Killer Computer Patches

[hamz9561]

Has anyone else done a "mandatory" software or firmware upgrade that killed a computer? I have been having bad luck with Windows updates. I've had 3 or 4 of them blow up an OS and then had to run a rescue disk to revive them.

Yesterday I did an HP "Highly Recommended" BIOS flash and bricked my laptop. It gives a beep code for a video failure. I'm trying to revive it using a method found in the forums with no luck so far.

Any suggestions?

 

[Reptile]

Did you reboot the laptop during the flashing process? If so thats what killed your laptop. Otherwise beeping is sometimes a good sign indicating a bad piece of memory. Otherwise if you have a DV6000 series laptop (glossy black with silver insides) it probably just up and died because of all the problems with those in general. If your laptop has a AMD processor and NVIDIA chipset and its more than 2 years old its time to replace it....... there are quite a few that never make it past this point.

 

[hamz9561]

It's DV9000t and it shut down after the flash and didn't restart. I've that this is a known problem with the nVidia discrete video on this series of laptops.

 

[Reptile]

Yes these were all part of a similar platform. The 9000 series is just the 17 inch version of the laptop........ I belive there was also a 14 inch version as well that has the same issues.

 

[bigjay]

Apparently some people have had some luck with this guy's fix.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...-bios-update/td-p/39973/highlight/true/page/2

 

[hamz9561]

Thanks, Jay. I'd already seen that and am waiting for my USB floppy drive to come in.

 

[bigjay]

If you don't mind arguing, I would call HP and see what they would do to help. It seems to be a very common issue with those note books.

 

[loaba]

Has anyone else done a "mandatory" software or firmware upgrade that killed a computer? I have been having bad luck with Windows updates. I've had 3 or 4 of them blow up an OS and then had to run a rescue disk to revive them.

Yesterday I did an HP "Highly Recommended" BIOS flash and bricked my laptop. It gives a beep code for a video failure. I'm trying to revive it using a method found in the forums with no luck so far.

Any suggestions?

Okay, Windows Updates and flashing the BIOS are not even remotely the same thing. At all. Ever.

Windows updates can be rolled back, or hell, you can just reinstall the OS and keep on going.

Flashing the BIOS is serious business and you are risking the computer when you do it. You should never, ever, flash your BIOS without a very good reason. If your system is running fine, don't even go looking for a BIOS update. If you do elect to run a BIOS update, make damn sure that you're connected to a wall-socket and turn off all sleep settings. You want to make sure the PC is on and stays that way. Power loss during BIOS flashing is fatal.

As for support from HP, you can try that. I don't know that they'll help you, unless you can show that HP somehow forced you to flash your BIOS.

Edit: apologies if I sounded preachy. BIOS flashing is just something that should be avoided if at all possible.

 

[bigjay]

The Bios update is recommended by HP for many reasons. Truth be told, they should have recalled for the bad bios chips.

 

[hamz9561]

It isn't really the Bios that's bad, Jay. The nVidia discrete graphics are what's bad on this series. There is currently a class action suit with nVidia and HP for this graphics options.

 

[bigjay]

I didn't really figure I was getting all of the story. I was just looking for BIOS repairs.

 

[loaba]

It isn't really the Bios that's bad, Jay. The nVidia discrete graphics are what's bad on this series. There is currently a class action suit with nVidia and HP for this graphics options.

With that little tidbit, I'd call 'em and get up in their faces. How old is this thing? Where'd you get it? Did you happen to buy a warranty?

 

[hamz9561]

Its extended warranty ran out in November of last year. I had the motherboard replaced before the warranty was out because the video died.

 

[loaba]

Its extended warranty ran out in November of last year. I had the motherboard replaced before the warranty was out because the video died.

Do you recall the mobo's model number? You might take this opportunity to crack open the laptop and do some surgery. I bet you could find the board or perhaps a donor box on ebay.

 

[hamz9561]

Well, I did the corrective action that will fix it if it's a bios bug and that didn't work. So to coin a phrase, "It's dead, Jim."

I went ahead bought a replacement for home use. It's an older refurbished Dell desktop computer. I've been reloading everything since about 3 pm and finally finished about a half an hour ago. It really kind sucks but I'm up and running again.

 

[Raiden101]

You running 7?