The HP hack that just...won't...QUIT! HP-15DB00 BIOS VERY limited options, resets fail, etc etc

[clintsann]

When I boot into BIOS, I only have a few select options that can be changed. I cannot access any of the advanced options or system information, even the boot/BIOS-boot log, itself doesn't seem to be an option with this notebook. I CAN, however change the date, time, boot order, legacy to UEFI, UEFI to Legacy, Clear Secure Boot keys and Load HP Default Secure Boot Keys and enable/disable battery-charge remaining time/virtualization and finally, in the last tab, I can "Load Default BIOS Options" or whatever, I'm para-phrasing here. My question is, is this NORMAL?

Awhile back there was an update for the BIOS for Insyde from 37x to 38x, and just a couple of months ago another BIOS firmware update appeared under my list of available drivers to install. While I do appreciate that HP can over-extend themselves to provide said updates, which I assume are very much of a security patch and not related to UI whatsoever, I do not care for the fact that I cannot even be given a phone number because HP's site first demands I create an account, then before contacting them they demand I provide my serial number, and then, automation, not a person, but a system-automation decides "Your unit is out of warranty so you can't talk to us, sorry." That's BS! Anyways, I've had a suspicion for quite some time now that my BIOS is corrupt and that, if the virus/trojan is not embedded into BIOS then it is, perhaps, embedded into the TPM. I have the option to disable the TPM, then hide it, but what use is that and who is to say that really makes a difference. I find that the troublesome issues I come across about 1-2 hours into every...single...Windows 10/11 FRESH install, comes from an enumerated serial connection. I've even gone as far as to remove the WiFi/Bluetooth card, only to discover hidden-enabled Bluetooth on the system that again seems to be a serial enumeration of some sorts. The connection is used to deliver malware into the system, and about 1-2 hours into all of the fresh Windows OS installs I've done (probably close to 20 in a matter of 3-4 months using nwipe via GParted firstly, which takes hours, and even going as far to verify the Windows ISO and buy 5, FIVE, different USB drives to be sure that it wasn't my USB drive that was causing the issues) the system locks up and everything delivers a "This action is not allowed by your IT Administrator" when trying to open system components. The longer I let the Windows OS run, the more locked up it becomes. MMC(dot)exe will stop working within that 1-2 hour frame and anything related to MMC will refuse to open, as if my account is not an administrator. Also, and lastly, back in January I purchased a Windows 10 key that was discounted/on sale. I checked reviews via third party review sites and was confident that the source selling the Windows keys was in-fact reputable. This is when I learned that I was seriously hacked and as it was some time ago, I had yet to learn how wonderfully easy it is for hackers and spammers to change your website experience, providing fake sites and fake information on a wimb. Anyways, I believe the key I was sold was used against me, as an OEM key, and is forever engraved into my system now. It's caused hundreds of dollars in lost software licenses, hardware issues and if my time was truly money I'd be a millionaire by now just from trying to handle this laptop, alone. Since HP hates Linux, apparently, I have to run any firmware upgrades for BIOS within a Windows OS environment. Since Windows hates this HP laptop, I've been running various Linux distros to stay as safe and secure as possible. Wine is flunky and doesn't get along well enough with the system to be sure that running a BIOS firmware upgrade would be a stable/smart decision. It takes a lot of tinkering and I've yet to get Wine completely setup and working optimally, so I just haven't been able to even try and flash the BIOS's latest firmware upgrade from HP.com.

So, after my venting there, here's my overall questions coming up. To ANYONE that can provide insight, advice, or even troubleshooting ideas/ideas on how to update BIOS without Windows, etc, I would appreciate any and all help and advice I can get, truly, from the bottom of my heart! My PC, which I custom built personally, died several months ago after the same type of serial connection somehow stored volatile data on my motherboard, (something MSI assures me is impossible) and my on-board LAN card refused to be recognized properly as instead of an MSI/Atheros driver being installed I would always get the same Intel LAN Family Controller and yet there isn't a single piece of Intel-anything in my system. So, after trying to stay ahead of the trojan/hack for a couple of weeks, I eventually lost and now my MSI motherboard in that system refuses to boot...like...at all. I've done loads of troubleshooting and everything points to the same issue...the motherboard appears to be completely dead. This all happened before I started using Linux regularly and just forced myself to learn as I go to get the heck away from Windows at any cost. I'm worried the same will happen with this laptop if I try to use Windows and ignore all of the system-resource-hogging activity going on.

Is the BIOS activity that I CAN access normal, meaning, for HP notebooks or even this particular HP-15db0066wm notebook, are there no advanced options for BIOS? I've read that there are key combos that users can utilize to see more, advanced configuration options and data if used correctly...is this true? Any advice as to how this works?

Is it possible that the TPM could be infected and if so, does "Reset Security back to Default Settings" actually help resolve any of this or is it possible that the firmware itself could be tampered with while the system is running an OS, disabling any potential of a "security reset that clears any and all possible-malformed settings".

Whilst running Linux, BSD, etc., I can use the command lsmod (list modules) and always see three entries about WMI/HP:

hp_wmi

wmi_bmof

wmi

Now I can use the command rmmod all I want but everytime I reboot into Linux, everytime I do a standard-default DoD nwipe that takes appx 12-16 hours on a 1TB SSD, the mods are always there...they never go away and I haven't found any information as to these mods, their functions, user-active options, etc etc. Is anyone familiar with these mods, their purpose and if they are normal or perhaps malicious?

Lastly, the BIOS firmware update. I know that holding down WIN-KEY/SUPER+B will boot me into a UEFI BIOS Update screen where the BIOS immediately asks me to insert a USB key with the updated firmware on it and press Enter. However, taking the file as is from HP.com, which I believe is a ZIP file, but regardless, taking said file and placing it onto a brand-new or completely formatted FAT32 USB key doesn't work as the BIOS seems to check the USB and then momentarily after give me a message indicating that "No BIOS firmware update was found or No USB device was inserted" message and reboots.

So, commands to see full-BIOS interface including advanced options, ability to see log, etc...is this an option for the HP-15DB0066WM notebook and if so, how do I access those settings or even view them? Secret key-combo...any ideas?

And how would I go about manually making a USB BIOS Firmware-Upgrade successfully? Is it looking for a particular type of format other than FAT32? Do I need to only make one primary partition on the USB before placing the BIOS firmware on it, making sure not to exceed a certain size in GB? And finally, how do I correctly copy over the BIOS firmware after downloading it from HP.com? I think it's a ZIP but I'm actually wanting to say it might be a self-extracting EXE file, which poses limitations on Linux and would explain why I've had difficulty getting the HP BIOS to acknowledge/access the firmware on the USB key. I could extract the exe and place all of the files on the key instead, but something tells me that, too, is a method I've tried multiple times.

Any input, any advice...it would mean the world to me so please don't hesitate to share any of your knowledge or experience with me if you think it's relevant to my issues, here. Since HP has decided they can't..nay, WON'T even take my phone call to find out about the advanced BIOS options availability and utilization, even just for typical HP-15 notebooks, I have to put my trust into this forum. BUT, I've found that forums can be even better solution-finding routes than the actual customer support agents in almost every big corporation there is...which is sad. Make no mistake, based off of their lack of ability to empathize and give a shoot about the customer's that purchased a laptop more than 3-4 years ago, I will absolutely stay with MSI from now on and never make the mistake of buying a $300 HP laptop ever, ever again.

Again, I appreciate and will read every response/comment and I thank you, in advance, for taking the time to read my rant and difficulties here. Thank you so much!

Sincerely.

Clinton

csann**bleep**