Problem starting the PC

[Sadnewbie]

When I turn on this PC it takes some time to open up. The screen is black, the HP logo never shows up. After a while it finally opens to the main screen with the time on and asks to enter pin. Once you do that it provides access to work with it. However, if stop for a few seconds it goes to sleep and can never be waken up; need to shut down at the power button on the PC, let it rest for a few minutes and then try to turn on to open again. One other thing is when it is starting and need to enter the BIOS screen to verify the boot order (the internal disks are the HDs that came with the PC and a new SSD) by pressing repeatedly the ESC key it only gives a loud beep but nothing on the screen that allows to see and verify the boot config.

I understand that by having the SSD which was cloned with the C:/ from the original HD the windows 11 would avoid much of the slowness and perform better. But the conditions described above don't let me verify that the boot is coming from the new SSD.

Any suggestions and advise would be greatly appreciated so I can fix these booting problems and keep the PC working without sleeping in the middle of the work.

Sadnewbie

[Meghana_10]

Hi @Sadnewbie,
 

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for providing such a detailed description of the issue. We understand that your HP PC takes a long time to boot, displays a black screen before Windows loads, does not show the HP logo during startup, cannot reliably enter the BIOS using the Esc key, and freezes after entering sleep mode, requiring a forced shutdown. You also recently cloned your Windows installation to a new SSD and would like to verify that the system is booting from the SSD.
 

Based on the symptoms you've described, there are likely two separate issues:

• A startup or firmware-related issue causing the black screen, delayed boot, and inability to access the BIOS.
• A Windows power management issue causing the computer to become unresponsive after entering Sleep mode.

In addition, after cloning Windows to a new SSD, the system may still be booting from the original hard drive or have multiple boot entries, which can affect startup behavior.
 

1. Perform a Hard Reset

A hard reset removes residual electrical charge from the system and can resolve temporary hardware initialization issues that may prevent the BIOS or display from initializing correctly.

1. Shut down the PC.
2. Disconnect the power cord and remove all USB devices.
3. Press and hold the Power button for 15–20 seconds.
4. Reconnect the power cord.
5. Turn the PC back on.

2. Try Accessing the BIOS Again

If pressing the Esc key only produces a beep without displaying the Startup Menu, the system may not be completing the early boot process correctly.

1. Turn the computer on.
2. Immediately press and release the Esc key repeatedly (about once per second).
3. Check whether the Startup Menu appears, allowing access to the BIOS.

3. Disable Fast Startup in Windows 11

Windows Fast Startup can sometimes interfere with hardware initialization and cause black screens during startup or prevent the computer from waking properly from Sleep.
 

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Select Power Options.
3. Click Choose what the power buttons do.
4. Select Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Clear the checkbox for Turn on fast startup.
6. Save the changes and restart the computer.

4. Verify That Windows Is Booting from the SSD

Since the operating system was cloned to a new SSD, it's important to confirm that the computer is actually booting from that drive.
 

1. Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management.
2. Locate the disk containing the C: drive.
3. Right-click the disk label (the gray box on the left) and select Properties.
4. On the Volumes tab, verify the Partition style.

If the drive uses GPT, enter the BIOS (once accessible) and ensure that Windows Boot Manager or the new SSD is listed as the first boot device.

Once you've confirmed that the system consistently boots from the SSD, you can safely format the original hard drive and use it as additional storage if desired.
 

After completing these steps:

• The HP logo and Startup Menu should appear during boot.
• The system should boot normally from the SSD.
• Sleep mode should function correctly without requiring a forced shutdown.
• Startup performance should improve if Windows is running from the SSD.

To help narrow down the cause, could you please let us know:

• Is this an HP desktop (tower) or an HP laptop?
• Are you using the original monitor/display, or an external monitor connected to the system?

This information will help determine whether the issue is related to the display, firmware, Windows power management, or the SSD boot configuration.

Have a great day!