Question z240 posts but hangs at the HP Secured by HP Sure Start logo.

[jamesdsimone]

So had my HP z240 work station up and running fine. I had installed my standard set if utilities and programs I install on all my systems. I did some basic tasks, some transcoding, some files transfer etc. When I first set it up it had problems booting so I replaced the CMOS battery and reset the BIOS boot priority and everything was working. I usually leave it on and let it go into sleep mode but I shut it down since I knew I wasn't going to use it for a few days. I booted it up and it hung at the HP start screen. None of the start up f keys worked. I couldn't get into BIOS or into any diagnostics, it just hung. It was behaving like it did before I replaced the battery so I put another one in and reset the CMOS. Booted and was able to get into BIOS reset everything again and it booted fine. I did some more basic tasks file copying and web surfing and it ran fine. I shut it down and rebooted and back to the same hang at the HP Secured by HP Sure Start logo screen. This time when I powered it on the case fan was running at full rpms. So where do I start? I was thinking reset the CPU with new thermal compound? Maybe it is over heating though I would assume it would have given me problems when it was running.

 

[Shmee]

You can check for overheating in the OS with something like coretemp or hwinfo64. As for the booting problem, I would double check the boot order/settings in BIOS.

 

[jamesdsimone]

You can check for overheating in the OS with something like coretemp or hwinfo64. As for the booting problem, I would double check the boot order/settings in BIOS.

I'll try resetting the CMOS. The problem is it hangs at the HP Logo Sure Start screen and none of the menu options work including getting into BIOS.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I've had an HP office PC (that I thought I got for a good price) go kaput when I cleaned it with a 3M vacuum cleaner meant for the task. My IT guy uses the same vacuum cleaner to blow out dust from our regular Dell office PCs all the time and never heard him complain about any problem he had after the cleaning. I do it just once and the HP refuses to boot. Fans turn on but blank screen. I think HP stuff isn't as reliable and rugged. No wonder that everyone here in UAE recommends to go with Dell.

For your issue, inspect the mobo of the system for any dust bunnies etc. Clean it with a brush if required. You can also use this: https://www.amazon.com/Compressed-Fulljion-51000RPM-Electric-6000mAhRechargeable/dp/B09V4L21G6/

Then look if the mobo has any bulging capacitors. If you find any, they will need replacing.

 

[igor_kavinski]

This user faced the issue due to his SSD: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Deskt...HP-Secured-by-HP-Sure-Start-logo/td-p/8312474

 

[jamesdsimone]

This user faced the issue due to his SSD: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Deskt...HP-Secured-by-HP-Sure-Start-logo/td-p/8312474

I saw that fix but why would a bad drive keep me from getting into BIOS? It was running fine for over a month and I had no problems what so ever last time I got to desktop. It is currently booting from a Samsung 256Gb NVMe drive. I have another SSD with Ubuntu on it but if I can't get into BIOS how do I get it to boot from that drive? I blew out the case. There wasn't a lot dust. I'll look at the motherboard. A z240 motherboard is about 20USD on ebay.

 

[In2Photos]

I saw that fix but why would a bad drive keep me from getting into BIOS? It was running fine for over a month and I had no problems what so ever last time I got to desktop. It is currently booting from a Samsung 256Gb NVMe drive. I have another SSD with Ubuntu on it but if I can't get into BIOS how do I get it to boot from that drive? I blew out the case. There wasn't a lot dust. I'll look at the motherboard. A z240 motherboard is about 20USD on ebay.

The PC isn't posting, that's why you're not able to get to BIOS. Reasons for not posting could be a number of things like CPU, RAM, and VGA, but a faulty disk or even a USB device can cause the lack of a post too. Try disconnecting 1 device at a time until you get a successful post. That should help you determine what the culprit is.

 

[jamesdsimone]

The PC isn't posting, that's why you're not able to get to BIOS. Reasons for not posting could be a number of things like CPU, RAM, and VGA, but a faulty disk or even a USB device can cause the lack of a post too. Try disconnecting 1 device at a time until you get a successful post. That should help you determine what the culprit is.

It gets to the screen with the HP logo but freezes and doesn't go any further. None of the F keys work. Replacing the CMOS battery and resetting the CMOS seemed to fix it but when I shut down and turn the machine on again the next day the problem reoccurred.

 

[In2Photos]

It gets to the screen with the HP logo but freezes and doesn't go any further. None of the F keys work. Replacing the CMOS battery and resetting the CMOS seemed to fix it but when I shut down and turn the machine on again the next day the problem reoccurred.

Yeah, I read all that before. The splash screen is NOT a post screen. It's just a logo to stare at instead of a blank screen. In the old days you could actually see the PC checking all of the components (post) prior to loading the OS. Clearing CMOS may be clearing the fault that is occuring, but only temporarily.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Reflash the bios. I doubt it cures the issue though. IME most cold boot issues are physical issues, almost always with the board.

 

[jamesdsimone]

Reflash the bios. I doubt it cures the issue though. IME most cold boot issues are physical issues, almost always with the board.

Well I got my hand held blower working, I thought it was dead and had just crapped out but I think it didn't like the charger I had it on, blew out the inside of the case and powered it on. It posted and booted like nothing had happened. There was some dust but not a lot. It's nice that it booted but no idea what was going on. Guess I'll see if it boots ok after I'm done with it for tonight.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Probably some dust particles trapped in the RAM slots that you set loose with the blower.

 

[jamesdsimone]

Probably some dust particles trapped in the RAM slots that you set loose with the blower.

Hopefully that is it and it will be stable. I gave up trying to get the E5-2695v2 to connect wireless to my network, easier to just plug in a network cable. The Dell is up and running now need to get to the Lenovo w-2145.

 

[jamesdsimone]

Old post but in case anyone has a similar problem, the problem was that my USB hard drive dock was connected and if I had left it on, it tried to boot to the USB drive which of course had no bootable drive. Instead of bypassing and going to the next boot option it hung. I only finally noticed the pattern.