Image stuck on HP/ Wolf Security image , every time after windows updates.

[Akis777]

I have 2 Probooks , G9 and G10 that constantly stuck on the initial loading screen logo ( HP and below Wolf Security ) every after windows update .  I have them both encrypted with Bitlocker and I had the impression that it may be causing conflicts , since when this happen it prompts me for the bitlocker key . 

But I disabled it to one of them , and the same occurred right after some updates ( force shutdown needed as well ).

After force shutdown , is booting normally without issues.

Its only happening to 2 Probooks , but we afraid that it could be a major issue in the future .

it has something to do with HP Sure start in BIOS ? Or Wolf Security ? 

Any help would be appreciated investigating into this. Thanks.

[dmsystems]

We have the exact same problem with a ProBook 440 G9. After every Windows update that requires a restart, the PC starts up and gets stuck on the "Protected by HP Wolf Security" screen. We have to force shut it down, and then it boots correctly. We have opened a ticket with HP, performed all the tests and updates they requested, but the problem persists.

[dmsystems]

We suspect that the issue emerged after the upgrade to Windows 11 24H2, which, on this specific computer, caused the dual boot problem. We also had a similar case with an HP Pro 290 G9, also after the upgrade to 24H2. In this case, after countless attempts, we resolved the issue by performing a bare-metal restore from the backup onto another SSD. However, we do not know whether the problem was the SSD itself or something related to the disk partitioning. All the diagnostic tests performed never found anything.

[Mitch2020]

I'm having a similar issue but it occurs when the laptop restarts. The laptop is connected to a dock (screen, keyboard and mouse) and then additional screen connected directed to laptop by HDMI.

Also any joy with HP Support?

[Akis777]

It's definitely a windows 11 24H2 version issue, that's what we are sure of. Nice job finding it, but this is not a viable solution for us .  We are having this issue with brand new Probooks G10 . 

Could you please share what HP advised for troubleshooting ?

Plus, may I ask if your affected devices are bitlocker encrypted or were once before ?

[dmsystems]

We ran the built-in diagnostics on the PCs, but nothing was detected. They had us run HP Image Assistant, which checks for driver/firmware updates, but even after applying all the updates, the issue still persists.

As a last resort, they suggested reinstalling the OS using HP Cloud Recovery, but that’s not an acceptable solution for us. That doesn’t address the root cause of the problem.

We also checked the Windows BCD configuration by comparing it with an identical working machine, but found no anomalies. As suggested in other posts, we’ve already disabled Fast Startup and disabled/re-enabled hibernation via command prompt. All Windows checks — SFC, DISM, and CHKDSK — came back clean.

At this point, we’ve enabled BCD logging and are waiting for the issue to occur again, hoping it will capture some useful information.

All affected devices are encrypted with BitLocker.

I might try disabling BitLocker on the devices to see if it has any effect on the issue.

[Akis777]

Thanks a lot for sharing . We have done all these troubleshooting steps except Safe /  hibernation mode. 

Concerning Bitlocker encryption, as I mentioned in main topic I disabled it to one of the affected devices, without any luck .

It got stuck again after "Restart and Update" prompt , obviously without adding the Bitlocker key, it just needed force shutdown to boot back on.

I am planning to clear TPM on affected machines . Although I am not seeing anything weird in tpm.msc , it might has some corrupted keys stored idk. 

[dmsystems]

Thanks for the update and for sharing these details.

Please let me know how things go after clearing the TPM—I'm interested to see if that helps resolve the problem.

[dmsystems]

This is an update: we managed to enable the BCD log, but when the PC freezes at the boot screen with the Wolf logo, no details are recorded in the log.

[Mitch2020]

Has anyone contacted HP support yet to see if they have a solution? In my case, the laptop with this issue is currently being used by an end user, so it's difficult for me to interrupt them to troubleshoot.