Intermittent BIOS blue screen at start up, & unsure how to resolve.

[Ian32uk]

Hi, I have of late had an intermittent blue screen appear at start-up. It mentions BIOS & checking battery. The PC then starts, but has a password issue, so my easiest resolve is to shutdown & start up again.

My BIOS are up to dater, but I know I had an issue where I did a BIOS update recently via  HP Support Assistant, which look like the first attempt loaded, but for some reason showed again & downloaded and installed again.

Anyway, can any of you advise? I understand that I may need to change a battery, so if you could help me check easier options first, then I would be grateful.

I have  run disk scan & error checks and son on, & all are fine.

Many thanks.

[Bill_To · Accepted solution]

Greetings @Ian32uk 

Welcome back to the Forum.

You might have to bite the bullet by replacing the MB CR2032 battery.

The intermittent password problem could be related to the battery issue. This would be something to consider if W11 Device Encryption is enabled.

You should immediately back up all data on the system disk ASAP.

I would disable Device Encryption located in Control Panel to be on the safe side. And definitely disable encryption before you change the MB battery. You may be locked out of Windows forever if encryption is enabled.

I could not verify the latest BIOS update is causing this problem. It is, sometimes possible to roll back to the previous BIOS version. But this process is very involved since BIOS rollbacks are not supported by HP.

Regards

[Ian32uk]

Hi Bill, thank you so much for your helpful reply. 👍

I have searched user guides and printed out the instructions on how to do this, & I have been viewing YouTube videos. I have also been cleaning up my computer and going to back up all data. 

I  have just tried to look at Device Encryption in Settings, but it is not showing. I looked at system information & it show this  "Device Encryption Support Reasons for failed automatic device encryption: Hardware Security Test Interface failed and the device is not Modern Standby, Un-allowed DMA-capable bus/device(s) detected".

I will try and look into this further, but thought I would show you and see if you have any advice? Thank you again.

Ian

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Ian32uk 

My pleasure.

No worries if Device Encryption is not running.

You can do the battery replacement as is.

The battery replacement will reset CMOS. So you would have to redo any prior BIOS mods you may have done when using the original MB battery.

Regards

[Ian32uk]

Hi again Bill,

Sorry for the delayed reply, & thank you for your help again.

I have everything pretty much sorted to replace this battery, but I have just noticed something! My PC appears to start fine if I switch it on at the wall socket, & delay starting it for say 1 minute. I believe before I have flicked the switch on at the wall, & literally hit the power button within 1 or 2 seconds when it has showed this blue screen.

I am guessing the battery is on the way out, & starting up so quickly not helpful.  I will see how it goes for a couple of days, & probably replace when I have a little more time.

Thank you again so much, & I will let you know how it goes! 👍 

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Ian32uk 

My pleasure.

Keep an eye on things.

You would probably encounter a CMOS reset screen when the MB battery fails.

You would then have to enter Setup. Save settings and exit. But this loop will continue at each cold startup until you replace the MB battery.

Yes. let the Forum know if replacing the MB battery fixes this problem.

Regards

[Ian32uk]

Hi again Bill, just a quick update. The problem definitely appears linked to the mains wall plug being switched on, & pressing the desktops power button within about 30 seconds. Anything after 30 seconds & it seems to work fine. I am sure it is the battery causing the issue, & perhaps an issue with the power lead? I am having one or two other Microsoft issues too which are not resolving, so I have opted to buy a new PC. This computer has lasted well, but I thought it as well to get a new one, rather than take this one apart. I just wanted to keep you informed & I am sure you were right, so I have marked your post as the solution. Thank you again for all of your help.

Ian.  

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Ian32uk 

My pleasure.

Yes, sometimes it is best to buy a new PC.

Regards