Firmware driver update fails. Error Code 10. Can't update BIOS from F.05 to F.42. Regularly BSOD.

[Geospatial]

Please help, I'm completely drained trying to fix this.  I bought an OEM HP laptop last spring and it was fine until around mid-February of this year.  Started to BSOD.  Been getting worse... now it blue screen's almost daily, sometimes more.  I've tried everything I could think of to diagnose it, and finally took the nuclear option of reinstalling Windows.  But through it all there has been a Firmware update error shown in Device Manager, even after the re-install when attempting to update all the drivers again. 

I'm stuck at F.05 as confirmed by booting into the BIOS and also with the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics Tool 1.6.4.0.  HP Support Assistant wants to install F.42, but it constantly fails.  Code 10, device cannot start, Access denied when trying to update the firmware driver.  I have tried all of the standard fixes I've found online exhaustively.  System scans, memory diagnostics, dism restores... nothing finds errors and I'm down to thinking it's related to the firmware or it's hardware.  Problem is I use this computer to work remotely these days and can't be without it for an extended period of time. 

Is there any way to force a BIOS update without making things worse?  At least then I could confirm it's hardware-related if the BSODs keep happening.

[KrazyToad]

@Geospatial

Welcome to HP Community

I have gone through your Post and would like to help

You can run an Extensive System Test to confirm the Hardware Functionality

- Shut down the Notebook completely
- Turn it back on, then tap the Esc key repeatedly until the Startup menu screen is displayed.
- Press F2 to select System Diagnostics.
- Click System Tests, then click Extensive Test.
 

You can also try updating the BIOS from the HP website: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

If the Notebook is working fine and you need it for work right now, then I suggest you avoid forcing the BIOS update for now incase this leads to further issues. If the BIOS gets corrupted you might have to be without the Notebook while it gets serviced

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Solution Accepted" on this Post and it will also help other community members with similar issue.