HP m7181uk, a1109uk Troubleshooting
PC Troubleshooting and System Recovery Guide
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Table of Contents
Recovering from Software Problems .............................................. 1
PC Repair Overview .................................................................................1
Restarting Your PC ....................................................................................1
Turning Off Your PC ..................................................................................1
Updating Drivers ......................................................................................2
Microsoft System Restore ...........................................................................2
Application Recovery and Driver Recovery ..................................................2
System Recovery Overview........................................................................3
Creating System Recovery Discs .................................................................4
Creating a Recovery Tools CD....................................................................4
Running System Recovery from Recovery Discs.............................................5
Running System Recovery from the Hard Disc Drive ......................................5
Hard Disk Drive Space ................................................................... 7
Troubleshooting ............................................................................. 7
PC Troubleshooting and System Recovery Guide
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iv PC Troubleshooting and System Recovery Guide
Recovering from Software
Problems
The PC uses the operating system and installed
software programs during normal operation. If
your PC works improperly or stops because of the
software, you may be able to repair it.
Some software repairs are as simple as restarting
your PC, and others require performing a System
Recovery from files on your hard disk drive.
Your hard disk drive contains a System Recovery
image that includes all the software files that were
originally installed on your PC at the factory. In the
unlikely event that you need to recover your system,
it is easy to do so using this recovery image.
Because all the necessary information is contained in
the System Recovery image on your hard disk drive,
recovery discs are not included in the accessory box.
• Application Recovery and Driver Recovery
• System Recovery
NOTE: If you are replacing a hard disk drive, you
only have to run the System Recovery.
Additionally, your PC may include a Software
Repair Wizard (select models only). You can
use this wizard to access many of the repair
methods described in this chapter, including:
• Creating System Recovery discs
• Microsoft System Restore
• Application Recovery and Driver Recovery
• System Recovery
You can start the Software Repair Wizard by doubleclicking the desktop icon or clicking Start, All
Programs, PC Help & Tools, and then Software
Repair Wizard.
As a backup, you can:
Make your own System Recovery discs from the
•
recovery image as described in ”Creating System
Recovery Discs” later in this document.
• Contact HP Support to purchase a set of System
Recovery discs.
You should also make the HP PC Recovery Tools CD.
This CD contains utilities that allow you to make
changes to your hard disk drive. See “Creating a
Recovery Tools CD“ for more information.
NOTE: It is important that you perform the PC repair
methods in the order described in this document.
PC Repair Overview
This section lists the available methods to fix your PC
if you are experiencing software problems. Detailed
instructions about each method are in the sections that
follow. You must perform the procedures in the order
listed here.
• Restarting your PC
• Turning off your PC
• Updating drivers
• Microsoft System Restore
Restarting Your PC
Restarting is the simplest repair method for your PC.
When you restart, the PC reloads the operating system
and software into its memory.
To restart your PC:
1 Close all open programs and windows.
2 Click Start.
3 Choose Tu rn Off Com puter.
4 Click Restart.
Turning Off Your PC
When you turn off your PC and then turn it on again,
you force the PC to reload the operating system into
its memory, which clears some tracking information.
This may eliminate some problems that can remain
after performing a restart.
To turn off your PC:
1 Close all open programs and windows.
2 Click Start.
3 Choose Tu rn Off Com puter.
4 Click Tur n Off.
5 Start your PC by pressing the On button.
PC Troubleshooting and System Recovery Guide 1
Updating Drivers
W
A driver is a software program that allows your PC to
communicate with an attached device, such as a
printer, a hard disk drive, a mouse, or a keyboard.
Complete the following procedure to update a driver,
or to revert to an earlier version of the driver if the
new one does not solve your problem.
1 Click Start, right-click on My Computer, and
then click Properties. The System Properties
window displays.
2 Click the Hardware tab, and then Device
Manager. The Device Manager displays.
3 Click the plus sign (+) to expand the device whose
driver you want to update or rollback, (for
example, Keyboard). Right-click the specific item
(for example, PS-2 Keyboard), and then select
Properties. The Properties window for the
selected device displays.
4 Click Update Driver or Rollback Driver, and
follow the onscreen instructions.
Microsoft System Restore
Microsoft® Windows® XP includes a feature that allows
you to restore your PC configuration to that of a
previous time when a current software problem did
not exist. The feature does this by creating a “restore
point” where it records the PC settings at that time
and date.
When you add programs by clicking Add New
Programs in the Add or Remove Programs window
(accessed by clicking Start, Control Panel, and
then Add or Remove Programs), the operating
system automatically creates a restore point before it
adds the new software. You can also set them
manually.
If you experience a problem that you think may be
due to software on your computer, use System Restore
to return the PC to a previous restore point.
ARNING: Always use this System Restore
procedure before using the HP PC System
Recovery program.
To start a System Restore:
1 Close all open programs.
2 Click Start.
3 Choose All Programs.
4 Choose Accessories.
5 Choose System Tools.
6 Click System Restore.
7 Click Next.
8 Follow the onscreen instructions.
To manually add restore points:
1 Close all open programs.
2 Click Start.
3 Choose All Programs.
4 Choose Accessories.
5 Choose System Tools.
6 Click Create a Restore Point.
7 Click Next.
8 Follow the onscreen instructions.
For more information about software restore points:
1 Click Start.
2 Click Help and Support. The Help and Support
Center displays.
3 Type system restore into the Search box, and then
click Search.
Application Recovery and Driver
Recovery
If an individual factory-installed driver or software
program (also know as an application) accidentally
gets erased or damaged, you can reinstall the
software program using the HP Application Recovery
program (select models only).
NOTE: To ensure your PC includes the program,
perform steps 3 through 5 of the following procedure.
If HP Application Recovery is listed in the PC Help &
Tools folder, your PC includes the program.
2 PC Troubleshooting and System Recovery Guide
NOTE: Do not use the Application Recovery program
to reinstall software programs that came on CDs or
DVDs included in the PC box. Reinstall these programs
directly from the CDs or DVDs.
To start an Application Recovery or Driver Recovery:
1 Close all applications and folders (skip to step 3 if
you are recovering a driver).
2 Uninstall the damaged application:
a Click Start, Control Panel, and then Add or
Remove Programs.
b Select the program you want to remove, and
then click Change/Remove.
3 Click Start.
4 Choose All Programs.
5 Choose PC Help & Tools.
6 Click HP Application Recovery.
7 Click Application Installation or
Driver Installation, and then click Next.
8 Select the driver or application program to install,
and then click Install.
9 Repeat steps 7 and 8 to install other drivers or
applications.
10 When you have finished recovering applications or
drivers, close the Application Recovery program.
Then click Start, Turn Off Computer, and then
Restart to restart the PC.
WARNING: Do not skip this last step. You
must restart the PC when you are finished
recovering applications or drivers.
System Recovery Overview
After you have tried the previously mentioned methods
of repairing your system software, you can run the
System Recovery program as a last resort to reinstall
the operating system and the application software.
System Recovery provides two recovery options:
• Standard Recovery — This option recovers
factory-shipped programs, drivers, and the
operating system without affecting any data files
that you may have created since purchasing this
PC. Some data files may be difficult to find after the
System Recovery, so it is best to back up all hard
disk drive files before performing a System
Recovery.
• Full System Recovery — This option completely
erases and reformats the hard disk drive — this
includes deleting all data files you have created.
The full System Recovery reinstalls the operating
system, programs, and drivers from the recovery
image or discs. However, you must reinstall any
software that was not installed on the PC at the
factory. This includes software that came on CDs
included in the PC accessory box, and software
programs you installed since your purchase.
NOTE: If your PC has a blank or corrupted hard disk
drive, you will see only the full System Recovery
option.
Additionally, you have to choose from the following
methods for performing a System Recovery:
• Recovery Image — Run the recovery from a
recovery image stored on your hard disk drive. The
recovery image is a file that contains a copy of the
original software. To perform a system recovery
from the recovery image on your hard disk drive,
see “Running System Recovery from the Hard Disk
Drive.”
NOTE: The recovery image uses a portion of the
hard disk drive that cannot be used for data
storage.
• Recovery Discs — Run the recovery from a set of
recovery discs (CDs or DVDs) that you create from
files stored on your hard disk drive. To create
recovery discs, perform the procedure in the next
section.
PC Troubleshooting and System Recovery Guide 3
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