Bios Flash Update

This BIOS Flash Update SoftPaq contains utilities and images that can be used to restore or upgrade the system BIOS on Hewlett-Packard business desktops. Several methods for changing the BIOS version on your computer may be chosen. Included are the various ways to perform the update. Each folder provided has self-contained files to perform the BIOS update and any unwanted folders may be deleted.

I want to update my BIOS in Microsoft Windows OS.
I want to update my BIOS from F10 setup.
I want to build a CD to update my BIOS.
I want to update my BIOS from a USB flash media device in Microsoft Windows OS.
I want to update my BIOS from a DOS bootable USB flash media device.
I want to use System Software Management (SSM).
I want to use HP Client Manager Software (HPCMS).
I want to use network BIOS flashing capabilities.
I want to update my BIOS on a system with no floppy diskette drive.
My system tells me that my system flash ROM image is corrupted.
Folder and flash methods general descriptions.
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General Descriptions

Utilities and appropriate BIOS images are contained in each of the directories as follows:

DOS Flash - DOS utility that can be used locally or with a Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) management application to update or restore the system BIOS.

HPQFlash - Windows-based utility to locally update or restore the system BIOS on individual PCs through the Windows environment. No backup will be made of the current system BIOS.

BIOS CD - Creates a CD containing the BIOS binary image that can be used to locally restore or upgrade the system BIOS through F10 setup or BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode.

This Softpaq can also be used with the following methods of updating the system BIOS:

System Software Manager (SSM) - Use this SoftPaq with System Software Manager (SSM) to update the system BIOS on target PCs on a network. Place this SoftPaq in your SSM Filestore folder then update the database. SSM is a free utility provided by Hewlett-Packard Company. For information on SSM, see http://www.hp.com/go/ssm.

HP Client Manager Software (HPCMS) - Use this Softpaq with HP Client Manager Software (HPCMS) and Altiris Notification Server to remotely target, distribute, and update the system BIOS on network PCs. Place this SoftPaq in your HPCMS Filestore folder then update the database. HPCMS is a free management application provided by Altiris and Hewlett-Packard Company. For information on HPCMS, see http://www.hp.com/go/EasyDeploy.

NOTE: The Business Desktops BIOS Utilities SoftPaq is available on the web that contains additional utilities to support Hewlett-Packard Company products. This SoftPaq will be shown when searching for software support of products in the category ROMPaqs/BIOS and Firmware.

Windows BIOS Flashing

HPQFlash.exe is a utility which is designed to flash the System BIOS within a Windows environment. To display the available options for this utility enter [Path]\HPQFlash -?. If the system has a Setup password enabled, then HPQFlash will prompt for the password to be entered before completing the flash process. For more information, view ReadMe.txt or HPQFlash.txt, both located in the HPQFlash folder. If you wish to update your BIOS using HPQFlash, click the link below. If prompted with a File Download dialog box, please select "Open" or "Run from current location".

Launch HPQFlash

F10 Setup BIOS Flashing

The HP Business Desktop system supported by this softpaq provides a BIOS upgrade option through F10 setup using the "Flash System ROM" feature. Reboot the PC and press F10 to enter setup. In the File menu, select the "Flash System ROM" item. This flash utility will present the user with the option to select the media containing the BIOS image file (XXX_MMmm.bin). The binary image file is contained in the DOS Flash directory and is named XXX_MMmm.bin where "XXX" is the abbreviated BIOS family, "MM" is the major version number, and "mm" is the minor version number. F10 ROM based flash can accept the binary file from the root directory of any removable media such as USB, legacy floppy diskette, and CD. The BIOS CD Media file, included in this softpaq, should be used to create a BIOS image CD. When flashing with F10 ROM based flash, the CD media must be El-Torito compatible. The user is prompted when the process is completed. The new BIOS code will not take effect until the PC is rebooted.

View Contents of DOS Flash Folder

BIOS CD Media

This image creates a CD with the BIOS binary that can be used to locally restore or upgrade the system BIOS through F10 setup or BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode. This feature requires that a system is available with CD burning software and a compatible CD-R\RW drive installed. This CD image is not a self-contained flash utility. It is simply a binary image of the BIOS that can be used by various flashing algorithms. This image is useful in application where the system does not contain a standard floppy diskette drive. If you wish to build a BIOS image CD, click the link below. If prompted with a File Download dialog box, please select "Open" or "Run from current location".

View Contents of BIOS CD Folder

USB Flash Media BIOS Flashing in Windows

HPQFlash.exe is a utility which is designed to flash the system BIOS within a Windows environment and can be run from USB flash media device, including HP Drive Key and M-Systems DiskOnKey®. To display the available options for this utility enter [Path]\HPQFlash -?. If the system has a Setup password enabled, then HPQFlash will prompt for the password to be entered before completing the flash process. To run HPQFlash from USB flash media device, copy HPQFlash.exe and ROM.cab to a properly formatted flash media device. HPQFlash can then be executed from its location on the flash media device. For more information, view ReadMe.txt or HPQFlash.txt, both located in the HPQFlash folder. To view the contents of the HPQFlash folder, click the View HPQFlash Contents link below.

View Contents of HPQFlash Folder

USB Flash Media BIOS Flashing in DOS

DOS Flash (flashbin.exe, flsh.cpu) is the DOS compatible system BIOS flash utility that can be used from DOS bootable flash media device. Flsh.cpu is the required driver for flashbin.exe. Assign Password (assignpw.exe) can be used with DOS Flash if a Setup Password has been previously set on the target system. To flash the system BIOS from a USB flash media device, you will need to copy the contents of the DOS Flash folder to a bootable USB flash media device. To see a more complete description of the DOS flash utilities, view Flashbin.txt located in the DOS Flash folder. To view more information on making a DOS bootable flash media device, view DOSFM.txt in the DOS Flash folder. This folder also contains a binary image of the BIOS. The binary image file is named XXX_MMmm.bin where "XXX" is the abbreviated BIOS family, "MM" is the major version number, and "mm" is the minor version number. This file can be copied to the root directory of any removable media for use with the F10 setup "Flash System ROM" option or BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode.

View Contents of DOS Flash Folder

System Software Management (SSM) BIOS Flashing

Use this SoftPaq with System Software Manager (SSM) to update the system BIOS on target PCs on a network. Place this SoftPaq in your SSM Filestore folder then update the database. SSM is a free utility provided by Hewlett-Packard Company. For information on SSM, see http://www.hp.com/go/ssm

HP Client Manager Software (HPCMS) BIOS Flashing

Use this Softpaq with HP Client Manager Software (HPCMS) and Altiris Notification Server to remotely target, distribute, and update the system BIOS on network PCs. Place this SoftPaq in your HPCMS Filestore folder then update the database. HPCMS is a free managment application provided by Altiris and Hewlett-Packard Company. For more information, see http://www.hp.com/go/EasyDeploy

Network BIOS Flashing

To assist the system administrator with flashing the system BIOS and setting the Setup Password, the several utilities have been developed. DOS Flash (flashbin.exe, flsh.cpu) is the DOS compatible system BIOS flash utility. DOS Flash uses a small memory footprint that is compatible with the limited DOS memory available and the DOS extended environment that may exist while running Altiris eXpress. Flsh.cpu is the driver for flashbin.exe. Assign Password (asign_pw.exe) can be used with DOS Flash if a Setup password has been previously set on the target system. To see a more complete description on the network BIOS flashing utilities, view the Flashbin.txt located in the DOS Flash folder. To view contents of the DOS Flash folder, click the link below.

View Contents of DOS Flash Folder

BIOS Flashing on a System without a Floppy Diskette Drive

If your system does not have a Floppy Diskette Drive you have multiple alternatives to update your BIOS locally. If the target system has a CD-ROM drive and you would like to build a BIOS image CD that can be used to update and\or restore the BIOS, see the BIOS CD Media section of this file. If you prefer to update the BIOS in the Windows environment and\or no CD-ROM is available on the target system, see the Windows BIOS Flashing section of this file. If you have a USB flash media device that you would like to use to update the BIOS on the target system, see the USB Flash Media BIOS Flashing in Windows or USB Flash Media BIOS Flashing in DOS sections of this file.

BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode

In the event of a failed BIOS update (for example if power is lost while updating), the System BIOS may become corrupted. BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode detects this condition and will automatically search the root directory of a disk in the optical drive or floppy drive, and any USB media sources (hard drive, flash drive, etc) for a compatible binary image. The binary (.bin) file in the DOS Flash folder should be copied to the root of the desired storage device, and the system powered on. The BIOS image CD created from the .iso file in the BIOS CD Folder should be used to recover from the optical drive. Once the binary image is located, the BIOS recovery process will be attempted. The automatic recovery will continue until the BIOS is successfully updated or restored. Sometimes there are restrictions on which BIOS versions are allowed to be installed on a platform. If the BIOS that was on the system had restrictions, then only allowable BIOS versions may be used for recovery.