My HP Spectre just died with BIOS update!!

[Technerd108]

I have a HP Spectre that is just over a year old with Intel 1165G7 and I downloaded and installed a BIOS update directly from HP. It seemed to install fine and was plugged in. It rebooted to a black screen, no keyboard backlight, fans blasting. It is unresponsive. I have an official HP USB recovery drive and that won't boot. I am out of warranty by a few months. This was not a cheap computer and I can't believe it might be a paper weight after installing an update from HP!!!

If anyone might have a helpful suggestion I am all ears! Thanks.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I've seen pages and videos where folks described using a cheap mini-programmer to re-flash the BIOS.

Perhaps there's something out there along those lines pertaining to your exact motherboard.

 

[Technerd108]

I tried to create a bios recovery usb according to HP instructions with the latest bios update from hp and nothing happens. I should just insert and power on and it is supposed to update but nothing happens. I have used windows key and b and windows key and v as well and no response just black screen with power on?

 

[BrianBaughn]

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about:

Back from the Dead: Recovering from a Bricked BIOS

An adventure in the world of bricked BIOS

jpdias.me

 

[bobcomer]

I have a HP Spectre that is just over a year old with Intel 1165G7 and I downloaded and installed a BIOS update directly from HP. It seemed to install fine and was plugged in. It rebooted to a black screen, no keyboard backlight, fans blasting. It is unresponsive. I have an official HP USB recovery drive and that won't boot. I am out of warranty by a few months. This was not a cheap computer and I can't believe it might be a paper weight after installing an update from HP!!!

If anyone might have a helpful suggestion I am all ears! Thanks.

Call HP Support. They should be willing to do something since it was one of their updates. If they don't, take them to small claims court.

 

[Technerd108]

Call HP Support. They should be willing to do something since it was one of their updates. If they don't, take them to small claims court.

I will give it a shot. Thank you. Thought I was going to have an expensive paper weight since I am not going to take the device apart.

 

[Queen6]

Should be able to recover and roll back. There's frequently SW switches that allows recovery. Sorry cant help further as don't have a HP machine. Keep pushing HP and politely demand a solution. This PC is an Asus party line is no downgrade of BIOS, however you can with the right SW switch, even with a dead BIOS...

Q-6

 

[mi7chy]

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about:

Back from the Dead: Recovering from a Bricked BIOS

An adventure in the world of bricked BIOS

jpdias.me

If going that route get one that properly supports the correct voltages so it doesn't make the problem worse by frying the EEPROM. Here's one that does 1.8V, 2.5V, 3.3V and 5V.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001272558261.html

 

[MayaUser]

I have a HP Spectre that is just over a year old with Intel 1165G7 and I downloaded and installed a BIOS update directly from HP. It seemed to install fine and was plugged in. It rebooted to a black screen, no keyboard backlight, fans blasting. It is unresponsive. I have an official HP USB recovery drive and that won't boot. I am out of warranty by a few months. This was not a cheap computer and I can't believe it might be a paper weight after installing an update from HP!!!

If anyone might have a helpful suggestion I am all ears! Thanks.

its time to let HP and go mac route..on windows side HP are getting worse with each generation

 

[mi7chy]

its time to let HP and go mac route..on windows side HP are getting worse with each generation

Don't be silly. Chances of recovering from failed firmware update is higher on PC laptop than on Macbook.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253309726

 

[Technerd108]

Please this is not a discussion to trash any platform as I use a lot of them and enjoy them all. No Operating system is without flaws and all have certain strengths and weaknesses.

If I can only choose one platform which I would never do I am not sure which it would be. Apple is unfortunately going down a path I am not so happy with by trying to appease the Chinese government to keep the Chinese market open to them. I think giving up ones principles to make even a huge profit and letting shareholders determine the trajectory of a company is bad leadership and ultimately self defeating. I am concerned Apple may build a back door into all of it's OS's to appease China's desire to snoop on everyone including their citizens.

The only platform which you have a choice and can see for yourself any code that might be questionable is Linux and for me Linux is not a viable replacement for Windows or MacOS and iOS and Android. So I use all of them for different needs and am not a fanboy of any OS.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Sorry to read about the failed BIOS update. I hope you get it resolved.

It doesn’t appear you’re new at this. Although, for future firmware update instances/cases:

• Ensure the laptop is connected to external power (i.e., charger)
• The fan(s) running at full speed during a BIOS update is normal.
— While the BIOS EEPROM is being re-flashed, it is not monitoring CPU and other temperatures. Therefore, as a safeguard/precaution, the update utility/motherboard set the fan(s) speed to maximum to reduce any possibility of overheating, which, at the minimum, could force/cause a shutdown, interrupting the BIOS flashing process leaving the BIOS incomplete.
• During/following a BIOS update, the system may reboot several times and appear unresponsive, including but not limited to a blank/off display, for possibly minutes
— This behavior can be:
* further verification
* adjusting, returning settings to defaults
* updating other firmware (e.g. Intel Management Engine, VBIOS)

Most of these instructions/warnings are stated before and during the update process, though I hope it also helps to have some explanation.

I am not suggesting the recent situation is your fault, processes can certainly fail on their own for a multitude of reasons. However, with hardware updates, including firmware, it’s best to be extra cautious. Some people avoid firmware updates altogether no matter the benefits because of the risk of completely disabling a device.

Ultimately, it’s essential to be very patient for such processes.

 

[Technerd108]

Sorry to read about the failed BIOS update. I hope you get it resolved.

It doesn’t appear you’re new at this. Although, for future firmware update instances/cases:

• Ensure the laptop is connected to external power (i.e., charger)
• The fan(s) running at full speed during a BIOS update is normal.
— While the BIOS EEPROM is being re-flashed, it is not monitoring CPU and other temperatures. Therefore, as a safeguard/precaution, the update utility/motherboard set the fan(s) speed to maximum to reduce any possibility of overheating, which, at the minimum, could force/cause a shutdown, interrupting the BIOS flashing process leaving the BIOS incomplete.
• During/following a BIOS update, the system may reboot several times and appear unresponsive, including but not limited to a blank/off display, for possibly minutes
— This behavior can be:
* further verification
* adjusting, returning settings to defaults
* updating other firmware (e.g. Intel Management Engine, VBIOS)

Most of these instructions/warnings are stated before and during the update process, though I hope it also helps to have some explanation.

I am not suggesting the recent situation is your fault, processes can certainly fail on their own for a multitude of reasons. However, with hardware updates, including firmware, it’s best to be extra cautious. Some people avoid firmware updates altogether no matter the benefits because of the risk of completely disabling a device.

Ultimately, it’s essential to be very patient for such processes.

Thanks for the advice but I am not new at all. I understand all the points above and am very careful any time I flash a bios as I understand an incomplete installation will brick your device. I have not had the chance to contact HP yet and have a nice paperweight at the moment. Luckily my MBP is my main laptop and my secondary is a Surface device which I was going to sell the HP and was just getting it ready to do so.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Thanks for the advice but I am not new at all. I understand all the points above and am very careful any time I flash a bios as I understand an incomplete installation will brick your device. I have not had the chance to contact HP yet and have a nice paperweight at the moment. Luckily my MBP is my main laptop and my secondary is a Surface device which I was going to sell the HP and was just getting it ready to do so.

Hopefully, you can get in contact with someone decent at HP.

 

[Technerd108]

So an update to my situation. Decided to spend a couple hours with HP tech support on chat. First just to talk to someone in person they try to shill a one time support cost of $99 or $14.99 a month. So I just called tech support and they wanted $349 for a bios repair. Said no and decided the chat option was my last hope. Took about 3 hours on chat and at the end of it after they did all of the same things I had already done to re-flash the bios they wanted $429 to repair and I said that was too much. Then a discounted offer of $349. I said no and no. I then asked to speak with a supervisor. They resisted and then asked for contact info again and said a support supervisor will call me. I figured it would be a few days and got a call just few minutes later.

The supervisor said that since my warranty expired just a few months ago they would do a one time repair at no cost to me! So from going from pissed off and vowing to never buy another HP product again to happy they decided to do the right thing. I knew that my device was not the cheapest they offer so I expected better service than shut up and pay I did not expect completely free. We will see how it resolves once repair is made but so far I am happy about this resolution.

The reason I wanted to post this is to say ALWAYS ask for a supervisor after you have exhausted your options with tech support and went through their steps in good faith. Most of the time they can help. I have had a few times when what I tried did not work but you got nothing to lose to try!

 

[ian87w]

So an update to my situation. Decided to spend a couple hours with HP tech support on chat. First just to talk to someone in person they try to shill a one time support cost of $99 or $14.99 a month. So I just called tech support and they wanted $349 for a bios repair. Said no and decided the chat option was my last hope. Took about 3 hours on chat and at the end of it after they did all of the same things I had already done to re-flash the bios they wanted $429 to repair and I said that was too much. Then a discounted offer of $349. I said no and no. I then asked to speak with a supervisor. They resisted and then asked for contact info again and said a support supervisor will call me. I figured it would be a few days and got a call just few minutes later.

The supervisor said that since my warranty expired just a few months ago they would do a one time repair at no cost to me! So from going from pissed off and vowing to never buy another HP product again to happy they decided to do the right thing. I knew that my device was not the cheapest they offer so I expected better service than shut up and pay I did not expect completely free. We will see how it resolves once repair is made but so far I am happy about this resolution.

The reason I wanted to post this is to say ALWAYS ask for a supervisor after you have exhausted your options with tech support and went through their steps in good faith. Most of the time they can help. I have had a few times when what I tried did not work but you got nothing to lose to try!

Glad that you got a good response/service. Keep us updated on the repair result.

 

[NT1440]

Good response that they’ll take care of it.

In my experience, Lenovo is the only OEM that seems to have BIOS updates as trivial as a driver update. Never a single failure, which I can’t say of Dell and HP’s business line..?

 

[Technerd108]

Seems the bios update fried the motherboard. Hp was nice enough to fix it and give me a loaner while it was being repaired. Got the original device back and it is working and looks just like how I sent it in. Very happy with this outcome and with Hp standing behind their product eventually.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Seriously why do people update their BIOS? I remember long time ago I built this rig with an MSi mother board that I stupidly fried because I tried to flash a BIOS update (I thought it'd give me overclocking or something) and it failed and rendered the motherboard a paperweight. I never updated a BIOS ever again. Why risk it?

 

[I7guy]

Seriously why do people update their BIOS? I remember long time ago I built this rig with an MSi mother board that I stupidly fried because I tried to flash a BIOS update (I thought it'd give me overclocking or something) and it failed and rendered the motherboard a paperweight. I never updated a BIOS ever again. Why risk it?

Security updates? Performance and stability updates? I know that BIOS updates are risky, but many modern system boards have dual bios with fallback capability. That said, there should be a good reason for flashing your bios.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Securiry updates for a BIOS? You might have had a point in regards to the OS or apps but the darned BIOS? It doesn't even access the internet for crying out loud!

After losing that rather expensive MSi motherboard I never bothered. I subscribe to the old 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' rule. Most of the time I don't even bother to update anything. But that aside, a BIOS update only has to go wrong once and you're screwed. Unless you got some rather special equipment to re-flash a BIOS you're never going to use that motherboard ever again. An expensive lesson I need only learn once. I don't even know what went wrong with that first time. I only know it got to like 98%, failed, and never booted again.

 

[jav6454]

I have a HP Spectre that is just over a year old with Intel 1165G7 and I downloaded and installed a BIOS update directly from HP. It seemed to install fine and was plugged in. It rebooted to a black screen, no keyboard backlight, fans blasting. It is unresponsive. I have an official HP USB recovery drive and that won't boot. I am out of warranty by a few months. This was not a cheap computer and I can't believe it might be a paper weight after installing an update from HP!!!

If anyone might have a helpful suggestion I am all ears! Thanks.

Normally you don't do BIOS upgrades unless you are first adopter of a new architecture. BIOS updates can cause bricking as you are messing with the Boot ROM.

That said, some computers have an emergency Reflash BIOS Botton on the motherboard or back panel.

 

[bobcomer]

Securiry updates for a BIOS? You might have had a point in regards to the OS or apps but the darned BIOS? It doesn't even access the internet for crying out loud!

Yep, security updates, and firmware updates for the processor too. If your PC gets infected with a virus, it can write a part of the bios that makes it so it's very hard to get rid of. It happens...

The most bios updates I've done were for stability. I've never had a failure of a BIOS update.

 

[nickdalzell1]

My current rig isn't the type with an 'emergency' ROM on board (ASrock motherboard), and the BIOS is soldered to the board, so if I bricked it it'd be out for another PC or motherboard. By all means, I'd update stuff like GPU drivers, sound card drivers, OS security patches, etc. But a BIOS update, once again, I only had to learn that lesson the hard way once. I still don't know what went wrong then either. I had the correct firmware, and it made it to 98%, failed, then restarted and nothing. no POST, nothing at all. No way to even boot a floppy disk (this was during the era of floppy disk BIOS updates).

It's like the time I put a smartphone (a pocket PC with cellular compactflash card, quite expensive) in my back pocket, and sat down on a park bench and heard the crunch. I still cringe whenever I spot folks with their smartphone sticking halfway out their back pockets. I also only had to learn that lesson once.

You might have never had a BIOS update fail and end up with a rather expensive paperweight. Yet.

 

[bobcomer]

You might have never had a BIOS update fail and end up with a rather expensive paperweight. Yet.

It's not likely without a hardware or power problem. I bet you'd be shocked how many bios updates I've done. (I'm an IT guy, I do them all the time.)