Norseman   10 #1 Posted October 30, 2017 Hello,  I came to turn on the pc today only to find it will only start in like a really basic HP mode.  I have been able to start the machine up in safe mode and can view all my folders, docs etc however I cannot get the machine to open windows normally.  This occurred the first time 9 months after purchase and pc world restored the pc back to the factory settings, today this has happened again. Will I therefore need to restore again please back to the factory settings?  The machine is a Hewlett Packard i3 running windows 7 pro 64 bit, a 1TB HD and a huge memory  I did get a message up once to state there was a driver or mwtx or similar issue but only saw it briefly before it continued on.  Everything seems fine in safe mode however when I try to start windows normally it goes into the HP basic set up, all icons except the set up ones are missing.  Any help or assistance appreciated - thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
swarfendor437 Â Â 14 #2 Posted October 30, 2017 It sounds a bit like a graphics driver issue? Have you tried using System Restore to an earlier time? If you do a factory reset you will lose all your data and if this turns out to be the only solution see if you can save your data to an external hard drive - there may be issues trying to connect hardware in safe mode so you may need to run a live GNU/Linux distro to access your data to back up elsewhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Mikes10 Â Â 10 #3 Posted October 31, 2017 Are you sure its safe mode? Â When Windows 7 is in safe mode there is text in the four corners of the screen saying 'Safe Mode' Â Â My Windows 7 32-bit occassionally starts up as if the graphics driver is missing( low res mode), thus the screen resolution is 640/480 Â I changed the graphics card and it appeared to have cured the problem, I say appeared because sometimes still starts in low res mode, but for the last couple of months its been fine. Â If the problem reappears I will change the CMOS battery, maybe you can change the CMOS battery on yours and report the result. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
woah   10 #4 Posted October 31, 2017 Could you explain a bit more about HP basic mode - for example, you mention there are shortcuts for setup. What does this setup do?  It'd also be interesting to know if anything happens when you press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. If anything does happen, see if Task Manager is an option and open it. Then in Task Manager, click File > Run, type explorer in the run bar, and press enter. Does anything happen? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Norseman   10 #5 Posted November 14, 2017 Could you explain a bit more about HP basic mode - for example, you mention there are shortcuts for setup. What does this setup do? It'd also be interesting to know if anything happens when you press CTRL+ALT+DELETE. If anything does happen, see if Task Manager is an option and open it. Then in Task Manager, click File > Run, type explorer in the run bar, and press enter. Does anything happen?  it took me a while to fathom it out, apparently its the same thing that occurred 9 months after the initial purchase. There is a driver missing so the pc starts in safe mode, backed up a few files and folders I hadn't done for a while and then went through the process of restoring and reformatting the hard drive.  I can categorically state I did a far superior job of it than pc world did the first time as I got all the keys working and shortcut keys on the keyboard. Pc world messed that up severely and i'm not a trained technician!  The only thing I can't get to work is the sound card but then again pc world didn't get that working either.  I know one thing I'll never take out a warranty with pc world again, what a complete waste of time and money  Any thoughts on how I can get the sound card to work please?  Thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Mikes10   10 #6 Posted November 14, 2017 one) Right click the Computer Icon on the desktop Click Properties (last item in the menu) Click Device Manager (upper left hand column)  Are there any devices marked with a Red, Yellow, or Black symbol? especially the Sound video and game controller.  If yes try upating the device.    two) Open the control panel With view by large icons selected Select Sound  Select the playback tab A list of devices that can be modified will be displayed For example a device marked Speakers can be right-clicked and set as default.   That's my best shot at helping with your problem Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
swarfendor437 Â Â 14 #7 Posted November 15, 2017 Another method would be to remove the device in device manager, shut down and reboot to see if Windows kicks in with its own driver search. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Norseman   10 #8 Posted November 16, 2017 one) Right click the Computer Icon on the desktop Click Properties (last item in the menu) Click Device Manager (upper left hand column)  Are there any devices marked with a Red, Yellow, or Black symbol? especially the Sound video and game controller.  If yes try upating the device.    two) Open the control panel With view by large icons selected Select Sound  Select the playback tab A list of devices that can be modified will be displayed For example a device marked Speakers can be right-clicked and set as default.   That's my best shot at helping with your problem  I've done everything listed above and according to the information all the relevant drivers are installed however on doing the test nothing happens....there is no sound. I increased the volume and fiddled with numerous settings and the sound still doesn't come out. I tried a different port thinking it could be that however to no avail....but thank you  ---------- Post added 16-11-2017 at 19:07 ----------  Another method would be to remove the device in device manager, shut down and reboot to see if Windows kicks in with its own driver search.  I just did this, all drivers are now installed and according to the system the sound is fine.....but there's still no sound coming out...............aargh! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
spider1 Â Â 11 #9 Posted November 16, 2017 If you cant sort take it to Gosh Mozolan at BYTE computers he will sort it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
swarfendor437   14 #10 Posted November 16, 2017 I've done everything listed above and according to the information all the relevant drivers are installed however on doing the test nothing happens....there is no sound. I increased the volume and fiddled with numerous settings and the sound still doesn't come out. I tried a different port thinking it could be that however to no avail....but thank you ---------- Post added 16-11-2017 at 19:07 ----------   I just did this, all drivers are now installed and according to the system the sound is fine.....but there's still no sound coming out...............aargh!  Hi, can you please state which sound card/chip set model it is please? Also have you checked the cable connection from the speakers is going into the green socket at the back of the PC? Another avenue to consider is to install any missing codecs - download K-Lite Codec pack from here:  https://ninite.com/ - its under Media.  Keep us posted! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Norseman   10 #11 Posted November 29, 2017 Hi, can you please state which sound card/chip set model it is please? Also have you checked the cable connection from the speakers is going into the green socket at the back of the PC? Another avenue to consider is to install any missing codecs - download K-Lite Codec pack from here: https://ninite.com/ - its under Media.  Keep us posted!  Ok a long awaited update  There's definitely a Windows issue as I restored it back to the factory settings and a week later it did it again following a similar crash. I've restored the PC back to the original factory settings, unplugged it and will be listing it on ebay at some point. I can state I won't buy another HP from my experiences with this one and certainly not from the so called professionals at pc word.  The speakers never worked either however I found out the speakers were faulty.  I bought another pc and this is not only quiet running but I'm really impressed with it, windows 10 is somewhat interesting but I'm sure i'll get used to it  On the chipset front it was a P6-2000 series 6 if this helps at all  Thanks everyone for your comments and assistance, maybe the HP is a quick fix however I'm past caring to be honest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
swarfendor437 Â Â 14 #12 Posted December 1, 2017 Put Makulu Flash on it before you get rid of it - it might just work! Â Â https://sourceforge.net/projects/makulu/files/Flash/MakuluLinux-13-Flash-Full-DevBuild-1.1.75-x64.iso/download Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...