Member Avatar for rcraig22

Okay everyone, team effort here?

Here is the scenario, please tell me where I screwed the pooch. I installed the beta of Windows 7 on my computer 2 weeks ago and everything worked fine. After about a week, my computer went from the boot up screen of "HP" press esc to view boot options... to a blank screen with a blinking white bar in the upper left corner. my computer went haywire and beeped.

I understand the beeping codes, however it just continues constantly. I tried reinstalling the factory conditions with my HP System Recovery dvd, but to know avail, because during installation the system tries to restart and it goes back to the same blank screen. Please let me know what to do because I cant seem to fix the problem! I learn quickly and follow directions well, so please don't think anything is too technical for me. Thank you all for your help

Ryan

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by goldeagle2005

Dani AI

Generated

Several replies here correctly point toward a hardware failure rather than a Windows problem. , , , and all touched on that — below is a focused, practical diagnostic order to isolate which component is failing without repeating earlier links or tips.

Start by documenting the POST behavior precisely: note whether the beeps are continuous or a repeating pattern, count short and long beeps, and record any fan or drive noises. Use the ESC prompt seen at boot to open the startup menu and try to reach BIOS/Setup or the built‑in diagnostics (the startup menu key was already visible on the splash). If BIOS is reachable, check whether the motherboard sees the hard drive and memory—absent devices point to hardware-level failure before Windows loads.
If BIOS is inaccessible or POST never completes, the beep pattern plus whether fans spin or LEDs light give the best clue about motherboard/CPU/PSU faults.

If BIOS is reachable, boot a known-good external environment (a small Linux live USB or Windows PE) to test drive access and copy important files. From that environment run a SMART check on the drive and try simple reads — successful reads mean data can be rescued and a fresh install is worth attempting; unreadable/clicking drives indicate professional recovery. If POST failures persist even with all external devices removed and a single memory stick installed, the fault is likely motherboard or power circuitry.

A few cautions: limit repeated power cycles on a drive that clicks; avoid opening or servicing a machine under warranty; collect the exact beep pattern and machine model/serial before taking the unit to a shop or contacting HP support. The sequence above narrows the cause quickly and protects data while guiding whether simple parts swaps or professional repair are needed.

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Member Avatar for demenace

Sounds like your machine has a "hardware" problem. Something is broken or lose. Sometimes adding memory to a machine will cause this. The memory modules may have come lose and are not fully seated in their slots. but, it could be a real hardware issue where something is just plain broken. You may need to take your machine to a reputable shop for repair.

Member Avatar for acidburned

sounds like your hard drive went bad.it may just need to be reformated, you can try hdd regenerator to see if it will fix it,course youll need some one to download and burn it.

Member Avatar for baltazar

I concur on the hardware problems.

Normally a ticking/grinding/whining noise from your hard drive is indicative of hard drive failure.

Also, try opening up your computer and removing and reattaching your RAM. Make sure that you ground yourself by touching a metal surface prior to touching your RAM chip or buy a anti-static wrist band.

I personally use the Ultimate Boot CD to figure out when I have a dying hard drive or bad RAM. The tools on the cd give you a pretty good indication if your components are dying.

You can download it from here <http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html>

Here is how you run it off a flash drive <>

Member Avatar for Shade01

I agree with baltazar. Continual beeping is either graphics card or memory. If it was the hdd, it would hang or show an error message.

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

PCs built by HP, Dell, Acer etc have built in diagnostics for the hardware. Try running those and see if they give you a clue as to what the issue may be

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