Bios Update Froze

[Tsouk]

Hi HP Team,

I tried to update the bios on my laptop, as the latest Win10 updates wouldn't install without it.

I went into the Bios and clicked to update, and it started downloading, went to 100%, and then froze to a screen saying "System Bios is being updated, do not shut down or remove external power, and verifing new Bios image..."

And it has been frozen ever since.

What do I do? Can anyone please help me? (A couple of hours now)

Thanks,
Tolis

[Dragon-Fur · Accepted solution]

@Tsouk

IF the BIOS update is just stuck / stubborn / frozen-in-place half way through the process,

IF there is not actually anything wrong with the installation or the computer,

The following procedure might resolve the issue.

“Press and Pray” 

1. Unplug everything, including power and all other externally connected components
2. Press and hold down the power button for forty (40) seconds
3. Release the power button
4. Plug in only basiccomponents –

• Desktop:  Power, wired mouse and keyboard, HDMI to monitor (monitor is powered on)
• Notebook:  Connect AC Power

1. Switch on the system with power button - Click power and release (as for normal boot)

Hoped for Results:

• System switches on, monitor active, mouse and keyboard responsive
• Screen shows the BIOS update window with choices:  cancel / update
• Wait several seconds ..stare at it and contemplate actions.. (In at least one case, never needed to click "update" -- system continued on its own after about 10-20 seconds)
• BIOS update continues on its own, completes, and reboots the system

When the system reboots,

1. Log in
2. Connect LAN (Ethernet)
3. Connect other components (USB, external webcam, speakers...)
4. General housekeeping (checks, more staring at it)
5. Pour an adult beverage and consider what's important in life

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[Tsouk]

Thank you. The machine restarted on its own after a couple of days (was out of town in the meantime) and installed the update after that.

Thanks,

Tolis

[Dragon-Fur]

@Tsouk

You are welcome.

I find it interesting that the system recovered itself after such an extended time.

I've never had that kind of patience.  Smiling.

Thanks for reporting back.

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP devices and technology.

[Tsouk]

Yeah, actually that's not what happened afterall. I found it very strange as well so had to ask my uncle (who owns the laptop) to tell me again what happened, and he told me the machine didn't actually restart "by itself", instead when he got home he found the monitor shut down (which is also hard to believe?) and he just restarted himself by holding the power button down.

I'm not clear on whether the Bios update got installed after that or it was just cancelled, in any case the latest Windows updates still won't install (which was the reason I tried to update the Bios in the first place)

Thanks anyway 🙂

Tolis

[Dragon-Fur]

@Tsouk

It actually makes more sense that the system was forcibly rebooted with the Power button.

IF the Update is just "stuck" and there is nothing else preventing the update, then the "Press and Pray" (Forcible Reboot) does work to kick the process along so it can finish.

I have a Zbook that, until just today, (and having always followed careful protocol using AC power and disconnecting extraneous hardware) has always balked at the BIOS update.  I would resort to force-boot.  Today, pretty little computer completed the entire process on its own.  Much less stress.  Smiling.

Check BIOS version:

ESC button

OR

Fn + ESC

OR

Control Panel > icon view > Administrative Tools > System Information

Scroll down and look for BIOS Version/Date

Assuming for the moment that the BIOS did update to the latest version:

Not sure about why Windows won't update; the problem may or may not be related to stubborn BIOS.  Frankly, there have been lately so many (OK, a few) weird things going on with Windows Updates; I am ill prepared to help much in this area.  (Not my field of expertise..)

Consider:

Try another regular Restart and log in

Open Settings > Update and Security > Advanced Options >

CLEAR (UNCHECK) Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows

Click Back to Windows Updates...

Check for Updates

If anything (an Update) shows up in list, it will try to install the update...

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP devices and technology.

[Awaz95]

It did not work..

It got restarted and now I have a black screen with the caps lock going on and off.

I tried to restart the laptop..I actually tried everything and nothing worked.

I was trying to activate the virtualization on my laptop and couldn't access the BIOS Menu.

Now I'm just waiting until the battery gets discharged..then I'll try to boot it again..

If that doesn't work, could you please tell me what to do 

[Arthur-c]

Hello,

Thank you for posting in this thread. Unfortunately based on when the last response was made, I have closed this thread to help keep comments current and up to date. We recommend starting a new thread for your issue by clicking here.
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