Bios update not working, wont download, stopped working entirely

[JSB66]

I had noticed my frames were dropping on the few games I play on my laptop and it was getting slow sometimes, so I went to check for updates including a bios update. But when the update started for the bios, my screen keeps flashing on and off and telling me that it's clearing pending image and not to turn off the computer, and occasionally a 0/16 blocks but it did that for half an hour despite it saying only a few minutes. So then I try to do what I did last time when I called someone for it and I shut down the computer, turned it on, held the Windows button and b, but it didn't roll back anything, didn't set it to normal, nothing. Do I need to call someone? Take it into a shop? Try the windows and b thing again? I'm tired of this thing refusing to work for a second time and needing a different solution for the same problem.

[TejaswiniM]

Hi @JSB66 , Welcome to HP Support Community!

An interrupted or failed BIOS update can leave your laptop in an unusable state, known as "bricked". The "Clearing Pending Image" message and screen flashing means the process failed and is stuck in a loop. Fortunately, you can try to recover the BIOS yourself before needing to go to a professional.
The standard Windows + B method for BIOS recovery may fail, especially after the update was already interrupted. It is still worth one more try, following the steps precisely.

Step 1: Drain residual power (Hard Reset)
A hard reset clears temporary memory that may be holding onto the failed update process.
Unplug the laptop's AC adapter and disconnect any external devices, including USB drives, external monitors, and memory cards.
Press and hold the power button for at least 15 seconds to drain any residual power from the system.
Reconnect only the AC adapter.

Step 2: Attempt BIOS recovery again
Try the Windows + B key combination for HP BIOS recovery once more, as the hard reset may have cleared the previous failure state.
Ensure the laptop is completely powered off.
Press and hold the Windows key + B key.
While still holding those keys, press and hold the Power button for 2–3 seconds, then release the power button (keep holding Windows + B).
If the recovery screen or a series of beeps appear, release the keys and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 3: Create a BIOS recovery USB drive
If the previous steps do not work, you can create a BIOS recovery drive on another PC to force a re-installation of the BIOS firmware.
Find your laptop's specific model number, which can be found on a label on the bottom of the device.
On another working PC, go to the HP Customer Support page for software and drivers.
Enter your product number and find the latest BIOS update file for your model.
Run the downloaded file and select the option to "Create Recovery USB flash drive".
Follow the wizard to create the bootable recovery drive.
Insert the new recovery USB drive into a port on your problem laptop.
Repeat the Windows + B + Power button combination from Step 2. This time, the laptop should find the recovery files on the USB drive.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted.