OMEN Laptop BIOS Update Failure: Black Screen and CMOS Reset Issues

[Thomas-C]

Hello Community,

I urgently need your help!

Recently, I replaced the battery in my OMEN laptop (model: 15-dh1162) because the old one was no longer functioning. After installing the new battery, the laptop started normally, and both Windows 11 and the HP software correctly recognized the battery, displaying the accurate battery performance.

Shortly after, I ran a standard Windows update, during which a new BIOS update was also offered. I decided to install it. However, during the update, after the restart, the laptop froze with the screen on but completely black, while the fans were running at full speed. After about 30 minutes, I manually restarted the laptop, but the same issue occurred: the screen remained black (on, but no display), and the fans continued running at full speed without any further action.

I then followed the instructions from HP Support to recover the BIOS, trying various recommended steps, including a "hard reset," a "CMOS reset," and manually restoring the BIOS using key combinations. I discovered that pressing the WIN + V keys at startup at least prompted the following message: "The CMOS checksum is invalid. The CMOS will be reset to the default configuration and will be rebooted. Please check your BIOS Setup options to see if they change." Additionally, error code "CMOS Reset (502)" was displayed.

Next, I tried recovering the BIOS using a USB flash drive, which I created with HP software on a secondary computer. After powering on the laptop with the WIN + V keys pressed, the same message appeared, which I confirmed by pressing Enter. The laptop restarted, and the USB flash drive’s LED stayed on, but the BIOS recovery didn’t start. The screen remained black, the fans continued at full speed, and nothing else happened, even after waiting for some time.

After more trial and error, I was finally able to start the BIOS update. However, I first had to disconnect the battery and both drives (M.2 SSD and SSD). Additionally, the WIN + V key combination didn’t work this time. Instead, I had to use WIN + B to get the system to read the USB flash drive, which at least caused the HP Omen logo to appear, but nothing else happened. Once I reconnected the battery and used the WIN + B key combination three times in a row (each attempt behaved slightly differently, but only the third triggered the installation), the BIOS update finally began.

It’s worth mentioning that not every USB stick worked for this process. My newer, larger USB sticks didn’t work; I eventually succeeded using an older 8GB stick.

The BIOS update seemed to proceed smoothly, but after the final restart, I received the message, “A System BIOS Recovery has occurred,” along with error code “BIOS Recovery 500.” After confirming the message with Enter, the screen remained black once again, and nothing happened.

I repeated all of the recommended BIOS recovery steps from HP, only to end up back at the same message: “The CMOS checksum is invalid. The CMOS will be reset to the default configuration and will be rebooted. Please check your BIOS Setup options to see if they change,” and error code “CMOS Reset (502).” Despite repeating the BIOS installation process multiple times, including using a newly created USB flash drive, the result remains the same.

Does anyone in the community have any idea how I can resolve this issue or what else I could try to successfully restore the BIOS and get the system up and running again?

I appreciate any help you can offer!

Thank you in advance!

[Anton5455]

Hi Thomas,

Unfortunately I had the same problem after installing a Windows HP firmware update 1544!
The system crashed, have done the steps you also did. All without success.
I have had contact with HP support. I am awaiting their price quote for repairing  ( I think) the hardware.

I'll let you know the outcome.

Anton

[Thomas-C]

Hello Anton,
In the meantime, I also had direct contact with HP support via WhatsApp. After I tried other possible problem-solving steps according to the instructions to no avail, the diagnosis was a possible hardware error. They made me an offer for the repair, which I accepted and now the laptop is being repaired at HP. Even though this service is not cheap, I am hoping for complete success, as I cannot buy a comparable device for this price. When I find out what the problem was, I will report it here.