HP Vectra VL800 User manual

hp vectra vl800
desktop &
minitower
troubleshooting
guide
www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport

Francais
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iii
Contents
Your PC does not start correctly,
or does not start at all. Refer to page 7.
For example, the monitor is blank, error messages during boot,
beep codes emitted.
Your PC starts normally, but you are
having problems using or configuring. Refer to page 19.
For example, hardware not detected, you have forgotten a password,
there is a software problem.
Troubleshooting your PC
using HP DiagTools. Refer to page 41.
You can diagnose hardware-related problems, test
individual hardware components and check hardware configuration.
Recovering hard disk drive contents with the
recovery CD-ROM. Refer to page 49.
You can restore the preloaded operating system,
drivers, utilities and software.
Other useful sources of information. Refer to page 51.
How to obtain the latest drivers, software utilities and BIOS updates.
Also details on how to download documentation
corresponding to your PC.
Contacting HP Support Services. Refer to page 53.
Details the type of information you should prepare before
contacting HP Support for assistance.
Troubleshooting your PC using HP Instant Support.
You can use this web-based problem resolution service to automate and
speeds up troubleshooting. Go to www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport,
then click HP Instant Support in the left-hand menu.

iv

5
Introduction
Introduction
This manual is for anyone who wants to:
•Troubleshoot problems on their PC
•Find out where to get more information and support.
For information about setting up and using your PC, refer to the User’s
Guide, available on HP’s web site at:
www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport.

Important Warnings
6
Important Warnings
Removing and Replacing the Cover
WARNING For your safety, never remove the PC’s cover without first removing
the power cord from the power outlet and any connection to a
telecommunications network. Always replace the cover before
switching the PC on again.
Safety Information
WARNING There is a danger of explosion if the battery is incorrectly installed. For
your safety, never attempt to recharge, disassemble, or burn an old
battery. Only replace the battery with the same or equivalent type, as
recommended by the manufacturer. The battery in this PC is a lithium
battery which does not contain any heavy metals. Nevertheless, in
order to protect the environment, do not dispose of batteries in
household waste. Please return used batteries either to the shop from
which you bought them, to the dealer from whom you purchased your
PC, or to HP so that they can either be recycled or disposed of in the
correct way. Returned batteries will be accepted free of charge.
If you have a modem:
Do not attempt to connect this product to the phone line during a
lightning storm. Never install telephone jacks in wet locations unless
the telephone line has been disconnected at the network interface.
Never touch uninsulated telephone wires or terminals unless the
telephone line has been disconnected at the network interface. Use
caution when installing or modifying telephone lines. Avoid using a
telephone (other than a cordless type) during a lightning storm. There
may be a risk from lightning.
Do not use the telephone to report a gas leak in the vicinity of the leak.
Never touch or remove the communications board without first
removing the connection to the telephone network.

7
1
Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Symptom Type of Problem
Case 1
When the power button is pressed, the PC shows
no sign of activity at all:
•PC may not be correctly connected to the
power supply.
Refer to page 9.
•Monitor is blank.
•No hard disk drive or fan noise.
•Status LED does not light up.
Case 2
When the power button is pressed, the PC appears
to boot, but monitor remains blank:
•Monitor may be badly connected or not
switched on.
Refer to page 11.
•Hard disk drive and fan can be heard.
•Status LED is GREEN.
Case 3
When the power button is pressed, the PC does
not boot:
•The PC has detected a hardware
configuration error. A component may be
badly connected inside the PC.
Refer to page 13.
•Hard disk drive and/or fan can be heard.
•Monitor remains blank.
•Status LED is RED (Desktop) or
YELLOW (Minitower).
•Beep code is emitted.
Case 4
When the power button is pressed, the PC starts
to boot and there is activity on the monitor:
•Configuration error has been detected. Refer to page 15.
•Boot process fails with an error message.
•Status LED is RED (Desktop) or
YELLOW (Minitower).
Case 5
When the power button is pressed, the PC starts
to boot and there is initially some activity on the
monitor, but then:
•Screen becomes blank.
or
•Image is corrupt.
•Video card may be improperly installed or
incorrectly configured.
•Hard disk drive failure or not accessible.
Refer to page 17.

1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
8
Helpful Information
EMU (Error Message Utility) Description. Refer to page 15.
Beep Code Table Refer to page 14.
If You Have Forgotten Your BIOS Password Refer to page 27.
Troubleshooting BIOS Problems:
•Updating the BIOS. Refer to page 31.
•Restoring BIOS Default Settings. Refer to page 31.
•Clearing the CMOS. Refer to page 32.
•Recovering the BIOS (Crisis Mode). Refer to page 33.
System Board Switches. Refer to page 34.
Using the HP Setup Program. Refer to page 35.
Troubleshooting Hardware With HP e-DiagTools. Refer to page 41.

9
1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 1 — If There Is No Activity At All
Case 1 — If There Is No Activity At All
When the power button is pressed, the PC shows no sign of activity at
all. The monitor is blank, there is no sound from the hard disk drive or
fan, or the status LED does not light up.
•Monitor is blank.
•No hard disk drive or fan noise.
•Status LED does not light up.
NOTE Before removing the cover, always switch off the display and PC.
Disconnect the power cord and any accessory cables. When checks
have been completed, close the PC and reconnect the power cord and
accessory cables. Verify that the PC boots correctly.
Symptom... Check that... How...
PC does not start – the status
LED indicator is not illuminated.
The power cord is correctly connected. Connect the power cord to a grounded power outlet and the
PC.
The power outlet is working. Plug a light into the grounded power outlet and check it
comes on.
The voltage switch is correctly set (located
on the rear of the PC).
1Disconnect the power cord.
2Select the correct setting.
3Reconnect the power cord.
4Start the PC.
If the PC still does not start
Check that... How...
None of the internal devices are causing the
problem.
1Remove internal power connectors from all internal
devices (except for the system board).
2Reconnect the power cord.
3Reconnect the power connectors one by one to the
internal devices to see if a device is defective.
4If a device is found to be defective, contact HP Support or
your authorized dealer.
Continued on the next page ➩

1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 1 — If There Is No Activity At All
10
If the PC still does not start
Check that... How...
There is not a problem with the power
supply unit.
1Replace the power supply unit by a known working power
supply from the same model of PC.
2If the PC starts, contact HP Support or your authorized
dealer. The power supply unit might need replacing.
If the problem persists, contact HP Support or your authorized dealer
Symptom... Check that... How...

11
1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 2 — Monitor Is Blank
Case 2 — Monitor Is Blank
When the power button is pressed, the PC appears to boot (sounds
can be heard from the hard disk drive and fan, and status LED is
green), but the monitor is blank.
•Hard disk drive and fan can be heard.
•Status LED is GREEN.
Press the power button and keep it pressed for about 5 seconds. The
PC will turn off.
NOTE Before removing the cover, always switch off the display and PC.
Disconnect the power cord and any accessory cables. When checks
have been completed, close the PC and reconnect the power cord and
accessory cables. Verify that the PC boots correctly.
Symptom... Check that... How...
Power indicator light and hard
disk activity light work but the
screen remains blank.
The display is switched ON (LED is on). Refer to the monitor manual for an explanation of the LEDs.
The monitor’s power cord is correctly
connected.
Ensure the power cord is plugged into a grounded power outlet
and into the monitor.
The monitor’s power outlet is working. Plug a light into the grounded power outlet and check that it
comes on.
If the monitor is still blank
Check that... How...
The monitor’s brightness and contrast
settings are correct.
Refer to the monitor manual if necessary.
The monitor itself is not faulty. 1Replace the monitor by a known working monitor from the
same model of PC.
2If the monitor starts, contact HP Support or your authorized
dealer. The monitor may need to be replaced.
The video cable pins are not damaged. 1Switch off and unplug the monitor.
2Disconnect the video cable and straighten any bent pins.
3Reconnect the video cable.
4Switch on the monitor and see if it works.
You may need to update the Basic Input Output System (BIOS). The BIOS may be corrupt. Refer to page 33 for instructions on
how to recover the BIOS.
Continued on the next page ➩

1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 2 — Monitor Is Blank
12
NOTE If the monitor goes blank or becomes corrupted during startup, refer to
“Case 5 — Screen Goes Blank or Corrupt Image” on page 17.
Dual monitor or multi-monitor configuration problem
If you have a dual monitor video card
installed, but only one monitor, check that
it is connected to Output 1.
•The outputs are labelled on the video card.
If you have two or more video cards
installed, but only one monitor, check that
the monitor is connected to the correct
output.
•Plug the monitor in the video output on the AGP video card.
One monitor is blank. Multi-monitor configuration and resolution
have been correctly defined.
1Access Display Properties through Start  Settings
 Control Panel.
2Select the multi-monitor option and configure for the required
number of monitors and resolution.
NOTE
For the Matrox G4xx dual monitor graphics card, the
multi-monitor setting is only available if both monitors are
connected to the PC and switched on before the PC is
switched on.
Symptom... Check that... How...

13
1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 3 — Boot Process Fails and Monitor is Blank
Case 3 — Boot Process Fails and Monitor is Blank
When the power button is pressed, the hard disk drive or fan can be
heard, but the PC does not boot. The monitor remains blank and the
status LED is red (Desktop) or yellow (Minitower). The PC has
detected a hardware error.
•Hard disk drive and/or fan can be heard.
•Monitor remains blank.
•Status LED is RED (Desktop) or YELLOW (Minitower).
•Beep code is emitted.
NOTE Before removing the cover, always switch off the display and PC.
Disconnect the power cord and any accessory cables. When checks
have been completed, close the PC and reconnect the power cord and
accessory cables. Verify that the PC boots correctly.
Pre-Boot Diagnostics When your PC starts up, the BIOS performs a series of pre-boot checks
followed by the Power-on Self Test (POST) to test your hardware
configuration for any problems. If a problem is detected during the
POST, an error is displayed on your PC’s monitor.
If, however, a pre-boot test fails, it will emit an audio signal.
The Pre-Boot Diagnostics emits an audio sequence with two kinds of
sounds. The first is an unusual series of tones that indicate an anomaly
has been detected. This series of sounds also contains an electronic
signal that can be sent through a telephone line to an authorized
helpdesk or HP Support, if necessary. This signal cannot be interpreted
by the human ear. However, it can be decoded by helpdesk equipment
to extract the PC model and serial number.
The second type of sound is a series of long beeps that indicate a
particular error. If you hear a series of beeps, you should count them as
this will help you detect the cause of the problem.

1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 3 — Boot Process Fails and Monitor is Blank
14
Pre-Boot Test Errors The following table shows the type of error messages that can occur
during the pre-boot checks.
If You Miss the Beep Code
If you miss the beep code, turn off the PC by pressing the on/off power
button for five seconds or more, then listen for the signal again.
Beep Code Cause... Check that...
1 beep Processor absent, not correctly connected or ZIP
socket not closed
•Processor is correctly connected and ZIP socket is
closed.
2 beeps Power supply is in protected mode •Power cables inside the PC are correctly connected.
3 beeps No memory, bad memory modules, incompatible
memory module
•Memory modules are correctly seated in sockets.
•If unused, memory sockets A2 and B2 must contain
RDRAM continuity modules.
4 beeps Graphics card problem •Video card installed.
•Video card seated correctly in the AGP connector.
5 beeps PnP/PCI initialization problem •PCI cards are correctly inserted in their slots.
•You can try removing a PCI card to see if it is causing
the problem.
6 beeps Corrupted BIOS You need to activate crisis recovery procedure (refer to
page 33).
7 beeps Defective system board

15
1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 4 — Boot Process Fails and Error Message Displayed on Screen
Case 4 — Boot Process Fails and Error Message
Displayed on Screen
When the power button is pressed, the PC starts to boot and there is
activity on the monitor, but the boot process then fails with an error
message. Status LED flashes red (Desktop) or yellow (Minitower). A
beep code may be emitted. A configuration error has been detected.
•Boot process fails with an error message.
•Status LED is RED (Desktop) or YELLOW (Minitower).
NOTE Before removing the cover, switch off the display and PC by pressing
the power-off button for five or six seconds. Disconnect the power
cord and any accessory cables. When checks have been completed,
close the PC and reconnect the power cord and accessory cables.
Verify that the PC boots correctly.
Error Message Utility (EMU)
In the event of an error generated in POST (Power-On-Self-Test)
during the boot process, there are two beeps, then the Error Setup
Manager gives access to one or more detected errors. Each EMU error
is displayed as a 4-digit code with an associated text message on the
monitor screen.
Further details can be accessed by pressing Enter. A detailed
description of the reason for the failure and how to solve the problem is
displayed. The following examples give the different types of error
categories.
Category #1: If the error is only a warning (i.e. key stuck), the POST should prompt:
WARNING1
1. After a timeout period of five seconds without any intervention, the system resumes to boot.
00100 Keyboard Error

1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 4 — Boot Process Fails and Error Message Displayed on Screen
16
Category #2: If the error is serious, the POST should prompt:
00xx The BIOS has detected a serious problem that prevents your PC from booting
Press <Enter> to view more information about error

17
1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 5 — Screen Goes Blank or Corrupt Image
Case 5 — Screen Goes Blank or Corrupt Image
When the power button is pressed, the PC starts to boot and there is
initially some activity on the monitor, but then the screen goes blank or
the image is corrupt.
•Screen becomes blank.
or
•Image is corrupt.
NOTE Before removing the cover, always switch off the display and PC.
Disconnect the power cord and any accessory cables. When checks
have been completed, close the PC and reconnect the power cord and
accessory cables. Verify that the PC boots correctly.
Symptom.... Check that... How...
PC boots correctly, but when
the operating system starts
loading, the screen goes blank or
image is corrupt.
The monitor supports the resolution and
selected refresh rate. This type of problem
can occur if the PC is configured using one
monitor, then swapped with another one.
1Reboot the PC in VGA mode. Then, access Display
Properties through Start, Settings, Control Panel.
2Change the display resolution and refresh values to settings
that can be handled by your monitor.
If the screen is still blank or corrupt
Check that... How...
The video card is correctly inserted in the
socket on the system board.
1Follow the instructions indicated in the above Note about
removing the cover and switching off the PC.
2Remove the AGP card, then carefully re-insert it into the
socket.
3Replace the cover and reconnect the power cord and
accessory cables. Verify that the PC boots correctly.
Hard disk drive is correctly configured and
cables are connected.
Refer to page 24 for further help, if required.
Hard disk drive is accessible. Refer to page 41 for instructions about troubleshooting using HP
e-DiagTools.
Continued on the next page ➩

1 Your PC Does Not Start Correctly
Case 5 — Screen Goes Blank or Corrupt Image
18
If the screen is still blank or corrupt
Check that... How...
The video driver is not corrupted or
incorrectly installed.
Install the latest driver for the video card.
This can be downloaded from the Vectra support website.
Connect to www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport, then
select HP Vectra VL800 PC.
Symptom.... Check that... How...

19
2
Use or Configuration Problems
If your PC boots normally but you are having problems using or
configuring your PC.
Symptom Type of Problem
PC starts to boot, but a POST (Power-On Self-Test)
error message is displayed on the screen.
•CMOS test error. Refer to page 21.
•Keyboard or mouse are not working
correctly.
Refer to page 22.
•Floppy disk drive LED does not appear. Refer to page 23.
•Hard disk drive, DVD, CD-RW or CD-ROM
drive are not accessible.
Refer to page 24.
•Serial or Parallel ports are incorrectly
configured.
•Devices are not cabled correctly.
•Device drivers missing or incorrectly installed.
Refer to page 26.
You cannot turn off the PC. Refer to page 27.
Your PC has a software problem. •Software application will not run.
•Date and time are wrong.
Refer to page 28.
Your PC repeatedly loses its configuration settings. Refer to page 29.
You have problems using the Euro Symbol Refer to page 30.

2 Use or Configuration Problems
20
Helpful Information
If You Have Forgotten Your BIOS Password Refer to page 27.
Troubleshooting BIOS Problems:
•Updating the BIOS. Refer to page 31.
•Restoring the BIOS Default Settings. Refer to page 31.
•Clearing the CMOS. Refer to page 32.
•Recovering the BIOS (Crisis Mode). Refer to page 33.
System Board Switches. Refer to page 34.
Using the HP Setup Program. Refer to page 35.
Troubleshooting Drives With a Problem:
•Hard Disk Drive. Refer to page 36.
•CD-ROM, DVD or CD-RW Drives. Refer to page 37.
Troubleshooting Hardware With HP e-DiagTools. Refer to page 41.
Recovering Hard Disk Drive Contents. Refer to page 49.