HP Compaq nx9110 laptop is stuck in a Startup Loop

[Xenronn]

TL; DR:

My HP-Compaq nx9110 (referred to as "The Laptop") will power on, but after the Compaq splash screen, it will flash to a black screen with only the top-left command-prompt-style underscore, then flash again and be back at the Compaq splash screen.  This loops infinitely.

I can access BIOS, but so far none of the basic methods of recovery have any effect.

 

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This Laptop's Specs:

Model: HP-Compaq nx9110 (PC796AV)

system board ID: 089C

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 @3.00 Ghz

System memory: 640 MB

Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP

original OS: Windows XP

 

PhoenixBIOS setup utility

Bios version: F.42

KBC version: 31.42

Serial #: 2UA443P3PM

UUID #: F8DB125F186511D9

               913E000FB00FBABE

 

No bios passwords are set, both floppy and CD-ROM boot options are enabled.

 

default boot order:

1) Floppy drive

2)ATAPI CD-ROM drive

3)Hard Drive 

--- Samsung HM160HC-(PM)

4) Network Adapter

 

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Long version:

I recently began work on restoring an old HP-Compaq business laptop from 2002-03 (cleaning, re-applying thermal paste, checking components for damage, etc).

 

The original 2.5" HDD (80gb, 4200rpm) that was in it would not show up in BIOS boot order, nor when I plugged it into my desktop via USB-to-IDE adapter.  I chalked that up as it being dead and bought a new similar model (Samsung, 160gb 5400rpm).

 

When I got the new HDD, I first plugged it into my desktop via the same usb-to-IDE connector, initialized the disk and formatted the whole disk to 1 volume, MBR boot sector. (NTSF as far as I know)

 

Then, I tried plugging this initialized blank drive into the laptop along with a Windows 10 installation USB stick, to reload windows. (as far as I could tell from research, Win10 should work with this hardware)

This resulted in a loop of: Compaq splash screen -> half a second of the Windows logo showing up -> black screen -> back to the Compaq splash screen.

 So I figured, "okay, this hardware is too old to recognize a bootable USB perhaps."

I checked in the boot order screen, and the USB stick DOES show up as a valid boot option, but even disabling every other option didn't yield any different result.

 

My next attempt was to install Win10 directly to the HDD using a tool called Win-To-Usb, which took the .iso created by the Windows Media Creation Tool and essentially installed it to the HDD as if it was connected to a new computer.  I then put this drive back in the Laptop, powered it on, and this results in the startup loop I'm currently in.

 

I haven't been able to find any info specifically related to this model and Windows 10 together, so my research is at a standstill.  Any advice is welcome; my skill level is what I'd describe as intermediate.

 

Ideas I still have:

-try installing Win 7 or Win XP on the drive instead to see if it's just Win10 uncompatibility

-create installation media on CD-ROM to see if that will work properly (I'll re-initialize the HDD first, of course)

-

chuck the damn thing out the window to see how durable it is, proceed to use it as a fancy doorstop.

 

Boot Order:

 

System info:

[tmlhalo]

Try a USB with Ubuntu to see if it is a Windows 10 issue with such old hardware. If that works then work your way down Windows version until you get a hit.