is. My Intel cards would show about a 3-4 bar signal strength, never touching 5 bars. The Realtek is clearly better. The card? RTL8188CE. It also shows up as RTL8192SE... which is supposed to be a 300Mbps card, whereas the RTL8188CE is 150Mbps. Whatever the case, I'm doing much better now.

Bottom line: HP customer service really stepped up. I'm very impressed. The white list issue is still there, but it's not as crippling as I expected. It may be that the card supplied is actually an RTL8192SE, but was firmware re-labeled to show as an RTL8188CE so that it would pass the white list check.

It certainly can't hurt to try getting in contact with them.

 

[zachs]

Thanks, that's a lot of reading. What can I say, I'm disgusted. It's good bye to all HP products for me and for all I know.