HP 14 Stream Boots to Advanced Options ("Choose an Option...")

[Miou]

Hello all. Long-time lurker & tech here. Also, shoutout to Paul T. for all the (indirect) help over the years!

I've finally emerged because I have an issue I haven't been able to find answers for. I've got an HP 14-AX040WM with a 32GB eMMC that, on power-on, boots to the advanced troubleshooting menu built into Windows 10. (It's the same menu we see when using Shift key + Restart, or when the PC fails to boot to the OS twice).

However, you can hit "Exit and continue to Windows 10" and the unit boots to the OS just fine.

Things I've tried:

-Reformat/reinstall

-BIOS Update

-Various drivers from the HP website

-Checked boot device order in BIOS

-Turned off TPM settings in BIOS.

-Turned off Fast Start in Power Options in OS

-Tried some bcdedit commands (ignoreallfailures, advancedoptions false etc)

I'm thinking on power down it's detecting some sort of failure, which triggers the Advanced Options to appear. Event Viewer isn't giving me any real pointers. I'm not seeing any evidence of a BSOD.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[The_Fossette]

@Miou,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

I recommend you follow the below steps and check if it helps.

Type the command below in the command prompt, and press Enter.

bcdedit /set {globalsettings} advancedoptions false

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

[Miou]

Hey there. Thanks for the response.

I've tried this previously, but I just tried this again after your response. Still does not work--even in an elevated command prompt.

For clarity (for anyone else), the issue only seems to occur after powering the unit down, then turning it back on. If I hit F9, F10, ESC etc for Boot Menu/Bios access, it won't go to the corresponding menus. It just gives me the "Please Wait..." text and goes straight to the Advanced Options screen. If I want to use a boot device or access BIOS, I have to choose the UEFI Firmware option via the Advanced Options screen.

I'd like to add that since the original post, I've also tested the RAM, wrote 0s to the drive via live disk with clean re-install, and tried an image from a 14-AX030WM. All these did not work.

I'm heavily leaning towards a vague, incompatible driver or bad hardware. Today, I will see if replacing the WLAN card makes a difference...

[The_Fossette]

@Miou,

I recommend you download and install HP support assistant and install all the updates and check if it helps.

Here is how it is done.

Download link: https://www8.hp.com/in/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html?jumpid=va_r602_in/en/any/psg/p...

1. Click My devices in the top menu, and then click Updates in the My PC or My notebook pane.

   

2. Click Check for updates and messages to scan for new updates.

   

3. Review the list of updates. Updates with a yellow information icon are recommended. Updates with a blue information icon are optional.

4. Click the update name for a description, version number, and file size.

5. Select the box next to any updates you want to install, and then click Download and install.

6. Perform any other update management actions as needed.

   • Postpone an update: Click Remind me, and then select a time preference.

   • Delete an available update: Click the Delete icon  to remove the update from the list and record it in the action log.

   • Review updates status: Click Action log below the list to view installed, postponed, or deleted updates.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

[Miou]

I installed this HP tool and installed all available updates. It didn't resolve the issue.

I'm really stumped. Probably needs a new board.

______________________

[EDIT] Okay, I made some minor adjustments to settings in the OS and installed this driver from Dell. It's the Dynamic Thermal Framework driver for Win 10 1809. (Hopefully I don't get in trouble here for linking to competitor website.)

I'm more confident the driver did the trick than any adjustments I made, but if you're curious, I unchecked the option for "Turn this device off to save power" for the wireless card and USB controllers in Device Manager. Additionally, I went to Power options in the Control Panel > Choose what the power button does > unchecked Fast Start (again).

I'll keep this open for a few days in case the issue emerges again. Thanks for the help.

[The_Fossette]

@Miou,

Perfect, if any other questions arise, please feel free to write back to me.

Cheers!

[Miou]

Checking back in!

Unfortunatly, the "Choose an option..." screen came back. I checked the driver version to ensure Windows did not overwrite the one I updated, and it had not. 

Regardless, the owner of the PC has picked it up, so I won't be troubleshooting it any more. If it's not a hardware issue, I'd be surprised. I've worked on  plenty of these Stream 14s and have never seen this before...

Thanks again!

[The_Fossette]

@Miou,

It looks like a software issue. However, I recommend testing the hardware once to make sure.

Cheers!