BIOS update

[akafoo]

Hello,

My HP Pavilion dv7 4171us is in need of a BIOS update, so I can turn the frigging fan off. I am currently running v14 of the firmware, and v28 is available. I am very wary of doing this, and would love some assistance from anyone who might have been down this path before. Could someone be so kind as to point me to a resource where I could pull this off?

Thanks,

akafoo

[Frank616]

akafoo:

HP appears to have step by step instructions on their website.

I didn't check too deeply, but often these BIOS update programs are Windows programs. Do you still have Windows on this machine?

Frank.

[akafoo]

No, I don't- that's my problem. I might have to back out and reinstall Win7 to get this done, but that is what I was hoping to avoid,

[Frank616]

akafoo:

No, I don't- that's my problem. :arrow: I might have to back out and reinstall Win7 to get this done, but that is what I was hoping to avoid,

Yeah, its a pain, I know. However, the big PC makers assume the lowest common denominator, which is Windows. I left Win7 on this newest Dell laptop that I have just for situations like that. This laptop now has 2 drives in it, and GRUB2 is smart enough to find Win7 on the HDD, where it was originally installed, even though I now have an additional OCZ Vertex SSD for the main system drive. This allows me to boot Win7 if/when I need to. I've only used Win7 once in the year that I've had this machine, and that was just to test the USB3 ports.

There are probably ways you can flash a BIOS in Linux, but it is a touchy enough process that I wouldn't want to try it, as a mistake or a failed update can seriously hamper your ability to ever use the PC again.

I am no guru, however, so perhaps someone more knowledgeable than myself will offer an alternative.

Frank.

[GreyGeek]

You DON'T want to experiment with flashing a BIOS, or you could brick your box. A pain to be sure, but if updating the bios requires Win I'd install it to be on the safe side. Don't forget to backup your important data!

[SecretCode]

the big PC makers assume the lowest common denominator, which is Windows

Sadly not the lowest cost option ...

[ICMike]

Do you have a spare hard drive? Install it and use any old Windows install CD (XP, Vista or Win7) and don't worry about activating Windows. You could even create a tiny 25GB partition on the spare drive to speed up formatting. Install Windows and don't worry about doing any OS updates or antivirus software. That should be enough to flash your bios.

There's always a risk in flashing your bios. If it's a laptop, make sure the battery is fully charged. If it's a desktop, don't attempt a flash during a thunderstorm.

[akafoo]

Would anyone dare trying this in wine?

[Teunis]

I haven't checked yours but often a BIOS update can be run from DOS.
So a bootable USB stick with FreeDOS would be a sound option.
http://goebelmeier.de/bootstick/
http://tuxtweaks.com/2009/09/create-...ve-on-windows/

[SteveRiley]

Would anyone dare trying this in wine?

No way!

[Frank616]

Would anyone dare trying this in wine?

That would definitely NOT be a good idea.

Frank.

[ICMike]

i agree with steve. don't try to flash your motherboard from emulation software. the flash needs real links to your mobo, not virtual ones

[akafoo]

Phooey.

[dibl]

I followed the link to the HP BIOS loads, and as I expected they are .exe files. That means they can (or should) be executed in a DOS environment. No need to destroy your Kubuntu OS and install Windows -- just make a bootable DOS USB stick. Google "bootable dos usb" and you'll have multiple pages of ways to make one, including this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9f0J7OxW7c

Then copy the .exe BIOS update file to the DOS USB stick, boot the stick, and run the file.

[tek_heretik]

Wow, most modern BIOS's allow Interntet updating (I still do it the old-school floppy way), have a friend that will let you create an update floppy or CD? Make sure you do a checksum if available, most times a checksum will be placed on the floppy, CD, whatever so the BIOS itself can check it.