BIOS = FAIL (HP Pavilion dv9743cl Notebook PC) [ Edited ]

[jaybac]

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I have a HP Pavilion dv9743cl Notebook PC. Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2.0 Ghz 

Not that it even matters or would relate to this issue but I'm running Vista SP2 32 bit

The problem is I had the version F.33A BIOS on my laptop. A system utility stated the BIOS was out of date and that there was a new one available.  So I downloaded the Current Version F.5A from the HP Website http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/previousVersions?softwareitem=ob-89419-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&os=20...=  unpacked and then installed.  I followed all the onscreen directions (i.e. plug in ac power, close all programs, don’t plug or unplug anything, and don’t interrupt the process) the utility seemed to have worked fine, and it said it had successfully updated all 16 sectors and the computer would now need to be restarted, and initiated a countdown clock to automatically do just that.  So it did and everything looked fine when it turned off, but then when it powered back on it did nothing.  The lights were on the power button and all the “Touch Buttons” on top of the Keyboard and I could hear all the fans and components come on but the BIOS never loaded and the screen was completely blank  and it just sat there like that.  Eventually after waiting I turned it off and repeated the process with the exact same results. 

After some online research though I thought that maybe it was a display issue so I tried the FN + F4 trick, but nothing, and I tried plugging in an external monitor, as well as holding down the power button for 15 seconds and then plugging in power for a hard reset with no success.  I didn’t think that any of those things were the cause or issues but I went and ruled them out anyway.

My conclusion is this The Hardware seems fine, but the BIOS simply does not load so it will not then initiate the boot process.  The F.5A BIOS had been out since April 2010 so if there was an issue I’m sure HP would have corrected it by now. What I don’t understand is why that update failed or simply didn’t work when the process seemed to have confirmed a successful installation. Ultimately though I don’t think any of that matters now and the issue is how do you repair, reinstall, recover, or whatever now are the steps/process necessary to get the “BIOS” back up and running?  There has to be a way or a process to do this.  I do not have any USB floppy disk drives but I have USB Flash Drives/Memory sticks up to 8GB which can be booted from but I have no exact Idea how to deploy or repair this process or what patch or tool is necessary.  I am sure there is a way, and any HELP with this would be appreciated, and I thought I would post this here on “Experts Day”.  I guess this will put that to the test and see if there is a solution to this “crisis”. 

Thanks in Advance,

Jay

[Sanchertx]

 Hello,

Try a Hard Reset and see if that works

Remove Battery - disconnect AC adaptor.

Hold down power button for 30 secs..

Then reconnect AC adaptor and see what happens.

[jaybac]

Thanks for looking at this, but I tried all of those steps as I had stated in my previous post, none of it has worked.

Any Other Ideas?

Jay

[Matt_Lo]

Try this:

-Power down the computer if it is on

-hold down the "B" key

-power on the notebook

-wait a few seconds then release the "B" key

However, I would point out this method is only for newer models and I doubt it will work for a 9000 series but it's worth a shot before resorting to sending in for repair.

[jaybac]

Thanks, I gave that a shot, but to no effect, but like I said, the issue is how do you repair the BIOS?  Is there a way to reinstall the bios with a usb flash drive or cd or something?  All the Hardware is fine, it is just the BIOS I am guessing got corrupted.

Any Ideas?

Thanks,

Jay