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  • #1

    No POST screen?

    Alrighty, I have a HP Envy notebook, less than a year old which I dual boot between Windows 8 and Ubuntu. Today I tried to switch to Ubuntu, but the normal screen which lets me choose between OSs didn't come up. The POST screen didn't come up either. Not at all, even for a second. I know that it used to, because I do use VirtualBox, and I had to get into my BIOS to turn on virtualization. I have no other issues with this computer. I can't think of anything which has changed. And yes, I know I could just run Ubuntu in my VB, but I like the way I've been working until now.

    All the posts I've found are either about specific errors, such as not getting past POST or other BIOS issues. There are a lot of issues with the screen disappearing too fast. I just can't see the POST screen, period. I have tried pressing various buttons (F2, F12, ESC) while it's booting, but I suspect is already past that point. The one post I found which seemed to have the exact symptoms ended up recommending replacing the CMOS battery. I don't know why, and it sounds scary. There was also some talk of hibernation messing with that screen, but I don't use that. Tell me I'm being stupid, and it's something really simple that I'm overlooking and I'll give you a virtual hug.

    TL;DR
    -POST screen missing
    -Screen which lets me switch OS missing
    Replace anger management with stupidity management.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Does it just go directly into Windows? You can force it to drop to the Windows bootup/diagnostic menu by pressing f8 just before the windows logo appears (immediately after the walls of diagnostic text, if those show up at all). The option to boot into another OS *may* be in there.

    Also, here's a general troubleshooting page for hp laptops, including how to force a hard reboot (read: cold boot): http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/p...r_na-c01443371

    As for the CMOS battery: Not a big deal, tho getting to the damn thing could be problematic in a laptop. They are quite often just CR-32 (or similar name) round watch batteries. You can try to reset/clear the CMOS by doing the hard boot procedure (see link), removing the battery, waiting a few minutes, then putting it back in. This will revert all of your computer's hardware/boot settings to their default values, tho I cannot guarantee that this will get you back into dual boot mode -- try software methods such as the f8 screen, first, and use at your own risk.
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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    • #3
      According to that page, to access the BIOS on a nearly-new machine, you should press and hold Escape *immediately* after pressing Power.

      One of the settings in the BIOS is likely to be "Quick Boot", which eliminates the memory-testing cycle and thus most of the time that the POST screen is displayed. This setting, along with many others, is held in CMOS RAM, which is why the CMOS battery came up. But on a nearly-new machine the CMOS battery should still be fresh.

      The loss of the boot selection screen also suggests that something Windows-centric has overwritten your boot sector. Windows itself might do that during install, but not as far as I know otherwise. Unless, that is, you have the two OSes on physically separate drives, and the BIOS has simply forgotten which one to boot from, but that's unlikely in a laptop.

      Another possibility: a virus of the rootkit type. Tread carefully.

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      • #4
        Which Envy? The 17" or the 15"? I've got a 2013 17 Envy. I have to hit escape continuously during boot to see the options for the machine (and it never shows the @#$@#$@#$ POST screen, just the HP logo and swirly dots). And if it's the CMOS, it's right under the panel that is easily pulled from the back of the machine. It's simple to replace should that be required. Just pray that you never have to try and futz with the mSATA drive (should yours have one). I ended up installing a drive in that space and had to tear apart the entire machine to get to it. But now, I'm rocking 2 SSDs and 1 magnetic drive.
        But the paint on me is beginning to dry
        And it's not what I wanted to be
        The weight on me
        Is Hanging on to a weary angel - Sister Hazel

        Comment

        • #5
          Quoth Ophbalance View Post
          Which Envy? The 17" or the 15"? I've got a 2013 17 Envy. I have to hit escape continuously during boot to see the options for the machine (and it never shows the @#$@#$@#$ POST screen, just the HP logo and swirly dots).
          The 15." Mine used to show options, but doesn't now. When I turn it on after shutting the machine off properly, it does that stupid quick boot thing. When I hold the power button to turn it off, it turns on the long way, but still does nothing when I hold escape. Haven't tried hitting escape vs holding it yet.

          Will try the process in the link from EricKei after I get back from school. It has been a couple weeks since I booted into Ubuntu, and I have done some updates since, now that I think about it.
          Replace anger management with stupidity management.

          Comment

          • #6
            Well, typed up a nice update then it got eaten, so this is a slightly abbreviated version.

            Got into BIOS. Win 8 doesn't show any traditional POST screen, I have come to the conclusion that I imagined seeing that screen on this computer. Still, I have to hit esc almost at the same time as the power key.

            Can get into Linux through the BIOS, but I still can't figure out how to get the screen I used to have, where it asked me what OS to start. It was the purplish background that Ubuntu uses as default on it's terminal screen. So maybe it was actually a Linux generated option screen?

            I also got a "windows failed to start" screen once while trying to boot... It hasn't happened again *fingers crossed* and it did start fine when I tried again.
            Replace anger management with stupidity management.

            Comment

            • #7
              Well, if Windows was installed first, the MBR will be on the Windows boot drive/partition, and Windows itself should be handling the bootup choices. If you can get into Windows, run msconfig and look at the [BOOT] tab to see if it contains anything useful. The [GENERAL] tab may also shed some light on the subject, as it controls whether to use the "original boot configuration" or not.

              Best guess: If you have multiple boot devices, disable ALL of them in the BIOS save for one, and see what happens. Re-enable one and disable all others one at a time to isolate which drive/partition does what.

              Beyond that, I'm afraid I'm out of my depth.
              Last edited by EricKei; 01-30-2015, 03:45 AM.
              "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
              "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
              "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
              "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
              "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
              "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
              Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
              "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

              Comment

              • #8
                hold on try something for me. this fixes 90% of startup issues on laptops. unplug the laptop, take out the battery. hold down the power button for like 10-20 seconds. put the battery back in and plug it back in. I cannot count the number of computers I've seen come to my store that don't turn on, don't show anything on screen, don't boot all the way to windows or any number of things that then boot right up afterwards.
                Interviewer: What is your greatest weakness?
                Me: I expect competence from my coworkers.

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                • #9
                  On my Envy, the only way to get to the GRUB menu is to choose which drive to boot after hitting ESC. I think, however, I installed everything to a secondary drive since my Envy got all sorts of out of whack with the main drive when I put an SSD in the slot that drive1 was and moved the 1TB drive to drive2.
                  But the paint on me is beginning to dry
                  And it's not what I wanted to be
                  The weight on me
                  Is Hanging on to a weary angel - Sister Hazel

                  Comment

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