Dragon-Fur,
Thank you so much for the information in your post. Before this incident, I didn't even know what BIOS was. As a person with limited knowledge of the technical aspects of computer operation, I'd like to make the following observations:
1. The HP Support Assistnat is already set to Notify. The issue is that I lack the knowledge to know whether I need to download and install the updates. This is my first HP computer and, in my naivete, I assumed that HP wouldn't offer updates unless my computer needed them. (I'm used to MIcrosoft's continual patches, which I am told that I need to accept.)
2. I don't know where to find information on which updates I need and why.
I would imagine that other users may have similar issues. At any rate, I appreciate your excellent information on how to update BIOS. Now that I know more about it, it certainly appears that my 6 month old computer would probably not need an update, and I hope that I don't ever have to do this again!
I'm sure that your information will be of great help to other users also. Thanks again!