Windows 7 is very unstable & glitchy after install. How can I fix it?

Hello, I am fairly new to this forum, so please forgive me if I make a mistake or put this in the wrong section. My friend has an HP dv4-2145dx that he needs me to install Windows 7 back on for him. His original HDD went bad, so he put in a new 500GB HDD and I purchased a reinstallation disc for the OS and reactivated it with the original key, which worked fine. Windows has been activated and verified. However, updating this computer has proven to be a major headache. Windows updates are getting stuck on the "checking for updates" screen, as well as driver updates. Neither seem to want to function properly. When trying to perform a recommended BIOS update, the cursor went haywire and several various windows randomly popped up and flickered all around. The machine was unresponsive for about a minute and then let me close all of the windows one by one, and could only close the top-most window each time. I have considered that possibly the DVD drive could have been dirty and could have corrupted the installation of 7, so I wiped the HDD again and reinstalled Windows 7 a second time but from a working external DVD drive. However, I got the same results. Also, I do have high speed internet and am connected via an Ethernet cable.

I ran the system file checker tool, which did find and supposedly fixed some missing .DLL files, but even after running it several times, the issues persist. I am stumped on this one and am starting to think I am experiencing serious hardware issues or perhaps received a bad installation disc. The charging circuit in the laptop is already fried and the laptop runs hot and loud, which I know from experience is a common fatal issue with these older HP's.

I do have about 7-8 years of self-taught computer experience and have been able to resolve a wide variety of issues on many computers, however I am still learning and I am strapped for time on this computer. I have tried several of the fixes that I know but none proved helpful. I was wondering if the memory could have an issue so I just ran RAM diagnostic tests, with no errors found. Please let me know of any more info you need and/or specs. Thanks in advance!

A moderator may move this post but I'll reply anyway.

Sounds like you have quite a few problems, potentially hardware. Have you tried testing from boot using something like Hiren's Boot CD and then seeing if it is a hardware problem that can be isolated. When I urgently need to use a laptop and the operating system isn't working I tend to use a linux live cd, which can also be booted from a pen drive. I am then able to see if the laptop is working properly at all (you will be running through ram - just don't install). Try Ubuntu

I am going through many problems with Windows Update at the moment (I have a few posts on this under my username). It is even causing family disputes! See if you can turn off the whole updating process (including for drivers) so that the cpu/processor is working minimally. The update process is causing high resource use. Try KB3102810 and it is worth looking at some of the other posts in this section to see that you are not isolated in this problem.

Other than that another member may have additional suggestions but a hardware test using Hiren's Boot CD is a good starting point.

Additional issues may be:

- Did the BIOS upgrade work?
- The charging circuit could be a problem.
- Is there any way to keep the laptop cool using a laptop cooler?
- Is the processor & fan cover blocked i.e. full of dust?
- Do you have a retail copy of the appropriate Windows 7 and not the installation disk? Enter the product key at the back of the laptop and just try to update the necessary drivers one by one.

Hope this helps as a start.

Hello, thanks for the reply! I have not yet tried Hiren's Boot CD. I will try that method if all else fails. One thing that I find odd is that after many hours of failed update attempts, I get the program compatibility Assistant screen pop up that states "Windows requires a digitally signed driver" and states that the driver is the RawDisk Driver. I have ran HDD diagnostics with the Seagate tools which found no faults, however, in the Windows Device Manager, the HDD just comes up as "ST500L T012-1DG142 ATA Device" and where is is supposed to provide the manufacturer's name, it just says "(standard disk drives)." In addition there's another "unknown device" that hasn't been installed and I cannot figure out what it is supposed to be. All driver update attempt to track it down have failed. I did type in the model number stated above for the HDD online to find more info on it and found out it is a Seagate HDD but had trouble locating/installing the driver. Any ideas as to whether or not this might be one of the issues causing all of this?

Another thing I'd like to point out is that he had Linux installed on here for a little while as a temporary OS before handing it to me. I have absolutely 0% experience with any other OS's than Windows. Could I have missed a critical step along the way of the installation that's not normally needed? I did perform a complete HDD reformat and reinstalled Windows 7 fresh...

Found out that the missing driver is for the HP 3D DriveGuard Software. Downloaded it, and when attempting to install it, it says "HP 3D DriveGuard cannot install, the Accelerometer hardware is not present or supported on this unit." Even when I think I'm onto something and gonna make progress, it keeps leading to more issues...

Also, upon checking the box to display the error log, I get error 2372 "Directory manager not initialized." I am actually laughing at this point because of how ridiculous this is becoming...

My main experience has been with Toshiba laptops and I never seem to have these HP type of problems (this is why I stuck with Toshiba!).

Your model has a page which you may or may not have seen. From what I can see you would get most driver updates from here. When I type in your HDD in device manager into google I get this so perhaps you shouldn't worry too much about it.

Have a look at this video or this article on digitally signed drivers. It is probably worth sorting out this problem first.

From my experience of installing drivers some of them have to be done in order for the whole installation process to be successful.

Are you sure you have the right recovery disk? I used to work with someone in the UK who should know about these things. If you send me a private message I can give you his company details and you can contact him (probably better by phone if you can afford the call during standard UK working hours).

Try looking at the digitally signed drivers problem first. Whenever you get a particular error message type it into google and pick the simplest solution first.

Don't worry about Linux or Ubuntu for now but it is worth learning about when you get the time.

Hi 77,
From what youve posted,
The repurchased OS were they new HP system disc?, or a download. just for my info.
The major problem i see is the DUAL boot, 7 must be the primary.
I would >>clean<< install, with ONLY W7 to start with (single partition).
Update the BIOS (note this is not allways required see what the benefits are, if any)
then complete all the updates.
If Linux is required now install it.

As for the hot running that will cause problems as it will just shut itself down, and if its in the middle of an update install session, it will just keep looping and get hotter and hotter not a good senario

Roy

MrNickknack77 said:

I did perform a complete HDD reformat and reinstalled Windows 7 fresh...

From what I can see MrNickknack77 does not have dual boot Windows/Linux.

Agree on finding/downloading the latest system disk.

Agree on the BIOS although I thought MrNickknack77 had already done that. Worth going into F10 (or whatever is correct for HP) and seeing what the BIOS version is. The download link is on this page under BIOS.

Are all these updates really necessary or perhaps creating additional problems?

Hot running. Possibly also dust in cpu/blocked vent?

Personally I would avoid dual booting with Linux as you will have to shrink the relevant windows volume and install linux with grub. Far better to boot it from a pen drive, cd or just install Linux on a separate laptop. That's my 2¢...