Odd Vista problem on my new laptop that I received today.

Hey guys, I just got my notebook. Overall good impression with the build quality. I'm actually surprised how cool the laptop feels after being plugged in and running for a few hours. Even the palm rest over the hard drive only feels luke warm as most. The notebook doesn't even feel that warm underneath. This is a stark contrast from the notebooks I tested at Best Buy. This is a 6500se with 8400m video. I am also very impressed with the speaker sound quality. MUCH better than I ever expected.

But there is one immediate problem that I can't figure out how to fix. When I turned the notebook on for the first time and setup the Windows account and configuratons, the computer ran very sluggish. It was plugged in, I am assume it was running at full power. Anyway, the main problem is now after everything setup, I cannot access anything that involves the computer. Meaning, I can't access the Control Panel. I tried running bluetooth and it said I needed administeration rights to install. But I can't even access the control panel to open the User Accounts.

Also, when I click on 'Personalize' for desktop properties, nothing opens up. Same thing happens with battery properties. I can't open the battery window. Infact, the only thing that seems to work right now is Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and HP Total Care Advisor.

I tried opening up one of the pre-installed programs. Some EA Sim's demo or something. Anyway, it says that I do not have a Direct X 9C compliant card. But that is impossible because this notebook has a 8400M.

Another strange thing. Everytime I open up Internet Explorer, it quickly loads this small window about three times before IE opens. Do you guys see this too? I'm guessing it has something to do with the Yahoo ToolBar...correct?

What do you guys think is going on?

Here are my specs:

- HP Pavilion dv6700t Special Edition CTO
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 50% OFF 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - For Core 2 Duo Processors
- HP Imprint Finish (Influx) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
- LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2007

 

Not sure why you dont have Admin rights. The reason its not working porperly is because your on a limited access account.

woops nvm

This happen to my friends asus, ill ask him what he did

 

Follow a clean install guide and boot up to a fresh copy of Vista without the bloatware.

 

I don't understand why my account is not administrator. I've been installing operating systems since Windows 95. Nothing special happened during the initial bootup. Just entered a username and computer name, set the clock, etc. Nothing special.

 

Here is your answer:

Reformat and install a fresh copy of Vista, follow the guide on this site.

You WON'T regret it.

 

Ok, but I would like to get this working first so I can make Factory Restore DVDs. This is extremely frustrating. Why the heck didn't Vista give me an administrator account??? I tried loading Safe Mode at boot. There is no option to load Vista as an administrator. This is outrageous.

 

turn off UAC.

 

You can't turn off UAC if you can't get into the Control Panel.

 

I'm guessing that HP doesn't include pre-made recovery discs on the hard drive and if I make recovery discs now, they will not let me start over...and will just put me back on the desktop I'm staring at now?

 

Your D: partition is by default the recovery partition. You can only run the recovery disc creator once.

 

thats an indication that you may have to "buy" recovery discs from hp....or just call them and explain they may be able to help(most likely by you sending your laptop back)

edit: wait a minute...isn't there an option to run "recovery wizard" by pressing f11 or f10 at startup? might want to try that and get it back to "working" factory condition.

 

I used the information on this page to access the administrator account:

http://www.jimmah.com/vista/Administration/locked_out_of_admin.aspx

Turns out that is not the problem. The built-in administrator account has the same exact problem. I cannot access the Control Panel, Personalize, My Computer, Etc. This is a brand new laptop that just arrived today. I have spent way too much time trying to fix this thing. This is NOT a good first impression.

 

Given that it's a software problem, $10 says it's not the computer.

 

a clean install would fix this. and I agree with lithus, no hardware can prevent administrator from running in your notebook.

 

But that's not what's going on. They are running as administrators. The built-in system administrator account has the same symptoms.

Check out this thread, same problem:
http://www.overclock.net/operating-systems/157321-vista-no-control-panel.html

 

a clean install using a vista anytime upgrade disc should fix this...since it seems to be a problem with vista's files going corrupt. only other thing you can do is call the manufacturer and have them fix it for you, since its a brand new lappy.

 

Two questions:

1. Did you install any security or firewall software
2. Have you activated this copy of Vista yet

 

Just reboot and use the F10 key and do the recovery. It just repeats what it does when you first turned it on, hopefully it will not have the same hickup or whatever it had going on.

 

Thanks Nilst. I didn't even know it had that feature. I pressed F10, and it took me to CMOS, which is good to know. Then I pressed F11 during boot and it brought me to the system recovery program. Awesome. I will let you guys know if this works!

 

The F11 recovery program did the trick! Thanks Nilst! Everything seems to be working nicely now. I noticed that the Windows setup involved more steps than I saw the first time around yesterday. Loving the notebook so far. Anyone know how to remove the Yahoo Search bar at the bottom?

 

Glad you got going.
BTW it was harpreet1988 that mentioned the F11 Recovery higher up in reply #11. I just reiterated it. Although I have used it on other laptops before and its always turned out exactly how it was when you first turned it on.

I just Uninstalled all the useless stuff like Yahoo bar in Programs & Features in Control Panel.

 

As thanks, be sure to post the thread and an explanatory comment on the Overclock.com thread and other locations you heard about the problem. We all tend to make the same mistakes or run into the same problems.