Laptop took a dump

drkelly

drkelly

Dipstick who put two vehicles on jack stands
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Oak Ridge/Stokesdale, NC
We have an HP laptop that we bought new about 5 yrs ago. It started getting slow about 2 yrs ago, so I installed some anti-virus software that a couple of people on here recommended. That helped, but now all of the sudden last week the computer doesn't work at all. I can get it to power on, but I can't do ANYTHING. It boots up, but I can't open any programs or do anything. It acts like it is frozen up. I have restarted it probably 10-15 times and it is the same thing every time. Help?
 
drkelly said:
We have an HP laptop that we bought new about 5 yrs ago. It started getting slow about 2 yrs ago, so I installed some anti-virus software that a couple of people on here recommended. That helped, but now all of the sudden last week the computer doesn't work at all. I can get it to power on, but I can't do ANYTHING. It boots up, but I can't open any programs or do anything. It acts like it is frozen up. I have restarted it probably 10-15 times and it is the same thing every time. Help?
Click to expand...

Reformat and reinstall windows 10.
 
Shut down the notebook. Tap away at the esc key as you start the notebook to enter the Start-up Menu. Select the Bios option ( usually f10 ) and under the Advanced or Diagnostic tab you should find the facility to run tests on both the Hard Drive and Memory.
h30434.www3.hp.com

My Hp Laptop freezes at the startup screen.. Help!

I've had this computer for a long time and unfortuantely I've had major issues with it. Last night it was working perfectly and then when I tried to turn the computer on, it loaded and went to the startup screen with the microsoft logo and from there it got stuck. I tried to hit F11 and do a...
h30434.www3.hp.com h30434.www3.hp.com
 
Loudmouthbass said:
Shut down the notebook. Tap away at the esc key as you start the notebook to enter the Start-up Menu. Select the Bios option ( usually f10 ) and under the Advanced or Diagnostic tab you should find the facility to run tests on both the Hard Drive and Memory.
h30434.www3.hp.com

My Hp Laptop freezes at the startup screen.. Help!

I've had this computer for a long time and unfortuantely I've had major issues with it. Last night it was working perfectly and then when I tried to turn the computer on, it loaded and went to the startup screen with the microsoft logo and from there it got stuck. I tried to hit F11 and do a...
h30434.www3.hp.com h30434.www3.hp.com
Click to expand...
I tried that and it did pull up that diagnostic screen but I wasn't able to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to do there. I'm a moron when it comes to fixing computers.
 
shawn said:
Reformat and reinstall windows 10.
Click to expand...
I don't have the windows software. I guess it would cost me 100 bucks to buy it.
 
drkelly said:
I don't have the windows software. I guess it would cost me 100 bucks to buy it.
Click to expand...
There are stil lways to ge ta free upgrade to 10 from 7...
 
Ron said:
Help the good Dr out bad Dr
Click to expand...

There's no trick. Just download win 10 and use the OEM license key from the sticker. If you have it registered at MS online, you can assign the license that way, too.
 
shawn said:
There's no trick. Just download win 10 and use the OEM license key from the sticker. If you have it registered at MS online, you can assign the license that way, too.
Click to expand...
Should there be a sticker on the bottom of the computer? It looks like one used to be there. My son used to like to peel stickers off everything.
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
What model HP? hopefully intel processor
your going to want 8gb of ram min and then reload win 10.
Click to expand...
I don't know the model. There aren't any numbers on it. I'm guessing the model number was on the now missing sticker.

The computer is about 5 yrs old. I was able to get into the settings menu, and it appears to have 6 GB of ram
 
Last edited:
drkelly said:
I was able to get into the settings menu
Click to expand...
In windows?

Right click on "my computer", select properties, and get the product ID code off that page. It'll be an alphanumeric 20-digit code. That's what you need to reinstall windows if you don't have the license sticker.

Were you able to run the memory or HD checks in bios?
 
shawn said:
99% of fixing computers is googling problems and following instructions.
Click to expand...
Irony: you haave to have a working computer to do this.
 
At some point in time, OEMs started including the Win key somehow baked into the BIOS, and not even putting a real sticker on the machine. This has bee na Dell thing for several years, don't know about HP.
The convenience of it is if you just start up w/ an OS reload image, it (somehow) magically knows it and it just works.

See here for extracting your current key
www.howtogeek.com

How to Find Your Lost Windows or Office Product Keys

Lost your product key, or just want to have it written down somewhere? We've got you covered.
www.howtogeek.com www.howtogeek.com

Microsoft claism that Win 7 keys won't work anymore after some date, but I'm not sure if thats really true. Its bee a bt sicne I last tried this
 
more on free upgrades here
www.zdnet.com

Can you still get a Windows 10 upgrade for free?

Microsoft kept giving away free upgrades to Windows 10 on old hardware for more than eight years. The upgrades officially ended in 2023, but I've seen scattered reports that it still works for some people. So, do you feel lucky?
www.zdnet.com www.zdnet.com
 
If you decide to throw it away, let me know. I need old laptops for Ham testing.

I put XP and the test software on them. Speed isn't an issue and replacing a HD wouldn't bother me if it's bad.
 
While the topic of PCs are here... If I were to be purchasing a new PC in the near future, what would be the recommendations? What to stay away from, what hardware minimums? It will be a windows machine, and mostly used for word processing, spreadsheets, accounting, web browsing/work.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
While the topic of PCs are here... If I were to be purchasing a new PC in the near future, what would be the recommendations? What to stay away from, what hardware minimums? It will be a windows machine, and mostly used for word processing, spreadsheets, accounting, web browsing/work.
Click to expand...
ALL doable from a basic $100(ish) "Chromebook"... barring you're not a "tinfoil hatter" worried about google spying on you?
 
Caver Dave said:
ALL doable from a basic $100(ish) "Chromebook"... barring you're not a "tinfoil hatter" worried about google spying on you?
Click to expand...
as long as you have reliable internet and dont plan to use it stand alone.
 
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