TG01-2360 - BIOS Update F.31 - Now will not boot

[JustPetey]

PC was working perfectly fine.  HP Support Assist popped up saying there were updates, so I ran them.  Everything installed without any issues and the PC needed a reboot.  

During the reboot, the BIOS was updated to F.31 and now the desktop refuses to boot.  After powering on, the HP logo comes up and three dots start to move, then freeze.  

I downloaded the BIOS update manually, formatted and flashed a USB stick, loaded into the Diagnostics, and ran the update through Firmware Management, everything goes through, the PC looks like it reboots three times, then right back to the frozen HP logo.

Re-sat the RAM, checked all the power connections, cleared the CMOS, redownloaded the BIOS, used a different USB stick/port, and removed the GPU.  The weird thing is if I swap out the SSD with a brand new one, the Diagnostics menu is stripped down without the option for firmware management.

The hardware diagnostics claim everything is good, the SSD has 0% wear. and there is nothing wrong with the system board.  I'm at a loss for what to try next.  

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[Bill_To]

Hi @JustPetey 

Welcome to the HP Forum.

The USB BIOS recovery option failed when you tried BIOS version F.31. That's unusual unless this file is messed up.

I can only suggest trying the USB BIOS recovery option with F.30 (available at this Link).

F.30 is available for download in Revision history. Scroll down at the above link to Revision history. Open Revision history.

Scroll down to the F.30 download option.

You might have to contact HP Support if the F.30 BIOS recovery fails to fix the BIOS.

Or a local PC Tech might be able to flash the BIOS.

Regards

[JustPetey]

Hello Bill_To,

Thank you for the prompt response!  I was able to download the F.30 BIOS, using a different PC, on a different network, and a different USB, and when trying to flash the BIOS in Firmware Manager, I get "Unable to Load BIOS Signature File" no matter what I attempt (rollback or update.)

Not sure if this helps in the diagnosis, but I tried booting to a Linux Mint boot disk (after disabling secure boot) and it would start to load the HP logo, there would be a swirl, and then it would freeze.

[Bill_To]

Hi @JustPetey 

My pleasure.

I am stumped on this. The HP USB BIOS recovery usually works when the existing BIOS is corrupted. You did try the HP USB BIOS recovery option using the F.31 BIOS file first. Try F.31 again using a different flash drive.

I can only suggest having a local PC Tech flash the BIOS using the Aptio V AMI Firmware Update Utility or reprogram the BIOS using a Serial BIOS programmer if all else fails. The system disk would need to have a new Windows installation if you want the Tech to use BIOS version F.30.

You might have to replace the system board if the Tech can't flash the BIOS using: the Aptio utility and a serial BIOS programmer.

The F.31 BIOS .sig and .bin files, located in a existing Windows system partition, may be preventing BIOS version F.30 from running. And the BIOS will probably update to F.31 again after flashing the BIOS to F.30 if you start the PC using the existing Windows installation.

I would move the OS disk to a different PC as a data drive before doing anything so you can back up data to the host PC or an external drive before clearing the OS disk.

Regards