where is the "Fast Test"?

[jen1177]

My laptop's OS is Windows 10 but I have no idea which one of the four versions it is.

Anyway.....

I've been having some issues with it lately.  Every few weeks it makes a noise as if something if physically burning out inside the laptop keybord area by the speakers.  Each time I hear it I expect to see smoke or sparks or something but there is nothing, only this zapping buzzing noise.

I also recently had the keyboard simply stop working. The touch pad worked so I restarted the computer thinking it was a software glitch from some recent update.  When it restarted the keyboard still did not work so I got locked out of the computer because I wasn't able to sign in to the lock screen.  So I called the tech support line for the business I bought the computer from and they had me do a complete power shutdown where you hold the power button down for a while. That worked and when when it powered back on I was able to sign in and the keyboard was functioning normally again.

But the laptop is not even 2 years old yet and it shouldn't be having these issues.  And my warranty coverage ends in less than a month.  My previous laptop only lasted just over 2 years as well. 

I'm trying to figure out if there is a diagnostic test I can do that will check the software and the hardware and anything else that might be wrong...while it's still under warranty.  The tech mentioned doing a "quick test" which I searched for and could only find mention of a "Fast Test" but still could not find where to do it.  Can anyone help me with this?

[Photoray002]

Hello @jen1177 

My laptop's OS is Windows 10 but I have no idea which one of the four versions it is.

If you have a Pavilion Consumer laptop, 99% chance its Windows 10 Home version.

• In the Search bar, type Control Panel and hit the Enter key. Go to System and Security and then choose System. You will see the version.
• If you need the version number, go to Search bar and type winver and hit the Enter key. You will see the number.

I'm trying to figure out if there is a diagnostic test I can do that will check the hardware.  The tech mentioned doing a "quick test"

Turn the laptop off. Then with the laptop plugged in to the power cord...

Press the power button to turn it on, but also begin to rapidly tap the ESC key until a menu on a black screen appears.

It should give you the option to press the F2 key for the UEFI Diagnostics tools. Press F2.

NOTE: (In otherwords, you are not booting into Windows. If Windows boots, you have to shut the PC off and try again.)

You hopefully will have the full version of the tools. If so, it will show a menu like this...

If you see these options, you are good to go.

Click on System Tests.

There are two tabs inside System Tests that you can select from. Fast Test and Extensive Test.

There will be a button down at the bottom somewhere that says Run Once.

Run the Fast Test via the Run Once button. If there are no errors found, go back and run the Extensive Test.

If you cannot see the main menu options in the picture above, your system does not have that feature.

If you dont have it, you can download and install a similar feature into Windows. But the first method from the F2 procedure works best.

HP Hardware Diagnostics download

Let me know how it goes.

[jen1177]

Thank you, Photoray,

I did the fast test and everything looks OK.  I was about to start the extensive test when I noticed the screen says I don't have the latest version or something like that...that I need to update the UEFI diagnostics tools.  The only webpages I can find are for downloading the whole thing again.  I think I just need the updates...?

Is there a way to just get the updates, or do I have to download the whole thing again?

[Photoray002]

If you run the HP Support Assistant from in Windows Start menu (navigate to H>HP Help and Support>HP Support Assistant), it should be able to find the latest update for the UEFI Diagnostics. If is does, allow it to update the software.

BUT, you should still be able to run the Extensive test from UEFI regardless.

The download I gave you above in the previous post is not for the UEFI Diagnostics, but for Windows version of the Diagnostics.

IF you are booting into F2 and running the tests from there, it will still run the tests regardless of version update.

Edit: BTW the model number you gave in the beginning is showing as incorrect.  When you open the HP Support Assistant, you should be able to find the computers Product Number.

[jen1177]

OK, now I'm confused....

I did initially start running the extensive test, but saw that it was going to take more than 4 hours so I figured I should update it and make sure it's worth the effort.  But now I'm confused about whether I need the updates at all?  And what is the difference between the diagnostics tool and the Windows version? 

What is the best thing to do?

[Photoray002]

I explained the difference in my initial post earlier so lets keep this simple.

Yes the Extensive test will take several hours to run. So make sure the power cord is plugged in first.

If your HP Support Assistant finds an update for the UEFI Diagnostics, run the update.

If not, dont worry about it. Just run the Extensive Test from the F2 startup. It will work.