# BIOS Disaster



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I was configuring a laptop I picked up on eBay for resale, a HP 8560p EliteBook business class laptop, and had a disaster after BIOS update.

The computer appeared fine when I first went to work on it. I started by clearing the processor heatsink of dust and applying fresh thermal grease to the processor. Then I installed an SSD drive and loaded Windows 10 without incident. I went to the HP support site for drivers and noticed that a newer BIOS firmware version was available, so I downloaded the BIOS update and applied it. According to the flashing utility the BIOS was flashed successfully, then forced a reboot. That was the end, since the machine wouldn't reboot, just a blank screen and continuously flashing caps lock LED.

On another computer I downloaded the BIOS update and created a USB thumb drive to rescue the BIOS. Tried booting to the USB drive while holding Windows key+b and also Windows key+v with no luck. I know that some HP models don't support that kind of BIOS rescue, so this might be one.

In looking around the system afterwards the only odd thing I found was that it had a 4GB PC3-12800 memory module, where HP calls for PC3-10600 for this model.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-elitebook-8560p-notebook-pc/5056949/document/c02782594

However, I found several aftermarket memory references offering both speeds for that laptop model, such as this Crucial page.

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/HP---Compaq/elitebook-8560p

If it was a memory compatibility problem I think I would have seen a problem during the Windows 10 install. I'm guessing that the faster memory is probably fine. I tried the specified memory once during some of the BIOS rescue attempts, but no change.

I honestly don't know what went wrong. I've done BIOS firmware updates dozens, if not hundreds, of times and this is the first disaster. Strange that it happened while still reporting a successful BIOS update. I've always thought that BIOS updates were worth the risk, but now I'm rethinking that.

In the end, it turns out that this isn't going to be a financial disaster. I found a working motherboard at eBay for just $15 with free shipping. I got it that cheap because it's locked with a BIOS administrator password, but I have the magic software to reset the admin password. Replacing a laptop motherboard is still a lot of trouble, but I don't have a lot of choice at this point.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I guess it only takes a couple of stray electrons to trash an online download.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Bearfootfarm said:


> I guess it only takes a couple of stray electrons to trash an online download.


BIOS upgrade utilities check the file for errors before flashing, so it's unlikely that was the problem.

I've never had a problem upgrading a BIOS, but in recent years it seems like I'm hearing about more and more problems from other techs, so now I often don't upgrade them unless there's a good reason, like some problem it might fix.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

backwoodsman7 said:


> BIOS upgrade utilities check the file for errors *before *flashing, so it's unlikely that was the problem.


Before there were no errors.
Those came during or after.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Before there were no errors.
> Those came during or after.


You mentioned errors during download. I was just pointing out that, whatever the problem was, it's unlikely that's when it happened.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

backwoodsman7 said:


> I've never had a problem upgrading a BIOS, but in recent years it seems like I'm hearing about more and more problems from other techs, so now I often don't upgrade them unless there's a good reason, like some problem it might fix.


Yeah, I think that's going to be my policy in the future.

It's still a great deal. I got the HP 8560p laptop for $53. Not bad for a 15.6" screen, 2nd generation i5, and 4GB memory. I'll replace the motherboard ($15), add another 4GB of memory ($17) and then turn it for $250.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

backwoodsman7 said:


> You mentioned errors during download. I was just pointing out that, whatever the problem was, it's unlikely that's when it happened.


There were no problems before the download, according to you.

That only leaves "during" and "after" and it's hard to say it was "after" when it never rebooted, which indicates the problem is already there.

Had the download worked as it should, there would be no problem.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Bearfootfarm said:


> There were no problems before the download, according to you.


I think you're confusing me with someone who has first-hand knowledge of this particular situation.



> Had the download worked as it should, there would be no problem.


I think you're confusing the download and the flashing process. The integrity of the download is checked as it's happening, and the integrity of the downloaded BIOS file is checked by the flashing utility before it flashes the BIOS. Just as a wild guess, that must work out to something like 1 chance in a million of something going wrong. So you could be right, but it's pretty unlikely. It's roughly a million times more likely that the problem occurred during the flashing process.

But feel free to believe whatever you like; it's not like it matters.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

backwoodsman7 said:


> it's not like it matters.


On that we do agree.


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## Steve_S (Feb 25, 2015)

You should have tried removing the newly added hardware which may be triggering a fault. In other words revert to last known good & stable hardware state and eliminate that possibility before proceeding to more drastic measures.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Steve_S said:


> You should have tried removing the newly added hardware which may be triggering a fault. In other words revert to last known good & stable hardware state and eliminate that possibility before proceeding to more drastic measures.


Evidently you aren't understanding the problem. The BIOS is bricked. Nothing will post on the monitor.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

I've only reflashed bios when newer bios says it adds support for something I need it to do. Never bricked one. Truly annoying that lot modern computers no longer let you boot update from DOS floppy or cd or whatever. You have to have windows installed. Well what if you dont have windows on the dang thing....

Though I did have a laptop once that needed a new cmos battery to hold settings. I replaced it (wasnt easy). On reboot just blank screen. How in world changing out a cmos battery did that beats me but things happen. Nobody had any answers so it became a door stop. Too old to be worth anything much to anybody.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

HermitJohn said:


> I've only reflashed bios when newer bios says it adds support for something I need it to do. Never bricked one. Truly annoying that lot modern computers no longer let you boot update from DOS floppy or cd or whatever. You have to have windows installed. Well what if you dont have windows on the dang thing....
> 
> Though I did have a laptop once that needed a new cmos battery to hold settings. I replaced it (wasnt easy). On reboot just blank screen. How in world changing out a cmos battery did that beats me but things happen. Nobody had any answers so it became a door stop. Too old to be worth anything much to anybody.


All is well again. The $15 motherboard works fine. I'll be listing it at Criagslist later today.


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