Update to BIOS caused HDMI Port to stop working

[DougMin]

This morning HP Support Assistant offered 4 updates.

I updated the Notebook System BIOS (Softpaq number: SP73290 Version F.21Ap1) and the HDMI port for the second display stopped working.

When I tried to update the NVIDIA High-Definition (HD) Graphics Driver (Softpaq number: SP72727 Version: 10.18.13.5384Ap15) that installation failed.

Please help me restore the HDMI port.

[Mrstenter]

Hi @DougMin,

Thank you for visiting the HP Forums! A great place where you can find solutions for your issues with help from the community!

I came across your post about the Notebook, and wanted to assist you! I have looked into your issue about your HP ENVY 15-ae109na Notebook and  issues with updates. You can do a system restore. System restore will help if something automatically updated and did not go well on the Notebook.

When performing a System restore please note remove any and all USB devices. Disconnect all non-essential devices as they can cause issues.

You could  try using the Windows Update Troubleshooting tool to fix any updates that have not come through for Windows.  Please restart the Notebook twice to make sure all update have been completed!

Please let me know how this goes.

You can say thanks for trying to help by clicking the Thumbs Up below!.

Thanks.

[DougMin]

First of all, I am very grateful for your advice. Thank you for that. However, I am very anxious...

What if  the attempt to return to the restore point fails? Windows 10 converted my last computer into a doorstop so I am not overconfident about its ability to go back to a restore point. I am particularly worried about changes involved a) the BIOS, and b) the graphics output. If both screens go entirely black it is very difficult to recover.

The advice is rather generic. I'd like to know more about what happened in this particular case. Has it happened to anyone else? Does the BIOS upgrade contain a bug or did the upgrade fail to install correctly? What is the change to the BIOS supposed to accomplish? (i.e. what will I be losing by reversing back to the previous version). What is the update to the graphics driver supposed to accomplish and why did it fail? Is it related to the BIOS update? (I thought that perhaps they go together so that it would be all fine if both updates were successful.) Is there another way of doing the update that may work (manual update in safe mode, turning off McAfee Virus Checker...)?

What happens if I do successfully return to the restore point? Is my computer then stuck in a time warp unable to be updated? Not impressive for a computer one week old.

Is there some alternative? I feel there is probably just one bit with the wrong setting. Is there a way of determining the status of the HDMI port and its related settings?

I see that there is an icon that I can click to repeat the BIOS update - is there any point in trying it again, this time with no connections to USB ports. There was a connection to an external disk drive and a keyboard/mouse last time. Would it be safe to leave the keyboard and mouse connected or can they interfere with installations and returning to restore points?

Several times a day I have seen warnings

"Display driver stopped responding and has recovered

Display driver Intel HD Graphics Drivers

for Windows 8(R) stopped responding

and has successfully recoverd"

I was hoping that the driver update would fix that. Any chance that it would have, if it installed successfully?

Final question. Why doesn't the message that says the installation failed include an indication of why it failed? Giving intelligent error messages is an important part of programming.

[Mrstenter]

Hi @DougMin,

Please use the following link to create yourself a case number, then call and it may help speed up the call process:

Step 1. Open link: www.hp.com/contacthp/
Step 2. Enter Product number or select to auto detect
Step 3. Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"
Step 4. Scroll down and click on: HP contact options - click on Get phone number

Case number and phone number appear.

They will be happy to assist you immediately. Thanks.

[DougMin]

I carried out the upgrade to Windows 10 Version 1511 and the second screen became available again. I therefore think that this issue is fixed, at least for me.

[DougMin]

Spoke too soon!

I performed upgrade 'HP Notebook System Bios Update (Intel Processors)' Softpaq Number SP3896 Version F.24Ap1 and after it finished the second display stopped working, again.

On System settings screen for display, only one display is depicted and when I click 'Detect' it says 'Didn't detect another display.'

I have also tried to do the upgrade 'Intel Serial IO Driver' Softpaq Number SP72681 Version 30.63.1519.07Ap7 and it failed, several times, both before and after the BIOS upgrade.

After the BIOS upgrade HP Support Assistant warned me that I needed to enable System recovery. Seems that the BIOS upgrade turned it off. I pressed the button to enable system recovery and it created a restore point 'Initial Restore Point'. That is now the only restore point so there are no restore points prior to the BIOS upgrade.

Please help!

[Darrylk1]

I've had the same experience.  My Envy 17 is 4 days old.  BIOS update ran this evening and my external monitor stopped working.  I've been through 2 support chats, the first updated some drivers, rebooted the machine several times and then started a huge Windows update that took an hour to complete.  The session was disconnected once that was done.  The second attempt had a tech ask me to perform a hard reset to "clear any satistical charges from the laptop".  I chose to end that session after having the iPhone chat app tell me that the "technician is not configured properly".

I had the same Intel Serial IO driver installation fail 3 times, it no longer appears on the list of available updates.

I've just found the Windows 10 version 1511 update and I'm going to install that and see if it helps.

Hopefully someone can figure this out.

[Darrylk1]

Update:  I installed the Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems (KB3116900) and the HDMI is functioning again.  Not sure what the deal was between that and the F.24 BIOS update, but something was definately awry.  Hope you were able to get yours back as well.

[DougMin]

Update: On 18 Sept 2015 when I powered down several Windows updates were done. On 19 Sept, after the boot and completion of updates, HDMI started working again.

[DougMin]

I updated the BIOS again today (31 Jan 2016) and, once again, HDMI stopped working. I had hoped that something would have been learnt from the previous two failed BIOS updates. Sadly I was wrong and I am singularly disappointed at HP.