Everything is explained in more detail in the linked post but basically, an automatic bios update on a brand new HP motherboard* went wrong and likely corrupted the bios. I've tried resetting the...
Everything is explained in more detail in the linked post but basically, an automatic bios update on a brand new HP motherboard* went wrong and likely corrupted the bios. I've tried resetting the CMOS, both with the battery and the jumpers, but no joy.
I've also tried to use HPs bios recovery utility only to find out the USB ports aren't getting power.
Please read the post for the full thing and if you have any idea of what else I can try please tell me. I'm at my wit's end here!
*Who thought automatic bios updates are a good idea?!
Edit: Update! Turns out the original motherboard was short-circuiting, and the new one had a factory chipset issue. By using one as a donor board, the shop I took it to managed to make 1 functional motherboard.
Tangent: If anyone is trying to upgrade the CPU on this, note that not all CPUs compatible with the AM4 socket work on it. My advice: steer the fuck away from HP.
Because it depends on remote connections, I'd have to disagree. They additionally need to be disableable, and honestly should probably be off by default, even if that prevents most of the utility.
Because it depends on remote connections, I'd have to disagree. They additionally need to be disableable, and honestly should probably be off by default, even if that prevents most of the utility.
I'd probably buy a replacement motherboard, not necessarily the same HP part, but any motherboard that supports a Ryzen 3200G will work. I'd imagine you could find one for about $50 pretty easily....
I'd probably buy a replacement motherboard, not necessarily the same HP part, but any motherboard that supports a Ryzen 3200G will work. I'd imagine you could find one for about $50 pretty easily.
If you're really adventurous, your BIOS chip is the little 8-pin IC just above the SSD in your picture. Using an arduino and a SOIC-8 test clip like this you can flash a new BIOS to that EEPROM. It's a bit of a rabbit hole if you're not already familiar with that sort of thing, but if you pull it off it's immensely satisfy and you end up feeling like a real hacker.
Any chance someone has done a checklist or ELI5 of a how to do that? I figure if we’re going to replace Reddit, we need to start accumulating useful information ASAP.
Any chance someone has done a checklist or ELI5 of a how to do that?
I figure if we’re going to replace Reddit, we need to start accumulating useful information ASAP.
Unfortunately, this mobo is custom cut to the case and honestly I'd just be remaking the computer if I did that. Enough money has been sunk into it that I would like to stop now. I do find that...
Unfortunately, this mobo is custom cut to the case and honestly I'd just be remaking the computer if I did that. Enough money has been sunk into it that I would like to stop now.
I do find that kind of thing pretty curious and honestly I might get into it if I can't recover this any other way!
If you haven't figured this out in couple weeks or a month or so, my work is starting to decommission ryzen 3000 series systems, so I might be able to send you a mobo for free or for shipping...
If you haven't figured this out in couple weeks or a month or so, my work is starting to decommission ryzen 3000 series systems, so I might be able to send you a mobo for free or for shipping costs. I'm in Canada, and if you are as well I can cover the shipping, but if you're overseas I might have to ask for twenty bucks or something to help cover the costs. We're starting to recycle motherboards compatible with yours.
I think the screw spacing on your case looks like it'll fit normal micro-atx boards.
ninjaedit: Also if you want to try the route of reflashing the existing bios with an external programmer, let me know, I have some experience and can give guidance.
Thank you, that is very generous of you! Right now I've thrown the towel and dropped off the computer at a repair shop where they have the ability to flash the bios so I'm hoping that'll be it....
Thank you, that is very generous of you! Right now I've thrown the towel and dropped off the computer at a repair shop where they have the ability to flash the bios so I'm hoping that'll be it. I'll definitely keep you in mind if it becomes necessary though.
It's difficult to find a manual for the motherboard. If you go to the HP website and enter the code for the PC into the support thing - so if the computer is a PG01 start typing that, you end up...
It's difficult to find a manual for the motherboard. If you go to the HP website and enter the code for the PC into the support thing - so if the computer is a PG01 start typing that, you end up with a few slightly different PCs. One of them links to this which is I think a manual for the Erica motherboard? http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06985094.pdf
(The image in this looks similar to your image).
That has a "zoomable view" feature in the PDF, so you should at least be able to see where the jumpers need to go.
Last time I cleared the bios using the jumper I had to put the jumper in place and leave it in place for 5 minutes and then put it back.
There's some discussion about whether you need to apply power after you've put the jumper in place - for some systems the jumper is checked on a firmware boot to see if an erase of NVRAM is being requested.
Are the USB2 sockets also without power?
Good luck, it sounds like a rough situation.
EDIT: You've probably seen this, but here are some videos:
Thank you very much for the in-depth comment! I actually couldn't find a manual for this motherboard on the website and even the link you provided for some reason gives me a page not found....
Thank you very much for the in-depth comment!
I actually couldn't find a manual for this motherboard on the website and even the link you provided for some reason gives me a page not found. However, I managed to get it through the Wayback Machine X. Thank you very much, this helped me verify that I have the jumpers in the correct position.
I also had no idea that you might have to leave the jumpers in position for a few minutes, I will try that. It's actually the first time I've ever had to use jumpers to try to reset the BIOS, so I will also try to follow those videos in specific (I found others) and see if it helps.
And yeah, all USB sockets are without power, which is one of the weirdest parts of all of this for me. It's not a physical problem because the Ethernet port does get power (page 14, label 1) so the USB ports there should too, I think.
Lets hope I've been doing something wrong and one of those videos helps.
You are not getting video output of any kind? No HP logo, no jagged lines, nothing? Also, it sounds like your first mobo had some kind of electrical issue if it sparked and fried. Perhaps there is...
You are not getting video output of any kind? No HP logo, no jagged lines, nothing?
Also, it sounds like your first mobo had some kind of electrical issue if it sparked and fried. Perhaps there is someone else (besides the PSU) causing an electrical problem? Exposed wires? Moisture? Static and not being grounded when you touch the internals?
If you haven't already, try turning it off, unplug the power cable and all peripherals, hold down the power button for 15 seconds, then plug in only the power and turn it back on. See what happens. I shit you not, I've had that bring back machines that I swore were beyond hope.
No video output at all :/ yeah it's super weird. Idk what else could be causing issues but someone in another forum suggested it still could be the PSU, since it might be outputting the correct...
No video output at all :/ yeah it's super weird.
Idk what else could be causing issues but someone in another forum suggested it still could be the PSU, since it might be outputting the correct voltages for a test but not actually under load. I've determined that I should take it to a repair shop with the new motherboard and specifically ask them to test another PSU.
Your last suggestion is a good one and has worked on other machines in the past. This one is just utterly FUBARed though.
This would not be the first time a BIOS update has bricked HP machines. You might wanna look into getting one of those clip on BIOS flashers, if all else fails.
This would not be the first time a BIOS update has bricked HP machines. You might wanna look into getting one of those clip on BIOS flashers, if all else fails.
Yeah :/ I've dropped the computer off at a repair shop where they have the means to flash the bios so I don't run the risk of destroying this brand new mobo.
Yeah :/ I've dropped the computer off at a repair shop where they have the means to flash the bios so I don't run the risk of destroying this brand new mobo.
Everything is explained in more detail in the linked post but basically, an automatic bios update on a brand new HP motherboard* went wrong and likely corrupted the bios. I've tried resetting the CMOS, both with the battery and the jumpers, but no joy.
I've also tried to use HPs bios recovery utility only to find out the USB ports aren't getting power.
Please read the post for the full thing and if you have any idea of what else I can try please tell me. I'm at my wit's end here!
*Who thought automatic bios updates are a good idea?!
Edit: Update! Turns out the original motherboard was short-circuiting, and the new one had a factory chipset issue. By using one as a donor board, the shop I took it to managed to make 1 functional motherboard.
Tangent: If anyone is trying to upgrade the CPU on this, note that not all CPUs compatible with the AM4 socket work on it. My advice: steer the fuck away from HP.
Automatic BIOS updates are a good idea security-wise, but IMO these should only be pushed on mobo with Dual-BIOSes (A/B) and checksum verification.
Because it depends on remote connections, I'd have to disagree. They additionally need to be disableable, and honestly should probably be off by default, even if that prevents most of the utility.
I'd probably buy a replacement motherboard, not necessarily the same HP part, but any motherboard that supports a Ryzen 3200G will work. I'd imagine you could find one for about $50 pretty easily.
If you're really adventurous, your BIOS chip is the little 8-pin IC just above the SSD in your picture. Using an arduino and a SOIC-8 test clip like this you can flash a new BIOS to that EEPROM. It's a bit of a rabbit hole if you're not already familiar with that sort of thing, but if you pull it off it's immensely satisfy and you end up feeling like a real hacker.
Any chance someone has done a checklist or ELI5 of a how to do that?
I figure if we’re going to replace Reddit, we need to start accumulating useful information ASAP.
Here’s one video covering the approach: https://youtu.be/OttN8wQ1HhE
You’re a true hero, thank you!
Unfortunately, this mobo is custom cut to the case and honestly I'd just be remaking the computer if I did that. Enough money has been sunk into it that I would like to stop now.
I do find that kind of thing pretty curious and honestly I might get into it if I can't recover this any other way!
If you haven't figured this out in couple weeks or a month or so, my work is starting to decommission ryzen 3000 series systems, so I might be able to send you a mobo for free or for shipping costs. I'm in Canada, and if you are as well I can cover the shipping, but if you're overseas I might have to ask for twenty bucks or something to help cover the costs. We're starting to recycle motherboards compatible with yours.
I think the screw spacing on your case looks like it'll fit normal micro-atx boards.
ninjaedit: Also if you want to try the route of reflashing the existing bios with an external programmer, let me know, I have some experience and can give guidance.
Thank you, that is very generous of you! Right now I've thrown the towel and dropped off the computer at a repair shop where they have the ability to flash the bios so I'm hoping that'll be it. I'll definitely keep you in mind if it becomes necessary though.
It's difficult to find a manual for the motherboard. If you go to the HP website and enter the code for the PC into the support thing - so if the computer is a PG01 start typing that, you end up with a few slightly different PCs. One of them links to this which is I think a manual for the Erica motherboard? http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06985094.pdf
(The image in this looks similar to your image).
That has a "zoomable view" feature in the PDF, so you should at least be able to see where the jumpers need to go.
Last time I cleared the bios using the jumper I had to put the jumper in place and leave it in place for 5 minutes and then put it back.
There's some discussion about whether you need to apply power after you've put the jumper in place - for some systems the jumper is checked on a firmware boot to see if an erase of NVRAM is being requested.
Are the USB2 sockets also without power?
Good luck, it sounds like a rough situation.
EDIT: You've probably seen this, but here are some videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGpf_hfOKgI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RnIj-EcdQ
Thank you very much for the in-depth comment!
I actually couldn't find a manual for this motherboard on the website and even the link you provided for some reason gives me a page not found. However, I managed to get it through the Wayback Machine X. Thank you very much, this helped me verify that I have the jumpers in the correct position.
I also had no idea that you might have to leave the jumpers in position for a few minutes, I will try that. It's actually the first time I've ever had to use jumpers to try to reset the BIOS, so I will also try to follow those videos in specific (I found others) and see if it helps.
And yeah, all USB sockets are without power, which is one of the weirdest parts of all of this for me. It's not a physical problem because the Ethernet port does get power (page 14, label 1) so the USB ports there should too, I think.
Lets hope I've been doing something wrong and one of those videos helps.
You are not getting video output of any kind? No HP logo, no jagged lines, nothing?
Also, it sounds like your first mobo had some kind of electrical issue if it sparked and fried. Perhaps there is someone else (besides the PSU) causing an electrical problem? Exposed wires? Moisture? Static and not being grounded when you touch the internals?
If you haven't already, try turning it off, unplug the power cable and all peripherals, hold down the power button for 15 seconds, then plug in only the power and turn it back on. See what happens. I shit you not, I've had that bring back machines that I swore were beyond hope.
No video output at all :/ yeah it's super weird.
Idk what else could be causing issues but someone in another forum suggested it still could be the PSU, since it might be outputting the correct voltages for a test but not actually under load. I've determined that I should take it to a repair shop with the new motherboard and specifically ask them to test another PSU.
Your last suggestion is a good one and has worked on other machines in the past. This one is just utterly FUBARed though.
This would not be the first time a BIOS update has bricked HP machines. You might wanna look into getting one of those clip on BIOS flashers, if all else fails.
Yeah :/ I've dropped the computer off at a repair shop where they have the means to flash the bios so I don't run the risk of destroying this brand new mobo.