Has my C drive crashed?

[George Tyndall]

When I power on the machine in my signature, I get wavy red lines scrolling horizontally across the screen. If I touch the power button again, the machine shuts down. Has my going-on-3-year-old HDD finally failed?

Or, is threre another possibility?

Thank you.

[Bob]

This does not sound like a failed drive to me. This sounds more like either a problem with the video card or the video card driver.

I'd try reseating the video card first. Turn off the computer and remove and reinsert the card. Turn the computer back on and see if that made a difference. If not try reinstalling the video driver.

Turning off when you press the power button is normal. You can change the behavior if you wish. Click on Start and enter Power Button in the search box. You'll see an entry to Change what the Power Button Does. Click on that and you will see a drop down selection where you can change it to something else.

Edit: I just recalled that you may keep a backup video card. If so, after reseating the original card it still has the problem, try swapping it with the backup card. That will tell you pretty quickly whether it's a bad card or something else.

[TreeTopsRanch]

Wavy red lines may point to a GPU problem. Looking at your specs (GTX 260)...That looks like a pretty good board. So have you done anything lately that could cause that problem? Did you download any graphic drivers? Any new games? Could a connector have come loose? Try re-seating your graphic card. Have you tried the HP Forums for that specific anomaly?

Whoops, Bob beat me by 5 minutes.

[TreeTopsRanch]

Just did a quick google search on "wavy red lines on monitor" and got lots of hits. Most point to a failing GPU card.

[George Tyndall]

That looks like a pretty good board. So have you done anything lately that could cause that problem?

Does just having transported the machine, in its original packing, in a 12-hour transpacific flight count?

I'd try reseating the video card first.

I'll try that now, Bob--assuming that I can figure out which of those components is the video card.

[George Tyndall]

That looks like a pretty good board. So have you done anything lately that could cause that problem?

Does just having transported the machine, in its original packing, in a 12-hour transpacific flight count?

I'd try reseating the video card first.

I'll try that now, Bob--assuming that I can figure out which of those components is the video card.



Edited 02/17/2013@1714

[George Tyndall]

I'll try that now, Bob--assuming that I can figure out which of those components is the video card.

Well,I did find a loose screw that holds the GPU in place, and when I booted the red lines were gone

However, now after booting and seeing the blue BIOS screen, all I am getting is a flashing white cursor in the upper-left of the monitor.

When this has happened in the past, booting with the Windows Repair disc solves the problem.

Should I do that now?

[George Tyndall]

When this has happened in the past, booting with the Windows Repair disc solves the problem.

Should I do that now?

I did that and was informed that the disc could find no problems with the OS, so I should restart.

Restarting yileded the same flashing white cursor.

[Bob]

That's very odd. Can you boot into the bios and check that it's pointing to the correct disk to boot from?

[George Tyndall]

That's very odd. Can you boot into the bios and check that it's pointing to the correct disk to boot from?

And it's getting more odd.

Only the two DVD drives and one HDD are showing, however, the one that is showing is not the one that is supposed to be plugged in--it's the second HDD that I used a while ago to create a clone but then disconnected as I could not boot with it (the flashing cursor is exactly what I got with the clone).

I'm going to reopen the machine to verify what's going on with the HDDs. I'm wondering if someone in security tampered with it either when I departed the Philippines or while I was waiting for it to come down at LAX, which might explain the loose screws for the GPU (the machine was working perfectly while in the Philippines).

BTW, on my outbound trips TSA opens it up EACH AND EVERY TIME I take the machine with me to the Philippines, but it has never failed to function afterward.

[TreeTopsRanch]

When you open of the case, check or reseat all plugs that you see. Especially the ones going to your C drive. Make sure you have computer unplugged from wall. Ground yourself to the chassis.

[George Tyndall]

And it's getting more odd. .... I'm going to reopen the machine to verify what's going on with the HDDs. I'm wondering if someone in security tampered with it....

Well wa-da-ya-know!

Here's what I found:
--the original 1TB Seagate and the 2TB Hitachi were both powered but not by me as I disconnected both the power and the SATA from the clone when it failed to boot, months ago
--only one SATA cable was plugged in and it was into the Hitachi, which is the failed clone

That was fabulous detective work by you. Thank you!

P.S. I'm quite sure the disassembly of the machine, which I am now using here in LA to create this post, was in the Philippines rather than at LAX. I was a customs inspector at LAX for most of the 70s, and it was always SOP to have the passenger open her or his own box or bag, so that, if ever the matter went to court, there would be no question of contraband having been planted by an inspector who might be anxious to improve her or his seizure record.

P.P.S. BTW, given that the Win7 Repair Disc could not find any problem with the OS when the Hitachi clone was the active drive, do either of you have a clue why all I get is a flashing cursor when I try to boot with it?

[Bob]

When the hardware is ok and the OS is installed on the boot drive, that's generally an indication that something is missing or incorrect in the boot sequence. In Windows 7, It could be an issue with the Master Boot Record on the drive, a missing Boot Manager, or a missing or incorrect BCD (Boot Configuation Data) store.

You should have been able to restore the pieces of the boot sequence using the Windows 7 installation or recovery dvd. Did you use the automatic recovery option? You could try the repair startup recovery option instead. Only the disk to be repaired should be hooked up. It may take up to 3 passes before it says all issued resolved. If it doesn't see anything wrong, it may take a manual repair.

[George Tyndall]

When the hardware is ok and the OS is installed ....

Thank you for the reply.

I will retry this coming weekend, when I will have more time.