# Booting up problems compaq mini



## claireycookie (Mar 29, 2011)

Hey, 
im having problems when turning on my compaq mini. when switching on it gets stuck on the black compaq screen and i cant get it to go any further. F9 and 10 dont work and i am constantly trying for about half an hour until it works (if i am patient enough to wait that long). also my laptop doesnt stay on for longer than 2 mins before switching itself off. 

Can anyone help

Claire


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## blamenixon (Mar 29, 2011)

unfortunately I have been running into the same problem. It is beyond aggravating. I have had my mini 110c for just over a year, and I have lost track of how many times I have needed to perform a factory restore, and actually just completed my fourth restore in the two weeks since HP sent the recovery disc's.

Claire, here are a few things that seemed to work for me, albeit, not for very long:

- unplug the power, remove the battery, and hold the power key for at least 15 seconds to drain any remaining power

- try holding down one of the shift keys while starting up, and wait.....

- also try pressing repeatedly / holding the F8 or F11 key at the Compaq screen

- (one of my least favorite options) wait a seemingly endless amount of time while your computer does nothing at the startup screen....and pray something happens.

- (my second least favorite option) avoid installing third party programs. *sigh*....this option sucks, especially when I mean every third party program you can think of....yup, even Chrome and Firefox.
This may be an assumption based on my experiences with one (consistently) faulty computer, but I think Microsoft has just decided to not play nice on these little machines. (I'm typing this response from IE9 and grinding my teeth the entire time....what do you mean i have download a third-party spell checker? ***, Microsoft?!?!)

- (my very least favorite option, although I guarantee it "works") send $16 to HP for recovery disc's and get yourself an external DVD reader, then have fun performing YET ANOTHER factory restore!
here's the link for the DVD reader I got for only $20 after rebate and free shipping: Newegg.com - ASUS 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-ROM USB 2.0 Slim External DVD-ROM Model SDR-08B1-U

After factory restore, get rid of the bloatware. things like AOL Homepage Protection (***...), Microsoft Works, Office Trials, and all that other useless stuff, ESPECIALLY Norton. In fact, the very first thing you should do after a restore is use the IE browser to download Microsoft Security Essentials. I'm partially assuming you already have this installed, more on that later.

-I also went ahead and upgraded my RAM to 2GB and use an 8GB SDHC for ReadyBoost, does it make a difference? I have no freakin clue.

As for the actual cause of this highly disturbing problem....I have no idea, and nor do I think Microsoft cares. HP just released a new Support Assistant, be sure to download that and get all possible updates from it, and of course, everything you can download from Windows Update. From my experience, it will take about 5-7 hours to restore and fully update. Real Fun stuff, especially when it's a bi-weekly task.

Two theories, one is quite simple: Intel Atom's suck. Plain and Simple. during the times that I have been forced to stare at a frozen screen, either starting up, or already logged in, the processor's fan has already been off, or I'll hear it shut down myself. In short, there wasn't a damn thing goin' on inside.

My other theory, which was just founded earlier while looking into the very same problem, that being a terribly operating, yet brand new computer, I came across a discussion about Microsoft's Antimalware Executable (MsMpEng.exe) using up more than half of the PC's memory while the computer was sitting idle. A suggestion was made that Microsoft Security Essentials was "chasing it's own tail." Meaning every time the program started to run, it would also check itself for infection. Considering this is a Microsoft product, this make complete and total sense. SO....
If you ever do get back to your desktop open up Security Essentials, click the "Settings" tab, click "Excluded Processes", then click "Browse..."

the file you're looking for should be located here: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\Antimalware\MsMpEng.exe"

Which, of course, adds the program to it's own exception list....Epic Win.

*sigh*...I'm very sorry for such a long winded response, but as I've stated, this is a problem that plagues me constantly as well. I hope my suggestions, pessimistic or not, could be of some help to you Claire, and I encourage anybody with truly constructive advice to PLEASE offer some input.


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## SoMeAm (Mar 8, 2011)

Hi claireycookie,
great feedback from blamenixon... my question to you is, 'how old is your mini, is your unit is still under wrty? 
I work for HP as a HP Social Media Ambassador 

SoMeAm
The views expressed in my contributions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and strategy of HP"


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## claireycookie (Mar 29, 2011)

Blamenixon, thankyou so much for your response. Ill give those suggestions a go and see if they work. Its driving me potty. I have never done a factory reset though - How do i do this?  

SoMeAm: I have had this laptop for about 14 months so a couple of months over the year warrenty which is typical and funnily enough it has been happening for the past month 

Thankyou both for your replies :smile:


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## blamenixon (Mar 29, 2011)

Hey Claire,
It's dawned on me that there isn't a very concise guide yet that pertains to both a factory reset and removing bloatware / optimizing your mini. I'll be putting something together over the next few days that will be sure to help, in the meantime....as I mentioned earlier, it's pressing either the F8 or F11 keys during the Compaq start up screen that brings up the HP Recovery Manager. Click "System Recovery" to perform a complete reset. I don't recommend the option to "Microsoft System Restore" as this has never worked for me, usually froze at some point in the process, and was nothing but a big waste of time. In fact performing that action is exactly what practically _bricked_ my machine, and required me to order the recovery disc's from the HP website.

Anywho...if you've gotten to the Recovery Manager from the startup screen, or through Windows (Start --> Recovery Manager) and selected "System Recovery" the rest is easy and explained thoroughly, although it is a long arduous task, hope you've got some cleaning around the house to do. 

BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP your files! That is, of course, only if you're able to get to the windows desktop. in which case, you'll probably want to disconnect or disable all internet devices and shut down your anti virus, then transfer personal documents, pictures, music, videos of lady gaga, whatever, over to an external hard drive you instill complete faith into.

If you can't get to the desktop....consider the benefits of beginning anew. Acceptance of a loss is usually much easier than trying to fight it. From now on, get yourself a reliable external hard drive and backup anything important on there. I personally save all my Ableton Live files on a Western Digital 500GB. I only back up the certain MP3's used within that program, since backing up the entire library would take up too much space. Good luck, Claire. I've got to run, but I'll be posting more info soon.

BONUS TIP!!! I almost forgot, after a restore, once you've gotten to the desktop, set everything up, installed Microsoft Security and added it to it's own exceptions list, removed all the bloatware, run Windows Update and HP Update....*phew*.....go to this site:
Speed up your PC by cleaning your registry
and get your computer nice and tidy.
Take Care!


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