BIOS update failed - now won't boot with 8 beeps/no video on post

[SimonGr]

i'll try it again with the v2.90 file, however i don't remember which version the unit had before the update.

it may have been a version from 2013 (which might be v2.90).

what is the process for to clear the CMOS?

my previous attempt was using a 2GB usb stick formatted to FAT32, which was connected to the front USB port.

[SimonGr]

ok i've cleared the CMOS (disconnect all cables, press and hold the cmos reset button for 3 seconds).

reformatted USB stick to FAT (32kb). K01_0290.bin file put in root.

plugged UBS stick into front USB port.

powered on.

8 beeps and red light flash 8 times.

unit powers off.

powers back on itself and continues with 8 beeps.

this then loops continuously.

at no point does the monitor show anything on screen.

NOTE - there is no 2 second gap between each beep like the support document says.

also tried the windows-B command, this made no difference.

here is a video clip of what happens - https://photos.app.goo.gl/G82lVprRyBCjbCcC3

[Paul_Tikkanen]

There is a little yellow clear CMOS button on the motherboard normally located near the coin cell battery.

To clear the CMOS, see the troubleshooting guide I posted the other day, Appendix B, pp 63-64.

[SimonGr]

one of my replies seems to have been removed/disappeared?
I replied after my post regarding CMOS reset and with results of the test, and it was visible this morning but has since disappeared.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, that happens once in a blue moon.

It may show up hours from now.

I have no clue why that happens.

[SimonGr]

jeez... have HP turned into such a tin-pot company these days?

basically i have done as requested.

reset the CMOS

copied the bin file to the root of a USB formatted to FAT

plugged it into front USB port.

turned on.

8 beeps and red light flash eight times (no two second gap between beeps as per the support doc though).

after 8 beeps the unit turns off.

it then turns back on and repeats the process continually.

at no point is there any display on screen.

here is a video of what happens - https://photos.app.goo.gl/G82lVprRyBCjbCcC3

the WINDOWS-B button technique also did nothing.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Just get a used motherboard on eBay...beats pitching the thing in the trash.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=8300+Elite+SFF+motherboard&_sop=15

[Skylarking]

It seems to me that the prevalent attitude has become one of "customers don't read manuals" so OEM's try and save $$ by producing token documents lacking any real technical detail. As a result, when the customer has some rather frustrating problem, well they can "use the OEM support they paid for" or they simply "buy a new machine" if it is out of support contract since they can't really fault find without accurate technical detail. It's a win for the OEM's since they all do it but sadly it's a loss for the owner of the equipment who can't fix things themselves.

Anyway, back to the problem you have.

In the links i provided, some statements were made that there may be multiple restarts during the recovery process. So even though it looks like things are not working, and you are not seeing anything on the screen, maybe something is working in the background and you're shut it down before it's done. Some patience and a pedantic attitude may be helpful here

Sadly, the recovery process is dependant on the BIOS maker the OEM uses on your machine and on the specific customisations the OEM makes to BIOS. Being that accurate BIOS documentation is lacking, it's always an up hill battle.

Some things to consider are:

- have you left it alone for an hour to do its thing through it's restart cycles with USB recovery thumb drive inserted? 

- have you tried a different thumb drive ?

- have you tried to insert it into another USB port?

- have you tried different BIOS versions?

In my case, i had a black screen with no response on my x210 workstation after BIOS upgrade. It took quite some research and quite a few attempts to get it to come good.  But it was a while ago and i didn't take notes

Now, i have to rely on my faded memory but i don't remember seeing initial recovery messages on the screen - just like you. Once the stars were aligned, it automagically seemed to come good and booted as normal. One give away that something was happening was due to using a small capacity thumb drive with a led that flashes with activity. I could see some process was reading the thumb drive. Oh, and it only seemed to work with a the last working BIOS version on the recovery drive using the correct recovery name.  

And this last point related to the recovery name is important. Some BIOS hacking tools can actually provide the file name that should be used during a BIOS recovery process.

I've checked your v2.90 BIOS using Pheonix tool which indicates it is an EFI/Insyde BIOS and that the recovery file should be called "K01.BIN". As such, try renaming "K01_0290.BIN" to "K01.BIN" and place this file on the root of the thumb drive.

Now try the recovery process again while considering teh point i made above. Hopefully it works this time around.

At the end of the day, if all this seems too much and it's not working for you, maybe spending $50 on a 2nd hand mobo is a simpler solution. Just make sure that the 2nd hand mobo firmware has the required license table to allow your OS to authenticate if you are using the OEM HP install image.

As a last comment, i'm just a forum user making suggestions. I'm not a HP support employee with access to in house technical docs (otherwise i'd provide 100% accurate info). As such, my suggestions are based on my experiances and memory and are just than; suggestions. Take them as you will 

PS:

I'd also suggest when using your phone to video stuff, turn it 90' so that we can see it better within a 16:9 monitor. And you may want to also consider reduce the video resolution so the file is a smaller upload/download (i use handbrake to resize but you can just change settings within the phone prior to making the video). 

And maybe you want to turn off location services when posing on google as we now know that you were at City Technical Services Ltd near the Cambuslang Golf Club in Glasgow on friday :smileyembarrassed:

Gota love Google, not

[SimonGr]

i'll try it again, but i let it go for a good 10 minutes with nothing happening other than the 8 beep loop.

the support document didn't match the symptoms i was having or what should happen during the recovery process.

bios v2.90 appears to be the version it ships with so there is no other older version to try.

i can't remember which version it had installed when i attempted the update, but as it did to an update i can only assume it was v2.90 that was intalled before it went wrong.

as for the video. i took it in portrait mode on purpose so you could see the monitor and the LEDs at the same time.

the video resolution again is not important as the video is shared to be viewed online (no downloading necessary). upload time is not a problem here for a 4k video file.

and location is also not an issue for me.

[Skylarking]

---

@SimonGr wrote:
the support document didn't match the symptoms i was having or what should happen during the recovery process.

---

I remember reading in one of the HP docs linked within this thread that if the BIOS is really screwed up, video BIOS may not load and hense video may not work during the early part of the boot block recovery process. However it's true to say that HP docs in this area leave a rather lot to be desired.

So yeah try it again with K01.BIN though you could also have multiple BIOS files with different names on the usb thumb drive.

Google "hp bios recovery" may give further hints as to other BIOS file names that could work though i think K01.BIN should be OK.

After my last post, i also read the thumb drive should be names HP_TOOLS for the recovery process to work on laptops so you may want to try that name for the thumb drive itself along with K01.BIN for the BIOS file even though your have a desktop.

It will be interesting to hear of your results.

Good luck.