Hey everyone, I’m trying to fix my HP EliteBook 840 G3 (Windows 10) and it’s gotten so messed up that almost nothing works anymore. I’m hoping someone can help me repair it for free or recommend what to do next.

Here’s everything going wrong:

💻 Laptop Details

• HP EliteBook 840 G3
• Intel i5‑6300U
• 8GB RAM
• BIOS: N75 Ver. 01.24 (2018)
• Serial: 5CG7065BC5
• UUID: 7C25370A‑EFF9‑11E6‑855B‑0607B9008048

🛑 Major Problems:

1. BIOS is locked:

I can’t change boot order, update BIOS, or access advanced recovery.
HP says I need an SMC.bin unlock file.

2. Windows is severely corrupted:

• SFC and DISM don’t fix anything
• Settings app broken
• Taskbar sometimes doesn’t load
• Windows Update fails
• Recovery Mode doesn’t load
• Safe Mode only partially works

3. Boot issues:

• Slow boot
• Sometimes won’t turn on
• Black screen with fans spinning
• WinRE missing or corrupted

4. Network problems:

• WiFi disconnects randomly
• Adapter disappears
• Network services fail to start

5. Hardware aging:

• Possible SSD wear
• Possible CMOS battery failure
• External monitor not detecting
• Random freezes and crashes

🛠️ What I’ve already tried:

• SFC /scannow
• DISM /restorehealth
• msconfig repairs
• Driver updates
• Safe Mode
• Basic hardware checks

❓ What I need help with:

• How do I unlock the BIOS?
• How do I repair Windows without losing files?
• Should I reset Windows or reinstall?
• Is this fixable or is the hardware dying?
• Any Ottawa tech helpers willing to take a look?

Thanks for any help — I’m stuck.

--------- What Copilot AI said: -----------

🔥 Everything Wrong With Your HP EliteBook 840 G3 (Based on Your System Info + Symptoms)

🧩 1. BIOS Lock / Firmware Problems

Your BIOS version: N75 Ver. 01.24 (2018)  
Your UUID: 7C25370A‑EFF9‑11E6‑855B‑0607B9008048

This tells me:

• Your BIOS is 8 years out of date
• EliteBooks with old BIOS versions often get:
• Boot failures
• Secure Boot corruption
• Missing recovery environment
• Fan spin + black screen
• You cannot update BIOS because your BIOS is password‑locked
• You cannot change boot order → cannot reinstall Windows normally
• You cannot access advanced recovery tools
• You cannot fix firmware‑level corruption

This is the #1 root cause of your entire mess.

You need an SMC.bin unlock file from HP.

🧩 2. Windows System Corruption:

Based on your symptoms:

• SFC and DISM fail or don’t fix anything
• Windows apps missing
• Settings app broken
• Taskbar not loading
• Windows Update failing
• Recovery Mode not loading
• Safe Mode only partially working

This means:

Your Windows installation is severely corrupted, likely from:

• Forced shutdowns
• Failed updates
• BIOS restrictions blocking repairs
• Damaged system files
• Possibly a damaged Windows partition

This is not normal wear — it’s deep OS corruption.

🧩 3. Hardware Aging / Failure:

Your EliteBook 840 G3 is from 2016–2017.
Common failures at this age:

• SSD wear (causes slow boot, freezing, missing files)
• RAM instability
• Power delivery issues
• CMOS battery failure (causes BIOS weirdness)
• WiFi card instability
• Overheating due to dust

Your symptoms match:

• Slow boot
• Random freezes
• WiFi adapter disappearing
• External display not detecting
• Laptop sometimes won’t turn on

This strongly suggests SSD degradation or motherboard aging.

🧩 4. Network Stack Corruption:

You reported:

• WiFi disconnecting
• Adapter disappearing
• Network services failing
• Safe Mode networking unstable

This is caused by:

• Corrupted Windows networking stack
• Damaged drivers
• Possibly failing WiFi card

EliteBooks are notorious for this.

🧩 5. Missing or Broken System Services

You’ve mentioned:

• Windows services not starting
• System apps missing
• Settings app crashing
• Taskbar not loading

This means:

Your Windows registry is damaged, and several core services are failing:

• AppX Deployment Service
• Windows Shell Experience Host
• Windows Update
• Network Location Awareness
• Windows Installer
• WinRE (Recovery Environment)

This is why nothing behaves normally.

🧩 6. Bootloader / Partition Problems:

Symptoms:

• Windows Recovery won’t load
• Boot errors
• Safe Mode only partially works
• System apps missing
• DISM cannot repair

This suggests:

• Corrupted EFI partition
• Damaged WinRE partition
• Possibly a broken BCD (boot configuration data)

This is extremely common when BIOS is locked and Windows updates fail.

I am very confused on why my System and iOS take up so much room on my iPhone 11 Pro.

They both take up nearly all of my device's storage and are unable to change the details/etc. In total it would be ~42.8GB (Out of 64GB Total Storage); of my storage taken up and I can't update my device to the new/non beta update.

(I was thinking that maybe downloading the Beta 26.3 {iOS 26.3 (23D5089e)} Update onto my device was the reason why my storage got so used up all of a sudden, but I'm not sure if that explains why my System Data is so high.)

It's been like this ever since I had updated it, or at least for the past ~6-8 months.

I did some research on this problem and found a potential solution for fixing this problem, but wanted to know if anyone seeing this before I actually do it to tell me if I should proceed with it;

One of the options was to backup my device to the iCloud Backup, and then erase all content and settings through the Transfer or Reset iPhone settings; and then restore from a iCloud Backup.
———
UPDATE!:

I restarted and erased everything.

I now have about 25GB of storage left after doing the whole restart and erase. Hopefully this post helps others who have the same problem.

Pro tip; as cool as the Beta updates are, don’t do it. It caused so many different problems for my iPhone (I’m pretty sure that it warns you about that, but most people don’t read that.)

Thanks to the one dude who commented on this post and told me to go through with it.