[BUG] Freeze of Memory Test & Baterry Calibration in HW Diag UEFI v10.x.x.x

[dayslypper]

Hello,

I've experienced issue with both of my laptops (from year 2018):
HP Spectre x360 15-ch002nc

HP Spectre x360 15-ch005na

While I changed notebook's battery and tried to calibrate via HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI – v10.8.0.0,
I registered that time & percentage indicators during Memory Test (runned in loop) & Baterry Calibration freeze at the start.

- Time estimation is done at start but then freezes imediately.
- Animation of circle around percentage animates, but there is still 1%

- And text progress bar at the top still shows 0-10%:  *.........
- In memory test counter of iterations doesn't count.

- No reaction on Esc to cancel the test!!! In some scenarios (I've tested it with both notebooks and all versions of HWdiag UEFI) it reacts to Ctrl + Alt + Delete but not everytime)

I found that both tests should behave completely differently thanks this tutorial for manual calibration that indication works continuously through whole test. And lately verified by trying of v6.0.2.0

 
https://support.hp.com/si-en/document/ish_2268927-1713329-16

BUT IN MY CASE it freezes in this state until full discharge....

Test probably partly/incorrectly continues at background until notebook dies (fans have high RPM).

THE MAIN PROBLEM IS that new battery is still in state which needs calibration even after multiple inproper calibrations. 😞
After both (memory test and battery calibration), battery is so drained that BIOS setting is deleted (CMOS failure), which is not ok, I guess.
After about 10 charging cycles of 15-ch005na calibration was not requested anymore. BUT it was calibrated so bad that in Win11 it stopped to charge at about 90%. so it needed to be calibrated without HP tools by simple repeated full charge and discharge.
Now I'm calibrating 15-ch002nc only with v6.0.2.0 and it seems that it works well so far after starting of 1st charging cycle from 50%.

I've tried HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI of versions:
- 6.0.2.0  seems to be fully functional during memory test and battery calibration
(time estimation is actualised every 10 seconds and progress bar work too, requests for connecting and disconnecting of AC supply occur) 

- 9.1.0.0 memory test works, battery calibration freezes

- 10.1.0.0 both tests don't work correctly (freeze at the start)

Freeze of memory test progress indicators stays same in 10.1.0.0 and 10.8.0.0 even after calibration.
Memory test in 6.0.2.0 & 9.1.0.0 works same before and after calibration!

RESULT: It seems to be serious BUG of HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI which occured partly in v9, and fully in v10.
In this case HP Quality Assurance dept. did really bad work in testing of backward compatibility of older laptops if it was even tested.

REQUEST FOR SOLUTION:

1) HP should take care of backward compatibility of HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI.

If it's not possible, then:

2) Support page of every model of laptop should include last working version of HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI that was fully tested with this model of laptop.

3) All releases (or at least last releases of all major versions) of HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI should be offered publicly.

I noted more issues in this forum associated with backward incompatibility of this SW tool. So it's definitely the must to make older versions public.

(Laptops can work for up to 10-15 years while the most common part for replacement is usually battery. So having took for smooth battery calibration is important)

[zoey7886]

@dayslypper, Welcome to the HP Support Community!  

Thanks for reaching out about your query regarding Possible Solution for the Freezing Issue in HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI! 

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.  

If you experience freezing of progress indicators during Memory Test and Battery Calibration using the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI, follow these steps to address the problem:

Update BIOS:

• Ensure your BIOS is up-to-date to avoid compatibility issues or bugs.
• You can download the latest BIOS update from the HP Software and Driver Downloads page. Follow on-screen instructions to install the update.

Perform a Hard Reset:

• Perform a hard reset to refresh your system's hardware state.
• For a notebook with a removable battery:
  1. Turn off the computer and unplug the power cord.
  2. Remove the battery.
  3. Press and hold the power button for about 15 seconds.
  4. Reinsert the battery and plug in the power cord.
  5. Turn on the computer.
• For a notebook with a non-removable battery:
  1. Turn off the computer.
  2. Disconnect the AC adapter.
  3. Press and hold the power button for about 15 seconds.
  4. Reconnect the AC adapter.
  5. Turn on the computer.

Re-run Diagnostics:

• After updating the BIOS and performing the hard reset, rerun the diagnostics to check if the issue is resolved.  

Hope this helps! 

Take care, and have an amazing day!  

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, Please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!  

Regards, 

[dayslypper]

Of course, no change after recommended steps.
I already had latest BIOS (F.38) for years, but I re-flashed it again before hard reset.

Battery in 15-ch005na was calibrated really badly (battery status ends charging at 90% while LED stayed red (indication of charging) for next hours without significant progress.

Now I have 15-ch002nc and calibration with using 6.0.2.0 goes well so far (1st charging cycle).

[zoey7886]

@dayslypper, Thanks a ton for the detailed and well-documented post — it really helps us understand the issue clearly.

You're absolutely right in identifying that this seems to be a regression in HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI, particularly from v9.x onwards. The freezing of the progress indicators during Memory Test and Battery Calibration, along with the lack of Esc key response, is definitely not expected behavior. You've gone above and beyond by comparing across multiple versions, hardware units, and confirming BIOS version (F.38), which rules out the common compatibility issues.

If our solution hit the spot, please click "Accepted Solution" to help others find the answer. And if you'd like to say thanks, select "Yes" on the bottom left as that would make our day!  

Take care, and have an incredible day ahead!  

Regards,  

[dayslypper]

Thank you for response. I can't accent it as solution as it's not fixed by at least one of my proposed solutions or any other solution which is better.
So please, come back here if you offer at least one of them (at least, offer some list of all old versions of HWdiag UEFI with download links, so users can find last working version themselves).

[zoey7886]

@dayslypper, Thank you again for the thorough testing and documentation — it’s really valuable.

To further isolate the issue, could you please try running the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI outside of Windows (i.e., directly from the BIOS environment)? Sometimes, launching diagnostics from within the OS or through the Windows version can create conflicts, especially with older hardware.

Please follow the steps in this official HP document to boot into the UEFI version properly:
🔗 How to Run Hardware Diagnostics Outside Windows

Once you've tried that, let us know if the freeze during the Memory Test or Battery Calibration still occurs. This will help confirm whether it's an issue with the UEFI tool itself or possibly influenced by another layer like firmware or system state.

Hope this helps! 

Take care, and have an amazing day!  

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, Please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!  

Regards,