HP Firmware BIOS update bricked my computer

[Dan_W_Johnston]

Hi. I have an HP TG01-1160XT desktop. It has an Intel I7-10700 CPU, 32GB RAM, NVidea RTX 3060TI FE GPU, 1TB M.2 SSD with Windows 11 Pro on it, 2TB Sata 3 SSD that games are stored on, HP 500 Watt PSU, all attached to the factory HP Baker 8767 motherboard. A couple weeks ago while letting Windows Update run it offered a new HP Firmware BIOS update that completely bricked my computer after it completed it’s install process and did it’s final restart as part of it’s install. I’ve let the BIOS update atleast once before through Windows Update without a single problem, but this time I have absolutely no video output through my regular NVidea RTX 3060TI FE card, or by swapping out to the NVidea GTX 1650 or whatever it was that came stock with the computer, or even by removing a GPU entirely and connecting to the motherboards Intel GPU which seems like the BIOS should be able to force switch it on since it can be turned on and is functional, I’ve used it before just to see if it was usable as a backup when I was swapping out parts. Also I have absolutely no recognition of the USB keyboard, like the caps lock button light doesn’t light up and no matter what key combo I’ve tried based on that exact computers HP support suggestions nothing changes. So, when I turn on the computer the power light lights up, the big green light on the bottom front lights up, the fans run, and that’s about it, it’ll sit like that for days and do nothing else. What’s odd is that plugging in my phone to any USB port charges it, same with my XBox controller, the PCIEx16 port has power on it because the NVidea GTX 1650 GPU only gets power from the motherboard and it’s fan kicks on when turning on the computer, and atleast part of the BIOS initial diagnostics check works because if you do pull the RAM sticks and hit power it gives the beeping codes and if you unplug the CPU and hit power it starts for about a second, shuts off, restarts for a second, shuts off, over and over again. So everything seems to get power, except of course the important stuff like video output and the keyboard, but even with all the SSD’s pulled from it it refuses to even act like it’s interested in booting from a flash drive even though USB boot should be turned on, it was before and I used it before when I removed Windows 11 and installed Windows 11 Pro last year with a flash drive. Well, almost last year, I bought it new still sealed in the factory HP box about 10 months ago it seems like before I overhaul upgraded it pretty much to about it’s max. I also added a few extra fans to it and ported a bit more air intake to it, so the CPU never got above around 65 degrees C, about the same for the GPU, so it shouldn’t have ever overheated, it sure never acted like it atleast, in fact it ran beautifully and every game I ever played on it set itself to max graphics settings automatically and I purposely set it to run 1920x1080 at 58 fps and it was nonstop pegged at 58 fps, so it was never under any kind of strain. So, pretty much the HP BIOS update that Windows Update dumped on my computer has likely fried the BIOS or another part of the motherboard and every program that HP support offers does nothing since I can’t get the computer to read a flash drive, accept a single keyboard command or even light up the one light on the keyboard, or even produce an image through HDMI, the only source of monitor that I have, and yes, I’ve done used the same HDMI cable and monitor with my old wore out junk Dell laptop with a cooked GPU to check the connection and it has perfect graphics output shockingly, so it’s all just what that BIOS update has done to it. I know I’ll likely have to buy a new motherboard since there’s pretty much zero chance of getting this one to work right, but I’m having a hard time understanding why Windows Update is pushing a BIOS update that from all the other complaints that I’ve read online about it (there’s a ton of them) HP screwed up majorly while writing it, gave it to Windows Update to pass out too, then HP pulled it from their site (pretty sure the last 2 don’t appear on HP’s site) yet Windows Update steal slinging it like junk chunks of soap and acting like it’s crack which is majorly screwing up peoples HP computers left and right, most seem to be fixable after mass headaches, ripping out lots of hair, and studying most of the internet before they find enough clues to piece it together, but some are like me and absolutely nothing works, meaning I’ve got a less that 1 year old computer that an HP written BIOS update just trashed and of course I have no warranty so now I’ll have to spend another $100 or $200 or so just to make a computer that’s barely old enough to collect dust work when my 2015 Dell Laptop that wasn’t even designed to play a game 1 that I played games so hard for so long on it that I literally had smoke curling out of it when I thought I’d killed it completely still does everything that it’s supposed too just fine, a little slowly, but still works fine unless you try to start a game and then it shuts itself off after about 5 minutes, but considering it didn’t even have a GPU and this HP is a “Gaming Computer” that can’t make it a year before HP writes a program that makes it a good paperweight at best I’m just a little bit upset about it. If anybody has any suggestion that I haven’t read in the last 2 weeks of searching HP Support, like something out of the box that might actually do something, please feel free to reply, other than that I’d really love to hear from HP on why my less than 1 year old computer had to die because apparently somebody don’t know how to write BIOS files but yet felt the need to release them anyway.

[BeemerBiker]

I assume you tried the "b" key or sure start recovery?

https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/ish_3932413-2337994-16#:~:text=Press%20and%20hold%20the%20Wind....

Did you try the 2nd part of "3" using the USB and an older bios on the flash drive?

The latest bios is Sept, 2023, I would try the previous bios F.31 from here

Try warranty?  If brought from a club or retail store the warranty may not have expired.

You can always replace the ROM BIOS chip at a tech shop

You can flash your own bios using inexpensive USB flash tool that clips to the chip

I would also complain to HP support about Microsoft releasing bad BIOS.  

Microsoft also has a better business bureau listing to complain to.

[Dan_W_Johnston]

I’ve literally tried everything on the support site, and mine came with F.47 BIOS from the factory and I believe had already updated once before to F.55, so there’s no possibility of rolling back to F.31. The F.47 download is on HP’s driver site, but since I have absolutely no access to the UEFI or the BIOS period it’s completely useless, even with all the BIOS update tools, BIOS recovery tools, and the HP 4 in 1 tool. I might be able to take it to a circuit board repairer and them do some fancy stuff on the BIOS chip, if it’s not fried, but, when you figure finding a repairman with the tools to do that and how much they’d cost I can get the same model motherboard new for around the same price. I’m about 95% sure that a new board is my cheapest and possibly only way of fixing it, I was more trying to figure out since there’s literally a list of complaints about this that would take a month of Sundays to read why nothing is being done about this and why for people that got their computer as screwed up as I did from it have basically no option but to buy a new motherboard or a new computer from what HP and Windows Update together caused. Oh, and my computer has been out of the box and used less than a year, but it’s a discontinued 2020 year computer bought from an aftermarket dealer that apparently bought a ton of them from HP at a major discount and then upped his price some before he sold it still for half what it was listed for, so there’s no warranty, never was since I bought it, I got it for half the listing price because I intended to use it for a base to build basically around a $2,500 computer out of and have around $1,400 tops in it, which I did until HP and Windows Update worked together to get even with me for saving some money, guess HP’s going to get it back one bad BIOS file at a time.

[Unfriendlybios]

My pc is an HP desktop 2 years and 1month old so I have been unable to get help for the same issue. Your OK if you act quickly, the PC came with 1 year warranty so get you proof of purchase and go to HP support. It sounds like people under warranty get replacement parts to make the repair. The rest of us are just buying a new PC for that mistake.

[Unfriendlybios]

Thanks those are good steps but yes I tried them and more. With no display I cannot access options or settings to boot from ... The PC like all my HP products gets added to my HP account/my devices the day I buy them. That is how I am so certain of the 25 month mark. I spent days with support and even after paid support option I was told to take it to a computer shop. I have read other people with this problem who are under warranty, get parts sent to them to make the repair. 

[Dan_W_Johnston]

Well, my computer specifically had been discontinued and somebody on E-Bay had bought a bunch of them in bulk for likely around 1/4 or less than the the list price, then sold them off at around 1/2 the list price, so mine came with absolutely no HP warranty and no warranty through the E-Bay seller or E-Bay itself. Plus when I got it I gutted it and upgraded the the M.2 SSD, added a SATA 3 SSD, upgraded the GPU, upgraded the PSU, and added a CPU cooling tower and an M.2 SSD cooling tower along with adding 5 more fans and a fan controller onto the CPU fan port that are SATA 3 powered instead of CPU port powered to push it to right at it’s maximum possible performance capabilities. So even if it had come with an HP warranty or any warranty through anybody at all I’m sure that it wouldn’t be honored since I gave it the Hot Rod treatment. 😂 It’s really a shame too, because until that damned junk BIOS update it was a beast of a gamer that every game I run on it automatically maxed all it’s graphics settings completely out and played them perfectly like that at about a maximum of mid range temperature. When I got it before I changed anything it only run mid graphics settings on games and kept trying to overheat because the case was too small, had too small of a CPU cooler, and really needed atleast one case intake fan to really even get a proper airflow of any kind through it. So I wound up having atleast 2-3 times the computer that it was from the factory for about what the factory list price was until HP’s funky Firmware BIOS update through Windows Update got even with me for cheating the system. My options basically are to find somebody that’s capable of using one of those clip on BIOS flashers that reads and runs off of a different computer (those clip on flashers have a bad habit of running the wrong voltage for one besides I don’t trust my eyesight and hand stability enough anymore to attempt that myself) that I think can also diagnose everything on the motherboard, have somebody try to replace the BIOS chip (once again I’m not even going to attempt anything like that myself, might have attempted it before my eyes went bad, but that was years ago), or to buy another motherboard which would have to be that same Baker 8767 motherboard since everything on it is either proprietary to that board or that I bought specifically for that board besides the fact that that board and maybe 2 others that I can think of are the only ones that will even fit the case. Right now those motherboards are going for around $100-$150 used and fairly questionable as to them actually working, or around $250 plus for a refurbished one, or I could look up another whole computer with that board in it, which it would be a new board, but that would be more and I already have a pile of extra parts from gutting the first one, so I’m not wanting my house to look like an HP parts store. 😂 So far I haven’t found anywhere where I can get that model motherboard new by itself without it being a sketchy purchase without having to buy the whole computer to match it, so it’s just the slightest bit upsetting, like I would really like to find who’s responsible for that bad BIOS update and throw the computer at their head right now. 😂