"Your PC encountered a problem and needs to restart."

philc43 said:

Just interested to know if you did the above? If you have not had any further problems I would just continue using your system. The checks and tests you have done all indicate your file system is correct and the hardware tests so far have passed. If you get another BSOD post a new set of logfiles and we can look again.

Yes. I did indeed restore my system using the Macrium system image. I ran the various tests such as MemTest86, Prime95, Furmark, and Western Digital Data Lifeguard before I did the system restore. I ran CHKDSK, Scannow, etc, after the restore.

Do you think I should hold off on the BIOS update?

The new BIOS provides the following enhancements:

ENHANCEMENTS:
- Added Security Update.
- Fixes issue with the Embedded Security Device being Enabled/Disabled when the Setup Password isn't set.

Importantly it also includes all the other fixes in the BIOS versions released since 2012. Thes include amongst many others:

Code:

Fixes 
- Always report the PS2 keyboard and mouse as present; fixes PS2 keyboard not working with USB mouse or without mouse.
- Remove non-bootable partitions from EFI Boot Order.
- Fix Replicated Setup handling of Boot Order.
- Updated BIOS tables to report the correct type of system power supply.
- Enable DriveLock password to be disabled in F10 setup.
- Change slot size from Long to Short for the PCIe x1 and x4 slots.

It is certainly worth doing for the security update but not necessarily related to your BSOD.

philc43 said:

The new BIOS provides the following enhancements:


It is certainly worth doing for the security update but not necessarily related to your BSOD.

If I do install it, should I hold off on clearing the CMOS, then?

Also, how risky is it to update one's BIOS? Is it fairly safe and straightforward?

There is always some risk with BIOS updates but follow the instructions provided by HP. Only do it if you are comfortable doing it yourself and are fairly confident the PC has reached some level of stability.

It may be necessary to reset or clear the CMOS if you find the PC will not boot up afterwards. You should also make sure the optimised default settings are selected in the BIOS. Usually done by one of the Fkeys when you are in the BIOS menu.

philc43 said:

It may be necessary to reset or clear the CMOS if you find the PC will not boot up afterwards. You should also make sure the optimised default settings are selected in the BIOS. Usually done by one of the Fkeys when you are in the BIOS menu.

What are the optimized default settings?

I think I may have just discovered something relevant. Opera browser (which the DMP file shows to have been involved in the crash) was set to use hardware acceleration. Opera's hardware acceleration involved Opera and AMD, both of which are logged as having been involved in the error. Therefore,it stands to reason that this may have been what caused the problem. I have hardware acceleration in Opera disabled now. I've also disabled it in Chrome.

Does anyone here think that this may have been related to my problem?

I think I'll hold off on updating the BIOS for now. If the problem reappears, I might try it. But for now, I'm too inexperienced when it comes to messing with BIOS, and am afraid I'd mess something up.