Reallyyyyyy slow boot

[minhtuantrinh]

Hi, my laptop (Spectre x360 2019) is having some BIOS problems...

Problems:

1. VERY slow boot (80+ secs)

2. F9 (boot order) shows black screen only

3. Updating BIOS stuck at 'Clearing Pending Image 100%'

I have tried doing these things:

1. Wiped Windows and reinstall - not working so not Windows problem, strengthen the fact that the slow boot occurs during BIOS (which before took 2 secs) since as soon as the HP logo and the Windows loading icon shows up it takes under 10 secs to get to the login screen;

2. Recover BIOS - doesn't do anything.

3. Reset BIOS settings in F10 menu - doesn't do anything.

HP says that the only way is to send it to HP US. I emphasise the US since the laptop is a US model, and I am now in Korea, and HP Korea says they won't be able to do anything since they have no parts and since I bought a US model they don't care. Shipping fee to the US is 150 dollars. Interestingly that is the reply I got from when my warranty is still valid. Now that it's expired, I can't even contact HP US. The only reply I ever get from HP Korea would be 'send it to the US'.

Does anyone have any idea? Thanks in advance.

[WAWood]

@minhtuantrinh 

You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you simply had come here -- as I would have told you the SLOW boot in unrelated to Windows and a reset would be a waste of time.  Same is true of the BIOS.

This issue is nearly always caused by a failing drive and if that is the case, then what HP has told you is correct.

If your PC is new enough to support UEFI, you can use these steps to test the hard drive: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00439024

If not, to check the drive you have to follow these steps:
1) Press Esc key repeatedly, several times a second, while rebooting the laptop. Do NOT hold the key down, just press it over and over.
2) Eventually, you will see an HP Startup Menu
3) Press the Function key for testing the hard drive (usually F2) and let it run.

[minhtuantrinh]

Thank you, but...

It is not because of the drive. I've done the pretty-useless diagnostic thing, and the drive passed. Just to be sure, I even opened up the laptop, swap to another drive with an existing copy of Windows. And the laptop doesn't boot. One strike for a BIOS problem.

F9 doesn't show any registry of EFI. Just a blank screen. Second strike for a BIOS problem.

The drive is very fast. My laptop is a 2019 model with an NVMe SSD. The slow boot here is like this: the screen stay black for 80 seconds, then the HP logo shows up and Windows login screen appears in under 10 seconds. The long black screen is definitely BIOS related. Third strike for BIOS problem.

Also, BIOS update always freezes at "Clearing Pending Image". Fourth strike for BIOS problem.

Now do you still want to tell me that is because I am using a "failing drive" and that maybe my laptop is not even "new enough" to support UEFI and maybe I would want to run a "diagnosis"?

This is not a drive issue - do you think I'm dumb enough to not just swap the drive? I have 10 SSDs just lying around in the corner of my room. But this is a motherboard problem, and the BIOS chip is malfunctioning. 

At this point, I'm just asking for ideas. The only solution is to send for repair. But anyway, thanks again for your "brilliant" "insight".

[WAWood]

@minhtuantrinh 

You're going to be nasty about this -- fix it yourself