Vista tips from HP

Hi it’s Anna from HP Total Care,

We have just posted some new BIOS that could be helpful to install.
(BIOS stands for basic input/output system. It is the built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contain all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.)
Upgrading your BIOS can help avoid potential problems and help your PC run at its best. This is especially important for dv5000, V5000, dv8000 owners.
Here how you do it.
Step 1: Find and download the BIOS
· Go to http: www.hp.com.
· Click the Software & Driver Downloads link.
· Under Select a task and enter a product name/number: make sure the Download drivers and software (and firmware) is selected.
· In the text field, enter your exact notebook model. The model number is found on the Service Tag on the bottom of your HP consumer notebook. (Examples of model numbers are: dv2098xx, dv6001xx, dv9090xx)
· Click the arrow to the right of the text field.
· On the following web page, select Microsoft Windows Vista as your operating system.
· Click on the BIOS you want to install.
· Click Download Only.
· Save file to your desktop.
Step 2: Install the BIOS
· Go to the BIOS file on your desktop.
· Right click on the file and select Run as Administrator
· If you receive a Microsoft Security Warning, select Run.
· At the User Account Control warning select Continue.
· Click Next.
· Accept the License Agreement, click Next.
· Click Flash BIOS.
I hope you find this information helpful. Let me know if have any issues..

Anna – HP Total Care

 

Hmm, updated microcode for Intel-based notebooks. Any hints on what was broken?

BTW: it would be great if HP would provide bootable .iso images for upgrading the BIOS as an alternative to using the considerably more risky Windows-based program. Maybe use FreeDOS if Microsoft gives you any trouble about MSDOS boot disc licensing? I'd imagine that HP gets more than a few warranty returns for failed BIOS flashing. I haven't bricked any of my HP notebooks yet, but...

 

The dv6000t bios is getting a little dated at this point. Hopefully we will get a new bios soon that fixes the fan issue!

 

Can't you just flash the older BIOS back into the laptop? I'm using F.15 because I read about the fan issue with F.16 and didn't update. I haven't enabled the C4 function either.

 

I thought someone sent their dv6000 to HP and got it back with F.20.

 

There have been report of both F.17 and F.20 but nothing has actually been released on the HP update site yet. I had similar fan results with all of the "Vista Ready" BIOS versions. My machine previously had an even older BIOS that was totally problem free but supposedly might have problems running Vista. I don't really understand why that would be the case, but I have been hesitant to try it in hopes that they will eventually get around to releasing a newer version.

 

I also thought I read about a F.20 BIOS update, for my DV9220 but no update as of today,

HP total care can you give any insight are more BIOS updates forthcoming?

 

...No new BIOS for the dv9000t yet.

 

Not yet. Hopefully soon

 

I bought my DV6000 series laptop in February when they appeared with Vista pre-installed. I think the BIOS version was F.14 and I would presume it was Vista ready. A newer version F.15 was released some time later and I updated my laptop. Then F.16 was released shortly after that. I was going to flash my laptop with it but heard about the fan issues with F.16 and decided against it.

The fan doesn't run any extra with F.15 on my laptop, so I won't update again unless the issue is resolved with a newer BIOS version that offers something worthwhile. Otherwise it'll remain with F.15 until it dies or I sell it, whichever comes first.

 

Ethant, there is F.25 available on the HP pages for the DV6000t, just in case you didn't notice. I didn't install it yet, but downloaded a copy before it disappears again.

 

Any idea what it fixes or adds? There is no info on the HP site about the new BIOS.

 

Idea, yes, but not exactly. I compared F.25 with F.16 with a word processor.

Scope (\_TZ)
{
Name (TPC, 0x6E) WAS 0x64
Name (TP85, 0x64) WAS 0x55
Name (TPTM, 0x4B)
Name (TPAS, 0x5C)
Name (TA85, 0x50)
Name (DS01, 0x00)
Name (DS02, 0x00)
ThermalZone (THR1)

So they fiddled around again with the temp settings. I'll have to see what it means; thresholds for ON/OFF, fan speeds or else? Don't know. There seem to be a few other changes as well.

 

Fantastic, thanks for the information. I just downloaded this and I will hopefully have a chance to give it a try this afternoon.

 

For my 9260us here's the blurb on the changes they made:

Release Date: 2007-05-28 Version: F.25



Description

This package contains the WinFlash utility and a BIOS image for the supported notebook models and operating systems. The WinFlash utility is used to locally flash the System BIOS (ROM) on notebooks operating in a Microsoft Windows orMicrosoft Windows Vista Operating System environment.

PURPOSE: Recommended



Fixes

Fixes issue where a "blue screen" error is generated if the notebook has two 2-GB memory modules installed.



Enhancements

Modifies thermal control method to improve system stability.

 

I just installed F.25, and it seems like the fan problem (for me anyway) has been solved, although I will need to spend more time with it to be sure.

One strange thing is that it reinstalled my wireless network card after I booted back up right after flashing the bios. Now I have the "low reception bar" issue, so I will need to go reinstall the latest Intel drivers. Not a big deal, just a little strange.

 

so is this f.25 bios update something that we should definitely need to do?

 

hmm does that mean now dv6000t and dv9000t can support 4GB total RAM?