Envy 34 Curved all-in-one A010 SSD bricked after BIOS update

[telecam]

This is a repost....  My previous post was deleted, I hope this is not a case of censorship.

My Envy 34 A010 has been happily running on a Samsung EVO 850 SSD  for the last 3 years.  Yesterday, I stupidly updated the BIOS from version A0.12 Rev.A to version A0.13 Rev.A.  My computer now no longer boots and get stuck at the HP logo.  I have spent hours trying to rollback to the previous BIOS but it turned out that HP MAY HAVE DISABLED THE ROLL BACK FEATURE on this machine.  How can they possibly take out SSD support in a BIOS update??? I was able to restart the machine form the original conventional drive but it is so slow that it makes the machine almost unusable.  Anyone managed to roll back the driver on an Envy 34 A010?  There is little information if any on this on HP support pages.  I did try the various methods described here but I always end up with a message saying that the BIOS version is not valid.

[Grzwacz]

Greetings,

Welcome back to the forum.

I am not a HP employee.

You cannot roll back a successful BIOS update on HP consumer PCs.

Your PC will not boot using the 850 but the PC will boot with the factory HDD installed. Is this correct?

Have you checked Device Manager, IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers for errors and to make sure you have the correct Intel chipset controller?

Have you tried setting the BIOS to defaults? Try pulling the motherboard CR2032 battery. Let the PC sit for about 10 minutes.

Reinstall or replace the MB battery with a new battery.

Try the 850 again.

I can't believe HP would sabotage a PC by including microcode in a BIOS update which would disable SATA SSD support. HP would have to detect the SSD product and serial number. Then HP would have to disable this device or PCH SATA support for the device. This would be very evil if this is happening.

Regards

[telecam]

Thanks for pitching in.  I wish the HP tech I talked to yesterday after having to committ and buy a year worth of tech support would have given me that clear answer on BIOS rollback which I was thinking was probably the case.  I am not sure why HP makes 5 older BIOS versions available for download for that machine then...  But point taken.  The tech still tried to run me through various ways to load the previous BIOS, thus unsucessfully 😞

Evil it may be....  there are other reports of SSD boot drives not working on HP computer after BIOS update like here.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/HP-blocking-SSD-upgrades-with-newer-systems-an...

- Yes, PC boots fine with stock HD which I kept after I upgraded to SSD drive 3 years ago.

- Yes, did reset BIOS to defaults settings

- I also reloaded all latest board, storage controller drivers for that computer

- I haven't seen a battery on the MB, but will have to look closer.  This all-in-one is a pain to work on...  I did boot the computer holdin Win-C key which is suppose ot clear the CMOS.

- Device manager doesn't report any errors on storage/board controllers.

My Samsung EVO 850 SSD is 3-yr old.  I ordered the newer EVO-860 SSD model which I hope has different drivers and wider compatibility that may coexist with the new BIOS update.  This is all speculative of course but I though I would give it a try.  There is not much option left and this machine original mechanical drive is too slow to make good use of it.

Take care,

[Grzwacz]

Hi Telecam,

You're very welcome.

I have one other suggestion. See if you can view the 850 contents by installing it as a data drive on this PC or a different PC.

Just checking to verify the 850 has not failed.

I looked at the MB. I think the battery is in the lower right corner of the MB. It may be in the upper left corner if HP inverted the MB in your chassis.

Regards

[telecam]

Thanks!  Yes, the SSD mounts without any problem when install in a SATA caddy and connected to a PC via USB.  I actually copied the drive image in case I find another SSD that works with the BIOS update which I hope will be the case the 860.  Finger crossed...

[telecam]

So, after much attempts, I finally came to the conclusion that HP has blocked BIOS rollback and SSD support on this motherboard which is really a shame.  Here is the latest response I got from tech support:

"The hardware that originally came with the device when connected should work internally as that is how it was designed. HP can not guarantee third party parts will always work with every update. If you were to custom create your device through individual parts then it would be different if you were looking at the compatibility of the individual parts, however, with having a HP unit the parts are all designed and tested for that unit and if need to be replaced are replaced with the original part.   Best regards"

FRankly, this a very lame response to provide.  Altering the BIOS file of a motherboard to implement regressive "features" such as blocking support for SSDs is a stupid and iresponsible action on the part of a company such as HP.  And on top of this, not giving the consumer the option to rollback to a working BIOS version adds insult to injury.  I'll make sure I'll spread the message accross HP's community of such bad company policies. 

[Grzwacz]

Hi Telecam.

Most system integrators don't like modifications made to their products. It also messes up factory service. The OEM is only going to support the hardware and software installed at the factory.

I have owned many HP PCs and have worked on many HP PCs.

I have never seen anything such as this. Storage devices fail all the time. Platter HDDs are probably the most common replacement items due to high usage and moving parts.

I wonder if a HP branded SSD would work in your PC.

Regards

[telecam]

Yep, I am wondering too....  I  did received a new Samsun EVO 860 SSD which I though may have more chance to be compatible with the updated BIOS but no luck, excact same issue.  May be I should try another brand?  As a temporary fix, I am able to boot and run the computer from the same SSD in a USB 3.0 caddy.  I may just call it a day and move on running the machine this way.

[BoingoBoing]

I too was having an issue upgrading the Envy 34", I had bought a Samsung 860 Evo cloned it using Paragon's Hard Disk Clone Software

exact copy with the hp support partition as well and it just wouldnt boot, it wouldnt get pass the HP Logo Screen, I then connected a Crucial SSD that i had on my other computer and boom it recognized it and loaded just fine. it didnt even have any of the HP stuff on that drive. I went and exchanged my Samsung Evo for a Crucial SSD, came home cloned it. and everything was just as it should computer booted it, in record time, I even have the latest BIOS. hope that helps, something with the samsung SSD's the computer doesnt like, but at least for me the Crucials work with no issues at all.