Crashing in startup after AMD driver upgrade

[Troublefinder]

I purchased my computer on February, 2016, so it is quite new. There was Windows 10 ready and couple of days ago it was upgraded. My internet connection is LAN, there has been no problems with that.

Yesterday an AMD automatic detecting system informed me that my drivers need upgrading and I gave it permission to upgrade, maybe that was my biggest fault.. After that I needed to restart the system and I did it. The computer started showing strange texts on display, I remember only one word of it, it was at the end of the first line: "watchdog". After that the HP text showed and freezed on display. I tried starting second time, result was the same. Third time the texts in the beginning didn't show anymore, but the startup crashed on HP display.

I'm now on a computer that is not mine and I tried to find help to solve this problem from HP Support Finland, since I can't use HP Support Assistant on my own HP. I found some advice that I tried:

- I removed the battery and the power cord, but it didn't help

- after starting the computer, I pressed Esc multiple times to get to safe mode. Finally I got to a mode where I could enter some commands (unfortunately I don't remember them anymore..), but it didn't give me the result I was waiting for (and what support page told should be the result). The computer told that it doesn't find the files those commands were asking for.

I'm really sad that I haven't had money to buy an adequate memory stick or cd's to make recovery stick or disks.. NOW they might be necessary.

I've been thinking about reseting the computer, but there might be some risks, too.. Please, please, help me, I don't know what to do anymore. I hope you'll find a solution to solve this problem, thank you already!

[EmeraldAvenger · Accepted solution]

Hi there @Troublefinder, 

Thank you for joining in on the HP Support Forums and Welcome! You have come to a great place to ask questions, find solutions and get help from others in the community! I understand that after you had done a driver update and recently upgraded to Windows 10, now your HP Notebook - 15-af122no (ENERGY STAR) is not allowing you to start properly. 

Please note remove any and all USB devices. Disconnect all non-essential devices, as these could cause some issues.

Are you getting a hang up at the HP Logo?

Have you tried a hard reset?

Have you tried to Test for Hardware Failures?

Did you happen to receive any error messages or error codes?

Do you happen to see a blue Choose an Option screen at all?

If the computer locks up at the HP logo screen, try cleaning the computer vents with compressed air and then restarting the Notebook. 

Follow these steps to remove and reseat memory modules for troubleshooting:

1. Turn off the computer and disconnect the power cord.
2. Remove the cover to access the memory.
3. Remove all of the memory modules in the computer.
4. Reinsert all memory modules.
5. Replace the service cover, battery, and power cord.
6. Turn on the computer.

If the boot issue is still happening, you can Restore the BIOS. Please follow the steps in the document to Restore the BIOS. 

You may need to Perform an HP system recovery. 

If any of the steps in this post have helped you resolve the issue, please mark this post as an "Accepted Solution" so that other's can find the steps that help. 

Please re-post with the results, answer's to the questions above and your specific Notebook Model Number if you require further assistance. I would be happy to help!

Have a great day!