HP Compaq Presario SR1010Z, Compaq Presario SR1020Z, Compaq Presario SR1030V, Compaq Presario SR1030Z, Compaq Presario SR1600AN Troubleshooting

...

PC Troubleshooting Guide

The only warranties for Hewlett-Packard products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

HP assumes no responsibility for the use or reliability of its software on equipment that is not furnished by HP.

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of HP.

Hewlett-Packard Company P.O. Box 4010 Cupertino, CA 95015-4010 USA

This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protected by method claims of certain U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights owned by Macrovision Corporation and other rights owners. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by Macrovision Corporation, and is intended for home and other limited viewing uses only unless otherwise authorized by Macrovision Corporation. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited. Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,631,603, 4,577,216, 4,819,098, and 4,907,093 licensed for limited viewing uses only.

Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

HP supports lawful use of technology and does not endorse or encourage the use of its products for purposes other than those permitted by copyright law.

The information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Table of Contents

Repairing 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 Disk Drive ......................................5

Hard Disk Drive Space ................................................................... 6

Troubleshooting ............................................................................. 7

PC Troubleshooting Guide

iii

iv PC Troubleshooting Guide

Repairing Software Problems

NOTE: If you are replacing a hard disk drive, you

only have to run the System Recovery.

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.

Since 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.

As a backup, you can make your own copy of this system recovery image onto CD or DVD discs as described in “Creating System Recovery Discs“ later in this document.

You should also make a Compaq 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.

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 clicking

Start, All Programs, PC Help & Tools, and then Software Repair Wizard.

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 r n O f f Co m puter. 4 Click Restart.

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

• Application Recovery and Driver Recovery

• System Recovery

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 r n O f f Co m puter. 4 Click Tur n O ff . 5 Start your PC by pressing the On button.

PC Troubleshooting Guide 1

Updating Drivers

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 Compaq 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 known as an application) accidentally gets erased or damaged, you can reinstall the software program using the Compaq Application Recovery program (select models only).

NOTE: To ensure your PC includes the program,

perform steps 3 through 5 of the following procedure. If Compaq Application Recovery is listed in the PC Help & Tools folder, your PC includes the program.

2 PC Troubleshooting Guide

+ 14 hidden pages