New BIOS for HP notebooks - F.3D

HP released a new HP Notebook System BIOS for Notebooks with AMD Processors (Microsoft Windows/Vista-Based).

My CPU temps went way down from ~50C to ~28C.



Check if your HP notebook requires this update

Click Start Menu
Type "HP Update" (without quotes)
Press the ENTER key​

Quote from an HP engineer from HP's support forum:

 

has anybody downloaded it yet? If you have can you let us know if you notice any diffrence

 

Well I downloaded it and installed, gave me the blue screen of death...yay...now my computer won't do anything. Not even turn off, unless I pull the plug.

 

I updated today from F.3A to F.3D; no problems. Laptop is HP dv9008nr.

Now I would check temperatures, if I could remember how

 

You could use the AMD Dashboard 2.0 (See screen shot in post #1) ( http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/utilities/dashboard.exe)
or CoreTemp ( http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/).

IMPORTANT:
In Vista you may have to go to Core Temp.exe properties and select the "Run this program as an
Administrator" option under the "Compatibility" tab for Core Temp to work properly.

 

What happen now, Is your PC back to normal, because I also want to update my notebook BIOS to F.3D I just don't want to mess it up.

 

I've had the new F.3D BIOS update for 1.5 days and have not experienced any difficulties. My CPU temps are now between ~28C to ~45C when fully loaded which is much lower than in the past (~50C - ~62C).

 

Dashboard refused to install in HP Pav dv9008nr.
Using program called PC Wizard it says processor running
at 40 C
But I didn't record it before the bios upgrade . . .

 

dv6400z
I updated the bios with f3d but there is no difference in the temp. still around 60 C. (checked with AMD RM Clock Utility and Core Temp..).
even with a cooling pad underneath. (they don't work very good).
is there anything else I could do to bring it down?
what about replacing the motherboard. is that something hp would do ?

 

Hi,
No worries, several programs do the same thing.

The AMD DashBoard installation program requires to be run as an administrator (See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922708).

Wow, that is hot. Try these tips.
Make sure the vents on the bottom of your notebook are not obstructed.

Windows key -> Type "Power Options" -> Select "HP Recommended" or "Balanced" plan.

If the CPU temp is still high (>55C) repeat the instructions above

• Select "Change plan settings"
• Select "Change advanced power settings"
• scroll down to "Processor power management"
• Select "Minimum processor state"
• Set "On battery" and "Plugged in" to 5%.

This will ensure the CPU power management is in effect.

My reference:
http://www.hardcoreware.net/tweak-windows-vista-tip-1/
g/l

 

Hi all new to the forums here, glad I could finally find some information on this topic.

I upgraded friday to F.3D and everything worked ok, but the fan would run constantly and at a higher speed than usual. HP customer service couldn't figure it out and wants me to send the laptop to them. Monday I flashed with F.27 and fan runs like it did.

I quoted oddgeezer because I also have a HP dv9008nr. Did it enable your fan to run continuously? I'm at a loss and don't know if I should leave it as it is or try to flash F.3D again.

I also installed AMD dashboard and it shows I'm running 50c to 58c

 

Let me share with you my experience with HP's BIOS updates. I am a Pavilion DV6000t user; however I've experienced the same heating problems like most 6000 series people.
Ever since the introduction of the F.25 BIOS update I noticed that the temperatures have dramatically increased. In the F.25 update notes HP says that they have enhanced the thermal control method to increase system stability. Ironically the updates that followed after F.16 did not increase system stability but have made it worst. What I noticed from using the updates that started coming up after F.16 was that the temperature range in which the fan operates has been increased. What does that mean? It means that the fan would start working after the CPU reaches a temperature like 50C Degrease, which is a way too high temperature for a laptop computer. This was the reason why I stayed with the F.16 version, in which the fan starts working when the CPU temperature reaches 22-23C Degrease. I've contacted HP regarding the issue today and they said that they will report the problem to the BIOS Development team.
Storm1 don't worry about your fan running all the time. It is much better to have your fan running that having eggs burned for breakfast on your laptop. The reason why your laptop fan is working most of the time is to reduce the temperatures, keeping your laptop cool and stable.

 

I agree with AnXio, the fan running at a low speed will keep the notebook cool and stable. The fan noise is not noticeable to me unless the environment is dead quiet.

3.5 days with the new bios and everything is okay.

BTW - I have not noticed an appreciable difference in battery life since the update (~2.5 hours)

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=200050

Cooled my notebook down by 10C. Pretty big difference and worth the BIOS update!

 

I updated back to F.3D and the fan does run all the time, but the temp is staying around 36c. I can really tell a difference in the amount of heat that use to come through the keyboard.

I was worried that the fan running all the time would kill it. But I guess the heat would kill the pc

 

So true...

 

Updated to F.3D on my dv6258se and temps are now at 30C/36C idle, 50C/58C before. Also, it shaved 20C off the video card, it always idled at 80C and now it's only 60C, the same as my desktop video card. The keyboard is cooler.

It didn't work the first time, somehow I ended up with F.38 even though after flashing the BIOS said it was F.3D. I updated manually both times.

 

Applicable for Intel? I hope it is!

 

No, the bios is only applicable to AMD based hp/compaq notebooks.

 

Looking at the drivers page, I see F.25 and F.3D...

Can somebody explain why F.3D, which, presumably is newer, given the threads here and the higher number, is listed as being released in 11/07 while F.25 is released in 12/07?

 

Aren't these 2 BIOSes for different notebooks? HP is listing F.25 as the latest and right BIOS for my HP Pavillion dv6601ax. On another thread someone installed the F.3D bios and HP support told them it was the wrong one for their laptop.

 

Use the latest BIOS HP lists for your notebook. You're right, definitely don't use a BIOS for a different notebook series. For some reason F.25 is newer than F.3D so use that if it's available, it should have F.3D's fixes.

 

Hello. I updated to the new BIOS, but ever since my fan has been making unbearable noise. Is there any way I coudl revert to the old BIOS. I don't care about the heat.

 

mine to im looking for the bios as we speak
fan is make a clicking slash grinding noise since the update

 

Glad to hear I'm not alone.

Also I have the AMD Turion processor.

 

Perhaps your laptop should go in for service (Something is obstructing your fan or the fan is defective. NOT THE PROCESSOR).

Yes, you can revert back to the previous bios. Finding it will be the challenge.

g/l

 

Not wanting to alarm you but you should note that HP has MEGA problems with its AMD/Broadcom based machines which are failing like flies and will require motherboard replacement. Reverting to old BIOS may not be a good idea.

The theory is that HP has inadequate heat management design which result in progressive thermal damage throughout the motherboard and the first component to fail is the wireless. As a stop gap, HP released a critical BIOS update to its entire AMD based machine to make the fan runs constantly. At the same time HP also removed all older versions of the BIOS to prevent people from downgrading.

You can read the whole sorry saga here:

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/...readId=1136440
(Note this thread has over 600 posts and take a long time to load !!)

and here:

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/...readId=1179013

 

Thank you for this information. I knew I shouldn't have brought an HP. I wonder would HP provide a replacement for mine, one with that other type of processor-Core I believe.

 

The simple answer is no.

The rule (may be unwrttien) is that the motherboard has to be replaced 3 times before HP will replace the machine. And believe me, there are a few customers that actually got that far and then insist on an Intel machine as an replacement. Can you imagine the hoops people have to go through !

The whole problem was compounded by poor service, long lead time (as HP can't produce enought parts to replace the failed motherboards) and even scratches !

I am in the same boat with an AMD machine myself

 

i just updated my BIOS last night but my current BIOS version says F.28 is this one and the same as the BIOS version being discussed here?

 

It's newer, so it'll have the fixes in the BIOS being discussed here.

There have been enough reports of equivalent Intel notebook problems to suggest that HP really ought to make the same BIOS fix available for those notebooks too. The problem is that the fan would only spin up when the CPU hit 55C. Since the fan also cools the rest of the chassis, if the CPU didn't get hot enough to run the fan then parts of the rest of the notebook got cooked (WiFi card, HD, etc). Broadcom WiFi cards may be more prone to heat stress than Intel cards but otherwise I'd expect Intel notebooks to have at least as many failures. (Hey HP, Atheros makes some very nice WiFi chips and they aren't Linux-hostile like Broadcom...)

If your fan is making scary noises you have a bad/failing fan and HP needs to attend to that. I have updated the BIOS in my dv9000z and the fan runs slowly and quietly, as expected.

Anyhow, HP really needs to improve their cooling design but letting the fan do its job is a good workaround and possibly the only practical one.

 

Mmmmmm. I thought only the AMD based machines have the overheating and motherboard failure issues. Not a good sign if the Intel series are failing as well. This would mean total failure in design. Hard to believe as HP has a proud history of engineering excellence in the mini computer era.

 

hello , im wondering how come you have so low temp , i have dv9000z with X2 2Ghz , i has around 70C normal and 90C-98C load and sometimes then games have less fps, i had those temperature before and after warranty repair (motherboard change) i have just made the bios upgrade and its around 90C , what should i do ? i was trying rm clock i change the voltage to 1,025 it was working bether for the games before warranty repair. now after setting rm clock after couple minutes laptop restarts.

 

Well my fan is making much less noise now. I have the Hp box to send it in for repair, but I'm not sure I want to do this b/c I can bear the noise level now and at many times there is no noise. However, when the computer starts and when there is no noise, I can hear slight rumbling. Do you think it's necessary to turn in the computer for repair? Or is this type of nosie to be expected from these HPs computer?

Also, the temperature is very low on my computer. There is no overheating as was b/f the BIOS update.

 

Hi,
I just upgraded the BIOS on my Compaq V6133EU to F.3D (from F.36M1 ) last night & have also noticed that the fan is running all the time.

Has anyone done any test to see what effect this has on battery life?

 

Try these tips.
Make sure the vents on the bottom of your notebook are not obstructed.

Windows key -> Type "Power Options" -> Select "HP Recommended" or "Balanced" plan.

If the CPU temp is still high (>55C) repeat the instructions above

• Select "Change plan settings"
• Select "Change advanced power settings"
• scroll down to "Processor power management"
• Select "Minimum processor state"
• Set "On battery" and "Plugged in" to 5%.

This will ensure the CPU power management is in effect.

My reference:
http://www.hardcoreware.net/tweak-windows-vista-tip-1/
g/l

 

I haven't noticed a substantial reduction in battery life since the update (~2 - 2.5/hrs of use)

 

Can you not use the bak file which I assume is a backup of the old BIOS & flash that back to the machine?

If so can anyone explain how you do that ?

 

Does anyone know if there is a way to get back to your previous BIOS by using the bak file that is created by WinPhlash ?

 

AFAIK HP doesnt include the full version of Winphlash software, they just include the installer. I might be wrong but i dont see any way of using the bios.bak file using the installer provided by HP. But, Acer used to provide the full version of Winphlash with some of the BIOS for their older systems. I remember seeing an option to restore to an older bios using the .bak file. Check that out and see if you can get it to go back to the old bios. Use it at your own risk though since I cant gurantee this process to work but if you are desperate to get that particular bios, otherwise I would strongly recommend downloading the most popular old bios available for your system.

 

Thanks for that miner,

Once you have unpacked the BIOS download from HP if you go into SWinFlash & open the PHLASH.INI file (configuration settings) & under [UI] change HideAll=1 to HideAll=0 winphlash gets a few more features

Still can't see any option to restore to an older bios using the .bak file though.

 

Does anyone have the previous BIOS version for the HP dv6000z? I upgraded to F.3D and now my fans are on all the time. I would check out the .bak file, but I upgraded the BIOS when I had my new hard drive in, but now I'm back on the old hard drive (had to send the new HDD back RMA).

Thanks.

 

Has anyone found that they have no F.3D update available for their HP laptop? I have a DV6302TX which i purchased last year in June. The driver update page shows the latest bios version as being F.29 released last year (22/11/2007). My laptop has a GeForce Go 7400.

Ive tried contacting HP, got no where on the phone and got no where on online chat. Although the online chat person did seem more helpful. They said i had to contact the HP Service centre. Currently im waiting for an email response from my email support request.

 

The last post in this topic was back in March... Don't you think starting a new topic would have been better? You had me believing I should update my tx2500z's bios because I didn't know this post was necroed.

 

F.3D is for AMD units. Since yours is Intel, F.29 is the latest BIOS.