HP Sparekey Recovery

[CRichards2000]

Kept getting the request for HP sparekey recovery from a USB - which we never knew we would need and don't have one. Took the computer for repair. They removed malware, replaced the CMOS battery, updated the BIOS and finally reinstalled the operating system. None of that solved the issue. The computer works normally only for short periods of time. Has anyone here had this issue and found a solution to this issue? (Tried windows + b at start up already)

[old_geekster]

@CRichards2000 , welcome to the Community.

Here is a thread that has an possible solution by Echo_Lake from HP.  The instructions he give is for a laptop, but I believe it should work for you.  Please let me know what happens.

[CRichards2000]

Thank you for your reply Old_geekster. I tried windows + V key from the Echo_Lake thread and it didn't work. That action has the intended result of resetting the BIOS to factory. So I ended up finding this page on the HP website about resetting the BIOS: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-reset-bios-settings-on-windows-pcs.

The option that worked is to hold down the shift key at start up. It did NOT bring up the advanced troubleshooting options however. It went normally to the sign in screen. This is a temporary solution since holding the shift key has to be done at almost every start up or restart. Looking at replacing the motherboard eventually in hopes of a long-term solution.

[old_geekster]

Thank you for the additional information, @CRichards2000!