OMEN 25L doesn't boot.

[camiz]

Yesterday morning I went into the BIOS of the computer and went into advanced settings and chose a custom memory profile, and changed the DRAM frequency to around 2900/3000mhz (Ram is rated for 3200) and ever since than the computer has failed to load into/boot into anything, I have tried resetting bios/removing the CMOS battery and haven't had any luck. The PC boots up fine and sometimes turns on whenever the power cable is plugged in without input, the fans spin and the RGB lights glow, but it doesn't display anything. If anyone has tips or suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

[Bill_To]

Greetings @camiz 

Welcome to the HP Forum.

It seems to me your PC has, for some unknown reason, developed a coincidental hardware problem.

Removing the MB CR2032 battery and letting the PC sit tight for a while when the PC is disconnected from AC power should reset CMOS. Resetting CMOS should set the RAM timings to factory defaults.

Replace the existing MB battery. Not saying this is a fix but it's inexpensive and easy to do.

Your PC should have loaded the Windows sign in screen after resetting CMOS if a memory timing problem had occurred.

It is also not good to see the PC auto start when connecting the PC to AC power.

The system is getting power but the PC can't seem to complete a successful POST.

Is the keyboard responding when you toggle: Caps Lock or Num Lock on and off? Keyboard LED activity would normally indicate USB is working.

Sadly, you may have to try the PC in a minimum config if the PC will not POST.

A minimum config is:

- Power supply

- Try each stick of HP factory RAM, one at a time, in each memory slot

- Try onboard graphics if your PC has a Ryzen "G" processor and the MB rear I/O has: HDMI or DP out. Or try a different, known good, graphics card.

- CPU 

- MB

You would have to swap in the above core components, one at a time, if the PC will not POST in a minimum config.

I usually suggest using a local PC Tech at this point. Replacing components is expensive. Most users don't have all replacement components needed to find the bad part.

Regards

[camiz]

Hi, thank you for the advice and suggestions, I have removed the battery, having it sit for around an hour, after putting it back on it still failed to boot, is there a chance the BIOS is corrupted and if so, is it possible to flash a new one? Also to answer the keyboard question, there is no response with the keyboard and lights, but my USB hub does receive power. I am going to try minimum config tomorrow with the power supply, the 1x8 HP memory, GPU, CPU, and motherboard. If it still fails, would I be better off replacing the motherboard or buying a compatible motherboard?

[Bill_To · Accepted solution]

Greetings @camiz 

My pleasure.

HP Part Surfer seems to indicate your PC may have the HanaL MB, part number M81916-602.

You might be able to find a used HanaL MB on eBay. Doing a retail MB (Asus or Gigabyte) in the HP 25L case might work but you could lose some functionality or you could have some front panel connection problems. 

I normally suggest doing a new PC case if you're doing a retail MB upgrade. So you would be building a new PC  from scratch.

The BIOS could be corrupted. HP provides a bootable USB BIOS recovery option Here. Scroll down to "Recover the BIOS using a USB recovery drive".

But the PC needs to have video out and USB function (your keyboard is not responding). Your PC seems to be missing these two I/O functions at this time.

A local PC Tech could try flashing the BIOS using a Serial ISP Programmer.

Regards

[camiz]

Hi, thank you for responding. I think I will go ahead with a case/motherboard swap, I'd rather not have to deal with an issue like this again plus I'd have more room for upgrade too.

[Bill_To]

Greetings @camiz 

My pleasure.

You could reuse the HP: CPU and RAM if you find a replacement MB using the same CPU socket and a compatible chipset.

The HanaL MB is an AM4 socket. So any newer AM4 socket MB, supporting Ryzen 5000 series CPUs, should allow you to continue using the existing CPU and memory.

Regards