No external displays detected With Thunderbolt dock G4 + Elitebook 845 after firmware update

[gljuk]

Dear all

I have updated my Elitebook 845 G9's firmware recently. I have also updated the Thunderbolt G4 dock's firmware in the same evening. It was something like 1.3.xx.xx (1.3.40.. or 1.3.60..), now there is recent 1.4.20.0.  After the update the external monitors are not being detected after laptop wakes from the sleep mode. Displays are not being shown among connected displayes. There is only laptop screen available. If i disconnect the USB-C connector from the laptop and reconnect it, all start working good. Before the update it was all working flawlessly. 

Is it possible to do something to fix the problem? It is not good to disconnect and reconnect the cable every time in order of using the laptop. 

Thanks

[Jupitero]

Hello.

I presume you installed the very latest 845 G9 firmware pack, 01.07.00? Run the msinfo32.exe program in Windows to verify your BIOS version.

FYI, the Thunderbolt Dock firmware installer in c:\swsetup\SPxxxxxx probably left a log file which may contain the previous version information.

Try removing power from the dock momentarily if you haven't done it yet after the upgrade.

Since it is the laptop GPU driving the external displays through the Thunderbolt connection, it may be easiest to try with the latest AMD drivers first.

If this does not help, this could be a regression in your laptop BIOS or the TB Dock firmware and could be fixed in the next upgrade.

In that case you can downgrade the BIOS and/or Dock firmware by just downloading earlier version and running it. It's the same procedure as in an upgrade. I recommend downgrade the dock first and testing thoroughly before downgrading the laptop BIOS.

HP may have put restrictions on either firmware - downgrade beyond specific earlier versions may not allowed for technical reasons.

[gljuk]

Thank you so much for such a detailed answer! 

Yes, the bios version is now 1.07.00 indeed (U82). The problem is that there is so hard to find any other versions, since HP offers only the most recent version on their website. 

VGA drivers are already updated, no result so far. I have managed to find older versions of Dock's firmware from the WEB. Will try to downgrade them. 

Thank you!!! 

[Jupitero · Accepted solution]

Hello again,

Please do not download HP firmware from websites other than HP's.

The previous versions of BIOS, firmware, drivers and applications are available on the HP download page. Scroll down a bit until you see the Previous version. Expand it and you should see all available past versions.

[gljuk]

Thank you so much! thanks to you i have now managed to find and download the previous versions of firmware. I have reverted Docks firmware by 1 version back and put laptops bios to 1.06 like it was before. I will now test it for some time. Thank you so much! 

[gljuk]

I have downgraded Laptop's bios to 1.06 and dock's firmware to 1.4.16. It seems, that problem still exists. I am quite sure the version of Docks firmware that was working file, was 1.3.xx. But i can not install 1.3.12, because setup can not continue due to "Security requirements". Laptop's bios version was 1.06, so it seems dock is responsible for the issue. 

[BrendanxD]

I am also running the EliteBook 845 G9, but with the HP G2 Thunderbolt 3 dock.

It crashes very regularly, where the complete graphics driver stops working, or the system just fully freezes. Only way to reset is to hold the power button for quite long and hope it shuts down (which it sometimes does not even do!).

Maybe the issues are related, I hope these issues can be resolved. I am quite dissatisfied with this expensive progressional grade set-up that just keeps interrupting my workflow.

[Jupitero]

Hello.

I can only recommend upgrading the 845 G9 BIOS and display drivers to latest, and upgrading the G2 TB dock firmware as well.

Try also with all USB devices and displays disconnected from the dock to narrow the problem.

Try working without the dock to see if the computer works without problems.

There is always the possibility that the dock or laptop is faulty. Try with another dock if you have one available.

If you have warranty left, contact HP support about this problem and tell them you have already upgraded BIOS and dock firmware (after having done so) and ask to have the dock replaced.

[gljuk]

Does anybody know, how to revert the dock's firmware from 1.4.12 to 1.3.12. I get the following message when trying to flash the older firmware.

"Controller Firmware Package 1.4.18.0 1.3.12.0 Requested firmware package does not meet the minimum security version requirement for the target device.
"

Today i came to the notebook and it was ON, but no picture was on the external displays. USB was working fine, but dock was not even discoverable with firmware utility. There is something wrong with 1.4.xx versions of the dock's firmware. I am using 845 G9 notebook. 

Thanks

[gljuk]

Could not still find any solution for the problem. All external monitors are still not being detected until disconnect/reconnect the dock or power cycle the dock. 

I have tried to reset the dock as follows: "'TROUBLESHOOTING ISSUES:' ... To perform a hardware reset of your dock, do the following: 1. Undock the HP Thunderbolt Dock G4 from your notebook 2. Unplug the power cable from your dock 5 seconds."

No result. 

Dock firmware tried: 1.4.16, 1.4.18, 1.4.20 All behave the same, there is no picture after being in sleep mode for a while.

I have also loaded the BIOS defaults of the notebook. No result

I have also tried to enable High Resolution Mode it ine laptops bios. No result

I have also uninstalled the AMD video driver, restarted and them installed the driver downloaded from HP website. No result. 

The last i could try is to install 1.3.12 firmware for the dock, but it can not be installed due to security requrements or incompability. I have changed my Lenovo T14Gen3 because of waking from sleep problems and now got the same with my HP, that was working well till i updated the firmware. 

Aren't there really any solutions for the problem?

Regards