F.22 BIOS dv6/dv7-7000 HELL - "the bios in this system is not fully ACPI compliant"

This is an FYI posting for this issue and I would like to know if anyone else has had issues with BIOS versions F.22 and up. (Bios versions above the F.13 version).

I upgraded to the F.22 BIOS (from F.13) version on my 2 dv7t-7000 laptops through HP support assistant and received the blue screen of death message "the BIOS in this system is not fully ACPI compliant" after restarting Windows 7 and it attempted to boot back into Windows - after using the laptops fine for several DAYS on this BIOS.

It would blue screen to this message when trying to boot into Windows 7 on the hard disc, any HP recovery media, and genuine Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8 discs.

My dv7t-7000 with this problem was replaced with a brand new machine that I received last week. The other dv7t-7000 that had this issue was sent to HP repair with the BIOS issue and other unrelated issues.

The brand new machine I received last week came with the F.22 BIOS ALREADY loaded on it. I did NOT have HP support assistant set to automatically install updates. I literally used the laptop fine for 5 days and when I simply restarted Windows 7, was greeted with the same blue screen as the laptop HP replaced.

HP does NOT support the BIOS upgraded with a boot disc like the many Dell's I have had experience with over the years. You can only upgrade the BIOS in Windows via the HP Support assistant OR by downloading the BIOS update from HP's website.

(you can follow instructions for a custom BIOS update and rollback with a boot disc here)
HP Insyde BIOS recovery steps.

You will have to do a BIOS rollback if you experience this problem.

On the brand new dv7t-7000 I received last week, I was still able to do a BIOS rollback with HP tech support even though the laptop came with the F.22 BIOS and I did no upgrading of the BIOS beforehand.

They rolled me back to the original BIOS that came with the dv7t-7000 by powering off the laptop, holding down the windows key + B key while powering the laptop on.

I see that HP has posted an F.23 BIOS - but I do not see where it specifically addresses this issue.

I have run all previous BIOS' from HP before the F.22 update with no problems.

**Be warned, and be extremely careful with F.22 - AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE**

Here is the exact blue screen message:

 

Well it looks like the F.24 BIOS from February 2013 has the same issue.

I upgraded one of my dv7t-7000 units to F.24 and when it rebooted - BOOM - I was greeted with the lovely blue screen message. The same as listed above.

I rolled back again, to BIOS version F.13 and life is good.

If anyone could shed some light on what the hell HP has changed to their BIOS' above F.13 - other than what their standard "fix/enhancement" list that would be great.

Here is what they show for their fixes:
*F.22 - Fix/Enhancement:
- Improves the accuracy of the brightness control. - Reduces the amount of time required for the system to power on.
- Fixes an issue where the F2 and F3 brightness control function keys do not function properly when the system is connected a device using the HDMI cable. - Fixes an intermittent issue where pressing the power button for 4 seconds to force the system to shutdown causes the system to stop functioning and display a black screen when the system is powered on (rebooted).

*F.23 - Fix/Enhancement:
- Fixes an issue where the System Diagnostic tool does not display the correct battery information. - Fixes an intermittent issue where upgrading the BIOS to a newer version causes the system to power on and off continuously.

*F.24 - Fix/Enhancement:
- Optimized the memory settings to improve the reliability of the memory system.

The only difference in hardware that has been made to my dv7t-7000's is that I have an Intel 520 SSD for the primary drive and the Seagate Momentus XT 750gb for the secondary drive. Both very popular, stable and highly rated drives... with the Momentus XT 750 being used by HP themselves in these units.

In all my years of I.T. experience I have never seen a BIOS upgrade mess such as this.

 

coastal_carolina - I can't think of anything worse than having BIOS problems and I hope you post any fixes. I am currently the happy owner of (2) DV6t-7000 laptops which are working fantastic. I purchased the first one last fall and just recently got my wife one last month. I really was not interested in Windows 8 yet, so bit the bullet to get Windows 7 Pro while I still can. Both have received the F-24 BIOS updates through the HP assistant. I use a Targus Dock on both and had to update the USB-3 driver along with the latest NVIDIA drivers. In addition, I have also installed the Windows XP Virtual Machine. Everything, so far, is running as it should. Good luck and please post an update on your resolution.

 

Don't have one of these notebooks but I found this:

(0x000000011, Parameter2, Parameter3, Parameter4):

The system cannot enter ACPI mode. There are many reasons for this, including:

The system cannot initialize the AML interpreter.
The system cannot find the Root System Description table.
The system cannot allocate a critical driver.
The system cannot load the Root System Description table.
The system cannot load device descriptor blocks.
The system cannot connect an interrupt vector.
The SCI_EN (system control interrupt enable request) cannot be set (see 0x00000001).
The ACPI Table checksum is incorrect.

ACPI is a hierarchical arrangement of tables, each one building upon the next to define the complete capabilities of the system and of every device in the system. ACPI starts by looking for the Root System Description table, which points to the next table, which points to the next table, and so on. Usually, the 0x000000011 error occurs because these tables are damaged or missing.

Source: "Stop error code 0x000000A5" error when you are installing Windows XP

 

This seems to be a widespread problem over at the HP forums.

Reference here:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Recovery/DON-T-UPLOAD-THE-LATEST-BIOS-UPDATE/td-p/2322139

and here:
nvidia geforce gt 630m code 43 - Page 2 - HP Support Forum - 2232233

I was searching around for another issue I have seen lately - Nvidia Geforce GT 650 shows "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)" is what shows for the Nvidia card in device manager. The Nvidia error seems to be tied to the LoJack software.

 

It seems that HP has released yet another new BIOS version for the dv6/dv7-7000 series to address these major issues - BIOS version F.26

See here:
Re: DON'T UPLOAD THE LATEST BIOS UPDATE - Page 7 - HP Support Forum - 2322139

and here:
Re: nvidia geforce gt 630m code 43 - Page 10 - HP Support Forum - 2232233

 

Let's be sure we are on the same type machine. I have a DV7-7000t, A5F92AV. I had BIOS level 22 when delivered in July 2012. I had trouble in initial setup but I think I fat-fingered something. I had to send it back. They updated the BIOS and replaced the hard drive. It came back with 23. It was delivered with Windows 7 Home 64 bit. I downloaded a bargain priced Windows 8 Home, installed that, saw what they did to Media Center and put the Win 7 image back on. During the OS switcheros I tried installing Win7 from DVD but failed. With little time to continue I did the factory image. After several updates I am now running 26. I have had no trouble with anything. I am now pursuing OS installs on this machine because I hate mysteries. I downloaded all the drivers and started examining the files. Expand the sp56163.exe file to a folder and look in "Intel Rapid Storage tech" file. In there are storage drivers for Win 7, XP and others.