Fix For The F.57 BIOS Bug Which Causes Windows 10 & 11 Installations To Freeze On Just A Moment

[pcgraphix]

This community helped me immensely with a computer issue so I decided to give back.  This problem affects many others and so far this is the only fix I have found.  I can't take credit for coming up with the following solution as others in this community who are way smarter than I discoverd this fix.  All i did was follow their advice and it worked!!!  In return, I wrote a very detailed step by step procedure so that others with limited computer knowledge can hopefully follow this and fix this problem on their own. And shame on HP  for not only causing this issue but for leaving us hanging like this.

THE ISSUE: HP released a buggy BIOS update F.57 (I believe as far back as Nov or Dec 2022) which was distributed via their product support pages as well as via a Microsoft optional windows update (I have read this but haven't confirmed the latter).  I have read that this buggy update affected other HP models but I know for a fact that it affected the Gaming 690 series.  HP has since taken down this bad BIOS but hasn't provided a replacement.  Attempting to reinstall an older version such as F.55 using the HP BIOS update utility fails as it won't allow an older BIOS to overwrite a new one.  

THE SYMPTOMS: After F.57 installs, i have seen the following common issues...windows update can no longer install updates and windows will hang on shutdown requiring that it be powered off.  That leads many of us to attempt a Windows reinstall.  That's when the crap really hits the fan as Windows will not and cannot install.  During the installation process, Windows stops at the same exact place...on the "Just A Moment" screen and the balls stop spinning.  You can attempt to do an HP System Recovery, a Windows Reset, a partition deletion & reinstall using a Windows Media Creation Tool for both Win10 & Win11 AND you can even replace the harddrive...it will still freeze on the "Just A Moment" screen!  

I will post the exact procedure I used to fix a HP Pavilion Gaming 690-0024 in the next comment.  

[pcgraphix]

HERE IS THE PROCEDURE TO REPLACE THE BUGGY F.57 BIOS

It looks daunting but actually it really was't too bad especially if you just follow each step. Creating a Hirens USB Flash drive will probably take longer than running the rest of the procedure

IMPORTANT!! This procedure works and will overwrite that bad F.57 BIOS with a previous version. HOWEVER F.57 will come back depending on the state of your Windows installation. In my case I had already deleted all of the hardrive partitions which effectively removed F.57 from the EFI partition. There is a separate procedure outlined by BILL_TO in this forum which looks kinda straightforwar BUT I didn't need to do run that procedure so I did not include those steps it in this procedure. You will need to edit the EFI partion BEFORE doing this procedure IF you haven't already deleted partitions.

STEP #1 - Create a Hirens Flash Drive (see https://www.hirensbootcd.org/ for instructions)
-I won't go into details on how to create one but suffice it to say that it is straightforward and everyone should have one of these on hand so it is definitely worth making one. Of course you will need access to another computer to do this

STEP #2 - Download Aptio V AMI Firmware Update Utility from https://www.ami.com/bios-uefi-utilities/
This step looks daunting but we literally just need one folder that comes with this download. The rest can be totally ignored.
-Download & extract Aptio_V_AMI_Firmware_Update_Utility.zip to your computer (doesn't matter where you extract to as we just need to copy one folder from that extraction)
-This zip file contains ALOT of folders and files BUT all you need to do is locate the following folder. In my case, the file path was C:\Aptio V AMI Firmware Update Utility\afu\afuwin\64\AfuWin64\AfuWin64
-Copy this last folder "AfuWin64" to your Hirens Flash Drive

STEP #3 - Download the most recent BIOS from HP.com. In my case, I went to Software and Driver Downloads page for the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop 690-0024
TIP: Use the serial number from your computer case to enter into HP.com to find the correct driver page for your computer
TIP: For my model, HP only offers drivers for Win10 but that BIOS will work on Win11 as well
-Under the BIOS section of the Drivers page, I was given two BIOS options (ROM Family SSID 8433 & one for 8436). Upon startup, you should see it display which family your motherboard belongs to along with which version of the current BIOS is installed. In my case, my family was 8433 and the bad bad BIOS version was F.57
-So I downloaded the latest version offered which was F.55 Rev A for 8433 which is file sp141607.exe
-Double click on sp141607.exe and allow it to install in the default location provided
-This will launch the HP BIOS Update and Recovery program
-Choose the "Copy" option and choose a temporary folder to save the BIOS to (again doesn't matter where you save it to as we will copy what we need from that folder)
-Open that folder and you will see 2 files.
-Simply copy the bin file (08433.bin in my case) and paste it to your Hirens Flash Drive in the folder same folder that we just pasted called "AfuWin64". We don't need the sig file.

-Now you have all of the necessary tools to replace your jacked up BIOS (F.57 in my case) with an older version

STEP #4 - Boot your computer from the Hirens Flash Drive
-Insert the Hirens Flash Drive into a USB port on your computer
-Here is how I booted my computer from the Hirens Flash drive NOTE: If you have a different model, then the following may or may not work. You will need to research which function key allows you to choose a boot device upon startup. There are other ways but you would have to research those options as well so just try it my way
-I held down the "F9" function key and then powered on the computer until a menu appeared
-I chose my Hirens Flash drive to boot from which identified as a USB along with the brand name of the flash drive
-Now just kick back while Hirens loads a stripped down temporary version of Windows 10
-Once the Hirens version of Windows 10 loads, the easy part starts!!

STEP #5 - Replace the buggy BIOS with a stable BIOS
-With the Hirens version of Windows 10 loaded...
-Open File Explorer and note which drive letter was assigned to your Hirens Flash Drive
-Next open the Command Prompt by double clicking on the icon in the desktop window
-Enter the following commands in the Command Prompt followed by the Enter key. My drive letter may differ from yours BUT the file paths will be exactly the same as long as you followed my instructions above.
C: [Enter Key] NOTE: your drive letter may differ from mine
cd afuWin64 [Enter Key]
AFUWINx64.exe 08433.bin /P /B /N /REBOOT [Enter Key] This must be entered exactly as shown so note the spaces
-Now just kick back and watch the Aptio V AMI Firmware Updater work it's magic
-If all goes well you will see the following stages complete successfully: Reading Flash, FFS Checsum: Pass, Check ROM Layout: Pass, Erasing Main Block, Updating Main Block, Erasing Boot Block, Updating Boot Block, Verifying Boot Block, Deleting NVRAM, Updating NVRAM, Verifying NVRAM
-Now the screen will go black for a bit...no worries though as it should come back to life with a newly flashed BIOS

-Close out of the Command Prompt window
-Go the start button and chose Shutdown
-Remove your Hirens Flash Drive

STEP #6 - Windows 10 Startup
-Power on your computer and lets see what happens next
-At this point it all depends on the state of your Windows installation as I talked about at the begining of this procedure
-In my case, my Windows 10 installation literally picked up where it left off and I was able to complete the installation
-My F.55 BIOS version has remained because I had deleted partitions

If after doing this procedure and F.57 comes back, no worries!! You now know that you must either apply the "Edit EFI partion " (you will need to research this and figure out how that is done) and then rerun this procedure to remove F.57. Or you could wipe your harddrive like I did by deleting all of the partitions (hopefully you have your data backed up as this will delete all of it!!), rerun this procedure and then do a clean install of Windows 10.

[Bill_To]

Hi Pcgraphix

Great instructions.

The optional HP firmware update 15.57.0.0 offered by Windows Update should be avoided after flashing the older BIOS version/ reinstalling Windows.

Using a clean Windows installation target disk (unallocated space) after backing up data sounds good. This eliminates having to edit the EFI System partition.

[Manny0034]

Hey Pcgraphix

  Thank you for taking the time to write out the steps to fixing this issue.  I was able to get back up and running my 690-0034 pc after following these steps.  Also thank you to everyone else that was involved in coming up with the solution for the issue with the BIOS Update vF.57 bug/issue.

[pcgraphix]

Manny0034, so glad to hear you were able to get your computer back up and running!!!  If it weren't for the help on this forum, all of these F.57 affected computers would have been destined for a recycle heap!   Were there any errors, omissions or clarifications  that I need to make to the procedure?

[Manny0034]

  I had no issues at all following step by step.  The only thing I would suggest adding to the post where it has the steps, at the end add what Bill_To suggest about avoiding the optional HP firmware update 15.57.0.0 offered by Windows Update  after flashing the older BIOS version/ reinstalling Windows.  Other than that everything is good.

[Ddunlavy09]

I am able to complete all of the steps, but the hp bios software will not let me create a bin file. It only creates another exe file. Any fix? It doesn't even prompt to create a usb software, it does nothing when I click on the downloaded exe folder.

[pcgraphix]

Ddunlavy09, another person (Manny0034) had the same or similar issue.  His workaround was to download the bios creation software on another computer and it worked there.  He was even puzzled as to why it wouldn't run properly on his initial computer.  I can email you the same bin file that I used since that is all you need.   I'm assuming that you have the same computer model that I had which was the HP Pavilion Gaming 690-0024.

[Ddunlavy09]

Thank you very much for offering the bin file! How would I go about the email? This hp website will erase any personal info. This issue was so random! I thought my computer was toast! I was about to give into buying a new desktop pc. Your fix saves me and others so much time and money!

[mossy0752]

Any chance I could get those bin files as well? I'm in the same boat, I have tried on 3 machines but the 55 bios file installer just won't do anything, so I can't extract the bios file. I've been messing around with this computer for weeks. Only today did I realize the computer says it has 57 installed, but HP offers only up to 55. Figured then it was probably a bad load. Shame on HP for making this hard at every step. Anyways, here is an alias you can send it to: [Personal Information Removed] Thank you!