The hp 15-bw0xx stopped booting

[cn_11]

The HP 15-bw0xx laptop stopped booting. On power-on, it shows the error Boot Device Not Found (3F0). The hard drive is physically fine and detected in BIOS, especially in Legacy mode; previously Linux Mint XFCE booted from it. The problem occurred after formatting a USB drive and attempting to write Windows 11 to it, possibly with an incorrect image. Currently, on power-on, the screen is black and Caps Lock blinks a pattern of 2 slow and 2 fast flashes repeatedly. I have tried resetting BIOS, removing the CMOS battery, changing UEFI/Legacy modes, and disabling Secure Boot. The disk is detected, but it does not boot. It appears to be a BIOS corruption or firmware failure.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @cn_11,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.

I understand your HP 15-bw0xx is no longer booting, shows Boot Device Not Found (3F0), and now displays a black screen with a Caps Lock blink pattern of 2 slow and 2 fast flashes. Let’s go through a few steps to check what could be causing this.

Interpret the Caps Lock blink code
On HP systems, a repeating 2 slow + 2 fast blink pattern indicates a BIOS corruption or BIOS recovery failure.
This occurs before Windows loads and is unrelated to the hard drive or operating system.

Attempt BIOS recovery using Windows + B
Power off the laptop completely and disconnect the charger.
Reconnect the charger, then press and hold Windows + B, press the power button for 2–3 seconds, release power, and keep holding Windows + B for 10–15 seconds to check for BIOS recovery.

Retry BIOS recovery using Windows + V
Repeat the same process as above, but use Windows + V instead.
Some HP models respond to one key combination depending on firmware state.

Use an external BIOS recovery USB
On another computer, download the correct BIOS for the HP 15-bw0xx from HP’s website.
Create a BIOS recovery USB and repeat the Windows + B recovery process with the USB inserted.

Reset BIOS settings after recovery attempt
If you can access BIOS (F10), load Setup Defaults, save changes, and reboot.
Ensure the correct boot mode (Legacy or UEFI) is selected based on how Linux was originally installed.

Verify hard drive detection at firmware level
In BIOS, confirm the hard drive is consistently detected.
Detection confirms the drive itself is functional and not the cause of the blink code.

Run HP UEFI diagnostics if accessible
Press F2 at startup to open HP Hardware Diagnostics.
If diagnostics do not load, it confirms the failure is occurring before system hardware initialization completes.

I hope this helps.

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Best regards,