TPM 2.0 showing Code 10 in Device Manager, possibly linked to fingerprint problem with Windows Hello

[Squee-g]

I am seeing an error in the Device Manager on the "Trusted Platform Module 2.0" under security devices. The error code shown is Code 10 (This device cannot start). I know this is a fairly generic message, that does point to much in particular. 

I came across this error when trying to troubleshoot a problem with adding biometrics (fingerprint) to Windows Hello.  My entire family (who logs into this computer, each with thier own Microsoft Account) have hapily been uing a fingerprint scanner to login to Windows for over a year, then one day the fingerprint, and PIN options stopped working.  We had to go back to entering in our password everytime to login.

I have verified that the TPM is turned on in the BIOS.

I have updated to the latest BIOS, currently running BIOS version  A0.59

I have tried resetting Windows, through the Recovery section. This did seem to solve my inability to use a PIN with the Windows login, but I am still unable to log a fingerprint into Windows Hello, and I am still seeing this error on the device manager. 

If I attempt to setup a fingerprint for Window Hello, it prompts me for my PIN, but after I enter that, there is basically a blank screen that just has a CANCEL button on it. There is not way to progress through the steps. 

[sandytechy20]

@Squee-g

Good Day. A warm welcome to the HP community. I reviewed the case relating to the finger print reader not working. I will be delighted to assist you here.

Superb description, brilliant troubleshooting and terrific observations made before posting. Kudos to you for that. 🙂

To assist you with accurate information I would require more information regarding this.

• Did you uninstall the HP Simple Pass and reinstall it?

If not follow the below steps,

At the Start screen, type device manager to open the Search charm, and then select Device Manager in the search results.

In Device Manager, click HP Simple pass to expand it and uninstall it.

Then install it again,

Install the HP Simple Pass Identity Protection Software for Windows 10:  ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp71501-72000/sp71729.exe 
If the issue persists, Please Click here to download the most viable driver for Windows 10  fingerprint reader (if need be) & if your Simple Pass Software isn't working: 

Click here to download a different version of the same software. 

Let me know how it goes.

Cheers.

[Squee-g]

Thank you very much for responding to my question. I do have a couple of observations that I was hoping you could provide clarification on.

• I did not uninstall HP SimplePass. To my knowledge, that software was never on this computer
• This computer came with Windows 10 Pro directly from HP, it never had Windows 8 on it
• Based on the information provided by this page  https://support.hp.com/ie-en/document/c03653209 the following note is listed, "If you are using Windows 10, SimplePass has been replaced with Windows Hello. Go to Understanding and Using Windows 10 for more information."
• I should have mentioned that this is a Desktop computer, so the fingerprint reader I am using is aftermarket. I had not considered until now that some of the fault here may be in the fingerprint reader hardware itself. 

So based upon this information, it does not appear that installing HP SimplePass onto my Windows 10 computer is the correct solution, as Windows 10 should natively be able to handle biometric login, as it has been doing the past year or more since purchasing this computer.   I think I have to consider that the issues I am seeing, 1) Problem in the decvice manager with TPM module and 2) Inabilty to use biometic login for Windows may be completely unrelated. 

I know that using a fingerprint to login to Windows 10 does NOT require a TPM module, as I do this everyday on a HP Envy 17 notebook that does NOT have a TPM module.  

The TPM module IS required to do hard drive encryption, which I am currently not using.

[sandytechy20]

@Squee-g

Thanks for the reply.

I appreciate your time and effort.

With the picture shared in the above post, it looks like you need to install the driver for finger print reader.

And you are using a third party finger print reader, so I request you to contact the manufacturer to install the drivers.

Cheers.

[Squee-g]

I will work to see if there are any driver updates for my fingerprint reader, however, I believe it to be simply supported by Windows 10 natively, like any USB thumb drive. If you look at my original post, there is a Biometric Devices section in the Device Manager. That tells us that Windows believes that it has the correct drivers for this device.

I wonder if instead of focusing on the fingerprint reader issue, since it is a non-HP device, you might be able to offer some help with the TPM 2.0 device failure. I have read several HP support articles that talk about the differences of TPM 1.2 and 2.0 and that with Windows 10 Anniversary update, it is required that the TPM firmware be upgraded from 1.2 to 2.0. 

See documentation here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05381064

The problem I have is that I don't know if my TPM module is at the right firmware, or if there is an update to it. My particular model of computer is not on the list of applicable models in that article, they are nearly all HP business class machines. 

Question:

• Is there a way for me to know the manufacture of the TPM chip installed on this system? The article I listed before seems to be specific to TPM chips made by Infineon.
• Is there a way to know what version of the firmware my TPM module is? Is this perhaps in the BIOS? Is there a utility I can run from within Windows? Will HP Support Assistant tell me?

At this point, I am ready to simply sawp out my boot drive with a spare I have lying around, reinstall Windows from scratch, and see if the issues persist. This seems to be the only way I can really "test" if my TPM module is actually bad, or if it is a Windows issue.

[sandytechy20]

@Squee-g

Thanks for the response.

I understood the issue better now.

Update the chipset driver for your PC.

Click here and type in your product number and select the operating system to find the drivers.

Let me know if that helps,

Cheers.

[Squee-g]

Although I thank you for the response, the answers that you have provided don't really seem to help with the issue I am seeing, and are really just very generic responses. 

I have already made sure that there are no new updates using HP Support Assistant. I have also already attempted to download any chipset driver updates from the HP support website with no change in behavior.

I would really appreciate an answer to the questions I posted before. 

Question:

• Is there a way for me to know the manufacture of the TPM chip installed on this system? The article I listed before seems to be specific to TPM chips made by Infineon.
• Is there a way to know what version of the firmware my TPM module is? Is this perhaps in the BIOS? Is there a utility I can run from within Windows? Will HP Support Assistant tell me?

As an update to others who may be facing similar issues, I did a fresh reinstall of Windows 10 Pro last night. Not using the HP recovery, but just using the Windows Media Creation Tool, deleting all partitions on the drive (this is a step you can do once you boot to the USB drive you created using the Media Creation Tool) and then just letting the Windows installation run. 

I actually prefer this method, since it removes some of the crapware that comes installed on these HP systems by default. Anyway, just as I had said before, the USB fingerprint reader was detected by Windows without any need for drivers, and I am happy to report that I can once again login to Windows using my fingerprint, which is outstanding!!

As for the TPM 2.0 issue, it still exists. It still shows that same error in the device manager.  As I said in my earlier post, I know that TPM is NOT required for fingerprint logins, so I guess these two issues were never connected. So basically, either one of two things are happening with the TPM 2.0 module. It is either faulty, or it simply doesn't exist on my machine.  To remove the error from the Device Manager, I booted into the BIOS and disabled the TPM. I should have taken a picture of the BIOS screen, but I think it was in the security section, and the option is actually to "Hide" the TPM .

I really hope someone from HP can chime in and let me know for certain if this motherboard even has a TPM 2.0 device. I know that the option exists to turn it on and off in the BIOS, but part of me wonders if this was functionality that was added in a recent BIOS update, an perhaps was not meant to be there.

I have been working in tech, both software and hardware for over 15 years, and I opened up this computer, and spent the better part of 30 mins going over every inch of the motherboard, and I know it is not definitive, but I couldn't see anything that corresponds to a TPM chip. The motherboard itself is labeled a IPM17-TP rev 1.04

This is the specification page of the board  https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04790224  and there is nothing on this page that calls out a TPM chip.  So for now, I will just enjoy my fingerprint login, and assume that my TPM 2.0 chip is either broken, or non-existent. 

[sandytechy20]

@Squee-g

Thanks for writing back to us.

This issue may require one to one interaction with the HP Phone Support.

I suggest that you contact HP Phone Support for further assistance at the link: www.hp.com/contacthp

You have a good day ahead.

Cheers.