Cannot boot after HP support Assistant update

[Tinman811]

After an HP support assistant initiated update the computer will not boot.  I get a blue screen (not BSOD) that says :  "Boot device not found .  Please install an operating system on your hard disk.   Hard Disk - (3F0)"  

I tried booting from a CD and running BootRec /FixMBR, BootRec /FixBoot, and BootRec /rebuildBCD (separate operations of course) but it did nothing.  

I found that if I boot into the bios manu and choose "Load defaults and exit" the unit will boot normally, that one time.  The next time I get the same error screen.  Thinking it may be a setup retention issue I changed the CR2032 coin battery but it did not help.

To summerize,  this happened after an update; no changes were made to the bios/UEFI settings, secure boot is enabled and  the first boot device is "boot manager".

Any help would be appreciated.

[TheOldMan]

That message ""Boot device not found .  Please install an operating system on your hard disk. " more than likely just means the boot manager file has been corrupted and it cannot find the OS installation.  That can usually be repaired with a bootable repairs disk or the installation media and picking repair from the startup menu.  Assuming you did not make that disk before the failure, then that might be a problem.  It might require the use of a different Windows 8.1 machine to make the repair disk.

[Tinman811]

Thank you very much for your reply, but if you would re-read my post carefully you will find that I have already done what you suggest.  This is almost certainly a bios/UEFI issue and not a Windows issue per se.  I have looked over the bios settings and see nothing abnormal.  My question really is, I guess... Why will it boot into Windows if I first enter the bios and choose "load defaults and exit", but will not boot into Windows normally the next time?

[TheOldMan]

I get your point.  I did overlook that.  If that is the case, did you save the selection after setting the BIOS to defaults?  There is usually a choice or warning to save the selection before exiting, maybe pressing F10?  It will tell you which key to press to save.

[Tinman811]

Again, thank you for your response.

Well no, saving the settings, per se, doesn't seem to be an option and yes, that does seem to be the actual issue.

Here's what works:

I begin hitting the Escape key as the machine starts its POST. This brings up the "Startup menu".

From there, if I hit F9 it brings up "UEFI Boot settings menu", showing the boot order as:
1. Windows Boot Manager
2. UEFI IPv4 Realtek PCIe controller
3. UEFI IPv6 Realtek PCIe controller
4. Legacy boot sources

OR, From the startup menu, I can hit F10 to bring up the bios menu.

From there the choice that works is "Apply default settings and exit".
I then must confirm with "Yes".
Then it boots Windows normally.

It just seems to forget what to do every time. As I mentioned in the original post, I replaced the CR2032 coin battery thinking it was losing the setup info due to low or no power.

Is there any chance the CMOS chip is actually damaged? I have never seen this before, but everything fails eventually. This PC was "born" on November 2014, so it isn't that old.

[TheOldMan]

If you actually go into the BIOS with the F10 choice, set the defaults from that menu, it should then prompt you to save those settings before exiting.  If it does not, then let me know and I will try on a HP laptop I have to see how to actually save the settings, assuming there is a way.  The laptop might be slightly different, though.

[Tinman811]

Yes, one would think that after loading the defaults you would then save the changes, but no; in this version of the BIOS they are separate choices.

"Apply defaults and exit" is one choice.
"Save changes and exit" is a totally different choice.

As soon as you choose "apply defaults and exit", it does just that. Right after confirming "Are you sure?" with a "Yes"... it instantly reboots.

What I did try was to choose "apply defaults and exit", then as it started to re-post, start hitting Esc, hit F10 at the appropriate time and then choose "save changes and exit". This seemed to me that it wouldn't work, but I was desperate and was trying everything I could imagine. Bottom line is, it didn't do anything and the problem remained.

I am starting to believe the BIOS/CMOS chip is bad and the transistors' capacitive charges are not being properly refreshed. The user normally leaves the PC on 24/7, so if you think of it that way, then the problem showing up after an update could just a coincidence and this behavior would have occurred on any reboot.

This particular PC seems to have more in common with a laptop than a desktop. It looks like the BIOS chip is not removable.

I do want to thank you for your help, but I am starting to believe there is no simple resolution.

[TheOldMan · Accepted solution]

Ok, in looking at the choices in the HP BIOS that I have access to:  When the F10 menu is picked, as you look at the top of the BIOS page - there is a choice marked "Exit"  When that is highlighted, there are three choices:  "Exit Saving Changes", "Exit Discarding Changes" and "Load Setup Defaults"

Now you can pick"Load Setup Defaults" OR down at the bottom of that same page and press F9 "Setup Defaults"  Either of those choices give the "Load Setup Defaults"  [Yes}  [No]   Pick [Yes], then also at the bottoom press F10 "Save and Exit"

That should save the defaults and exit with them saved.

See if that works

[Tinman811]

Hello and thank you.

It appears we have two different BIOS menus, but as I said, after I choose "Apply Default Settings" and then click "Yes" to confirm, the screen immediately goes blank for a moment and it then runs the POST and boots into Windows. There is no other opportunity or option to save settings.  The next time I restart, without following this procedure, it goes back to the error screen saying not boot device found.

I gave the computer back to the user with instructions on how to complete this workaround. As I mentioned earlier, she very seldom turns the PC off, so she shouldn't run into it too often. I would like to eventually resolve this, but for now I am going to call it resolved.

I really do appreciate your help.