HP Z8 G5 Workstation BIOS 01.02.25 Boot Issue with Samsung 860 QVO SSD

[Julius121]

After updating the BIOS of my HP Z8 G5 Workstation from version 01.02.17 to 01.02.25, the system fails to boot and hangs on the “Protected by HP Wolf Security” logo screen. To troubleshoot, I removed the 2.5" SATA SSD, and the system booted successfully. However, once the SSD is reinstalled, the issue reoccurs. The SSD in question is a Samsung 860 QVO 4TB.  There seems to be an incompatibility or bug introduced in this latest BIOS version.

Rolling back to BIOS version 01.02.17 resolves the issue, confirming it is related to the new firmware.

Has anyone encountered the same problem or found a permanent fix?
Is HP aware of this issue with BIOS version 01.02.25?

Any suggestions or insights would be appreciated.

[limpus]

I bricked an Z4 G5 Workstation with an update to BIOS 01.02.25 from BIOS 01.02.17. Support came and replaced the mainboard. The new mainboard had BIOS 01.02.08 installed. Updating this to 01.02.25 using the BIOS's build-in online update utility bricked the new mainboard, too. We even tried booting without any storage attached, which yielded the same result: the system froze a the "HP Wolf security" logo.

[Ulf_K]

I updated my Z6 G5 with this version as well. It did not brick the machine but during boot process, the BIOS version normally displayed in lower left corner with previous BIOS versions is not visible anymore. The boot process is successful though. Checking HP's support page version 01.02.25 is still available for download today July 16...

Asked a question previously on this forum why the version is not displayed but got no answer.

[RBS1DX]

I received my new HP Z8 G5 workstation a week ago (twin Xeon Gold 5520+ CPU with RTX-4000 Ada and a pair of HP SSD drives) and it arrived with BIOS 01.02.25 installed.  I added a 4 TB SanDisk SATA drive in one of the compartments and it boots fine with that drive installed but with a 12 TB WD "Helios" HDD installed in any of the SATA compartments I get the same stuck on Wolf logo screen during boot so it sounds like the same issue you are experiencing. 

With the WD drive installed, you can't even get into BIOS because Wolf does a hard lock when the "entering BIOS" message appears requiring a forced shutdown to regain control and reboot without the added drive.  Hopefully an updated BIOS will cure this because my plan was to migrate the files from my Z840 to the 12 TB drive, right now I am using an external 8 TB USB drive which isn't convenient.

Otherwise I am very happy with the workstation after changing the Windows default power scheme.  Prior to that change, my photo processing program was running far faster on the twin 8 core Z840 machine but now Canon's DPP at least flies like a WWII bomber which is fast as that klunky software is likely to ever get.  This is my third in the Z8xx series, I started with a Z820 and later bought a Z840 which will probably be dedicated to Linux only and I have been very pleased with all of the Z series computers I have owned.

Rodger

[gkisuze]

I have a similar problem following BIOS upgrade to U61 Ver. 01.02.25. Once i connect my seagate hard disks, the boot process just hangs. Any attempt to downgrade hp bios to version U60_01.02.17 is blocked. I've tried using the usb flash drive, upgrade/downgrade using the network bios and none of the processes is successful. On Network Bios upgrade, it throws an error MS Windows Bitlocker Drive Encryption(BDE) maybe enabled on your system. I don't use Windows.

On Ubuntu terminal, it throws an error "Error: Cannot flash this image!"

On using flash drive with BIOS image, "BIOS update is denied by system policy". 

I'm stuck with hp z8 G5 Fury which cannot boot when my disks are connected.

Please help me figure out how to downgrade its BIOS version or HP should release a version that resolves those issues.

[RBS1DX]

My HP Z8 G5 (twin CPU, NOT the Fury version) was delivered from HP in mid July and has BIOS 01.02.25 with a BIOS date of May 9 and it has the boot hang issue if I have a large SATA drive installed.  I see on HP's website that they list BIOS 01.02.25 Rev A dated May 20, 2025 so mine wasn't built with the latest BIOS.

Are any of you experiencing the boot issue running the Rev A update to the original 01.02.25 BIOS?  If you are and still have the boot hang issue, then I won't bother to update my BIOS yet given the issues that BIOS updates can cause on the current generation of Z8 series workstations.  

ON EDIT:  I  contacted HP support and they stated that the BIOS update did address boot issues and they sent the update link which shows it installed two updates as it went through the multiple boot firmware update.  HOWEVER the system information still shows the date of May 9 after the update so maybe my computer already has Rev A and in any case the boot hang issue remains when I tried to use a 12 TB SATA drive internally so I will continue using it via an external adapter while waiting for HP to get their stuff together.  

UPDATE EDIT #2:  I manually downloaded the update directly from the HP drivers site and the file is the same one as the one in the link sent to me by HP support so best guess is the System Information option in setup doesn't show revisions and just the original numbering scheme for BIOS version.  I suspect the May 9 vs May 20 date discrepancy is the difference between when Rev A was developed and when it was actually released 11 days later.  So don't waste your time like I did trying the Rev A update because it doesn't solve the issue.  Interestingly, the SanDisk 4 TB SSD I installed works just fine so it is interesting that the Samsung 4 TB "triggers" the issue.

[random_User_69]

I had the same issue. My problem occurred during the BIOS update installation which corrupted the BIOS. The system was completely unusable so HP got involved since it was under active warranty. Three different HP technicians came on separate days and in total the motherboard was replaced three times and all 1 TB of RAM was replaced once. Nothing fixed the system (including removing all SSDs). We eventually ordered a new HP Z8 G5 workstation but even on the new system if I install an SSD it gets stuck on the "Protected by HP Wolf Security" logo screen. I tried various SSD brands and they all cause the same issue. I am now confident this is a systematic problem and I can only hope that HP fixes it as soon as possible.

[RBS1DX]

My Z8 G5 (with the problematic 01.02.25 BIOS) works fine with a SanDisk 4 TB SSD but putting in either or both of my 12 TB WD "Helios" drives creates the Wolf security freeze during boot.  So apparently some large drives work in the SATA bays with this BIOS and I got lucky with the one I purchased.

I opened a support case with HP but no resolution yet. The HP rep followed up by email earlier this week and I sent him a link to this thread.

It is amazing that this issue isn't better known within HP so that they don't waste client time throwing motherboards at a BIOS "bug".  At this point, I am using an external WD drive that I had intended to use only to move data from my HP 840 to the new workstation.

[Ulf_K]

Jus curious: Are these systems using NVMe-disks on the MB for O/S and the SATA-disks mentioned for user data?

[RBS1DX]

That is the case with mine, a pair of NVMe units ordered with the unit for the OS and a data drive and I installed another SanDisk 4TB SATA SSD in one bay and is used as a data which doesn't create the issue BUT my WD 12 TB SATA drives do cause the Wolf security boot freeze.