BIOSHD-4 corrupted, get "missing operating system" on stsartup

[JohnathanMD]

My HP TouchSmart IQ846t got corrupted by  id-5sync malware.  i ran Diagnostic Tools and everything passed except: Boot Path. EROR CODE: BIOHD-4 for both dueal core chips.  When I attempted to use my system recovery disk, it said "no information on hardware' and stopped any and all attempts at recovery. Every other thing I tried failed!

I had another hp TouchSmart that was in the box that I had System 10 loaded on 2 months ago. Unfortunately, when I fired her up  it was an HP Touchsmart IQ816t that used a different HD and CD/DVD burner.

I do have a backup  on a one terabyte Seagate for docs and pics; but my key issue is that I use AOL Desktop Gold for my emails, resources, photos, correspondence, etc. because no one really messes with AOL anymore.  I probably have around 100+ folders, sub-folders, etc. where I store several thousand emails both received and sent on my PC.  the recover of these files, folders and docs are the most important things because of a number of projects in progress that contain a nearly invaluable amount of information.  AOL stores thee files, folder and sub-folders within the system, and unless I get the BIOS for the IQ846t going on System & Ultimate. I haven't any idea on how I can recover the last two years of info in these records.

I live in the greater Kansas City Metropolitan area and am willing to pay extremely well for the solution to this dilemma. if I'm right, there is a removable flash drive on the back of the PC with a small, clear rectangular window that looks to be the BIOS portion of a motherboard on a conventional desktop PVC. It's about the size of  Sandisk 64GB Flash. So, a physical reset won't work.  Best case solution is a BIOS Flash Drive for an IQ846t with the information already  on it; or, a way to  to transfer the BIOS data the info to my IQ846t  that was created on July 24, 2009 and has the following specs:

Product: VA285AAR-AVA, Model IQ846t, Serial: MXY942020V, Software Build 93NAv6PcA5. DRIVE: WDC WD6400AAKS-65A7B2, and Drive: HL-DT-ST  BDDVDRW CA10N

[praveen196]

@JohnathanMD Welcome to HP Community!

I read your post about possible hard drive failure and wanted to help.

Some PCs allow you to do a hard drive test from the BIOS, so I would suggest reading through this thread:  Testing a Hard Disk from the BIOS | HP® Customer Support

If the hard drive is failing, and it is still somewhat functional, you should consider two courses of action:

1) File backup

2) Drive image backup

The first consists of copying the files and folders you want to retain to another drive or to large capacity USB sticks.  You can do this using Windows Explorer.  Please note that you will NOT be able to save existing applications, only the data.  Also, you need to see about saving browser sites, cookes, favorites, logins and passwords.

The second consists of using a third-party produce like Macrium Reflect to save an image of the drive to an external drive or a large capacity USB stick. 

What I recommend is the following:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR)
2) Run MR and choose the option: "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows" to write a full backup to an external drive or USB stick
3) Use the option to create a boot USB stick or CD

I use this all the time and it typically takes less than 10 minutes to do the image backup and about the same time or less to do a restore.

The value of using MR to do this is, once you have a new drive, and have Windows reinstalled, you can point MR to the image you saved, mount it using a drive letter, and then copy files and folders from there to your new drive.

You will not be able to use the HP Recovery Manger because that was configured to work ONLY with the original OS on your machine.  The Win10 Upgrade is known to corrupt the OEM recovery information, rendering any future HP recovery useless.

If the drive fails, you will need to replace it.  And then, you will need to order HP Recovery Media for it. 
 

This is a set of DVDs and a CD that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities.  

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update".  If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entty and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Service:

If you live in the US or Canada, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/phone-assist.html#section1

If you live elsewhere, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/ww-contact-us.html

Note that if HP no longer provides Recovery Media for your model, a couple of other sites you can check are: http://www.computersurgeons.com/  and http://www.restoredisks.com/

Be sure to read through the material in the linked thread BEFORE you attempt the recovery:  http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00707939

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!