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daveinpoway
Premium Member
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA

daveinpoway

Premium Member

BIOS update with unsupported operating system

I have an HP "Benicia" motherboard; the BIOS tells me that it came from an M9340f. I wish to re-purpose this as a Linux-based firewall and I want to apply the latest BIOS update. As it turns out, HP only supplies a .exe file that is meant to work in Windows Vista or 7 (and I do not have easy access to either of these operating systems).

Will a .exe meant for Vista execute properly in Windows XP Professional? HP does not support XP for BIOS updates (since it was never installed in this model at the factory), but that doesn't mean it won't work.

norwegian
Premium Member
join:2005-02-15
Outback

norwegian

Premium Member


I've not looked seriously enough on this concern, but shouldn't the .exe contain the firmware file and you could look at utilizing a bootable cd, floppy, usb to update bios.

Wouldn't 7-Zip or a similar compression/de-compression tool extract the .exe to show you the file structure to locate the firmware for creating a bootable update?

The only think I think that would stop it is if there is not a specific function key to allow a bios update but pretty sure if you contacted HP support they will elaborate on what you need.

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC
·TELUS
Actiontec T3200M
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MacGyver to daveinpoway

to daveinpoway
Try this: »h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/De ··· e#M12292

Remember you can install Win7 and use it for 30 days before activation, so all you need to do is find a Win7 disk and do a temporary install to get the update. Although that is not your preferred solution, it would probably be the safest. You don't want to brick the board.
daveinpoway
Premium Member
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA

daveinpoway

Premium Member

I found anther discussion where someone opened up the BIOS .exe and found no .bin files. For HP laptops, there is the ability to use a key sequence that provides for a BIOS recovery mode, but this is apparently not possible for desktops (at least not the desktop board that I have).

I did find a modded BIOS that someone came up with (this can be installed outside of Windows), but I don't want to take a chance on that (since I don't know what has been changed)- I want the genuine factory BIOS.

I have downloaded the .iso for Windows 7 and I can burn it to a DVD. That would appear to be the safest approach. Perhaps Win 7 installs faster than XP does.

One strange thing- at the Win 7 download site, there were links to different versions. I recall hearing something once that Microsoft would only be providing one Win 7 DVD (which incorporated all of the versions on it) and your license key would unlock the version that you had purchased. Did this get changed along the way?

norwegian
Premium Member
join:2005-02-15
Outback

norwegian

Premium Member

No.

Once you download the image, extract it and delete the ei.cfg file and create an iso from the rest of the files, it will allow you to select the version you need.
»forum.imgburn.com/index. ··· imgburn/

Just make sure you download the x86 or x64 bit version for your needs.
It will install a whole lot faster than XP, it will surprise you.

Kilroy
MVM
join:2002-11-21
Saint Paul, MN

Kilroy to daveinpoway

MVM

to daveinpoway
My experience with the HP BIOS update is that you should have no issue using it on a Windows XP machine. It will extract the files to C:\SwSetup\SP###### then run the BIOS upgrade program. The BIOS upgrade has options to update the current system or create a boot disk, I'm 99% sure USB is an option, not too sure about optical.
daveinpoway
Premium Member
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA

daveinpoway to norwegian

Premium Member

to norwegian
I downloaded Windows 7 Home Premium, 32-bit. Yes, the installation was MUCH faster than XP Professional.

I did not delete the ei.cfg (or any other files) from the .iso, but everything seems to have worked fine. The BIOS is now updated to the latest version.

Since the last update was abut 5 years ago, it is probable that HP will never issue another BIOS update for this motherboard, so I shouldn't have to go through this again.