Hard drive not holding data after long shutdown

[Taff25]

I have installed Linux Mint 22.1 on my hard drive as the only OS.  I have carried out the tests for hard drive status and it has come up as good in all tests.  The CMOS battery is new.

I can't always boot from the hard drive, sometimes it doesn't recognise the drive, sometimes it finds the drive but can't find the OS.  Most solutions , including Boot Repair, suggest BIOS changes, mainly to do with Legacy issues,  but HP has decided to not make any changes other than time, date and boot order accessible on my HP 650 Notebook. (I'm not sure about consumer rights there).

On a few rare occasions, the computer has booted up from the hard drive and every things works fine.  Test items are stored in folders and apps can be added and they work.  On test Restarts,  Linux opens up and saved test items are still in the folders.  On short Shutdowns, it's the same.

The problem is, that when the computer is shut down for an hour or so, it will no longer boot up and I have to use the live usb to reboot.  A check on the folders then shows that nothing has been saved, including apps that were there and worked

previously.

Does anyone have any ideas to help me out?  I've been trying all sorts of suggestions, but no success yet.  I was given this computer as a clean skin and it has been my  old age project for many weeks.  Any help would be very much appreciated.

[MysteriousMe]

Welcome to HP Support Community, @Taff25 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

1.Check Drive Detection in BIOS:

• Restart the laptop and tap Esc → F10 to enter BIOS.
• Confirm the hard drive is consistently listed under Storage Information.
• If it sometimes disappears, it could point to a loose SATA connection or a failing drive controller.

2.Reseat the Hard Drive:

• Power off, unplug, and remove the battery.
• Remove and reinsert the hard drive firmly in its bay — oxidation or a loose connection can cause intermittent detection.

3.Update BIOS (if possible):

• Check HP’s official site for your model’s BIOS update.
• Even with limited BIOS settings, a firmware update can fix boot-recognition issues.

4.Drive Power-Down Issue:

• If it only fails after longer shutdowns, the drive might not spin up fast enough before BIOS times out.

• In such cases, disabling Fast Boot (if visible) or updating BIOS can help.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.