Z820 BIOS Update Brick Maker

[gerulag]

I own both a Z620 and a Z820 Workstation! The Z620 updated the BIOS from 3.91 to 3.92, then 3.93, and finally to 3.94 progressively over the years with no problem! The Z820 updated from BIOS 3.91 to 3.92 producing a brick that would not boot! Thanks to[edit]I was able to revert back to BIOS 3.91 and recover the full use of the Workstation! Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back! Not so fast! My next adventure was Bios 3.91 to BIOS 3.93! Horrors, another Brick! Using the previous [edit]technique I again reverted/installed Bios 3.91 and fully functioning Z820 Workstation! Surely an upgrade to BIOS 3.94 would succeed! NO, another brick result! Thank God for[edit], and return to a fully functioning Z820! Then BIOS 3.95 appeared, would I take the bait and risk another defeat! Yes I fell for the allure of potential success, but sadly, crestfallen, you guessed it, Bios 3.91 to 3.95 was an utter failure! Once more [edit]to the rescue, restoration of Bios 3.91 and a fully functional Z820! Hope springs eternal when I recently received a message regarding this problem and a reference Advisory HP Z440, Z640 and Z840 Workstations! Fascinating, but unfortunately no Advisory for Z420, Z620 and Z820 which would be most helpful! My conclusion is that the Z820 BIOS 3.92, 3.93, 3.94, and 3.95 are corrupted since they are not compatible with my Z820! I could be mistaken, or perhaps this is one of life's mysteries which has no plausible answer!

[DGroves]

since no others are reporting issues with the bios updates,...... the problem is only at your end and you will have to determine what you are doing that is resulting in a failure to update properly

[Brian1965]

Hi Gerulag,

Are you updating the BIOS from within Windows or are you using the USB memory stick/BIOS upgrade method?

FYI, the Windows update method can be prone to failing so if you haven't tried it yet, then I would suggest you try the USB/BIOS method. If you have already tried the USB/BIOS update method then I'm not sure what the issue could be, possibly the USB stick formatting? Make sure you use the USB 2.0 port.

[gerulag]

All updates were via 2GB USB Fat 32 format, inserted in USB 2.0 front slot and accessing the update from CMOS Start up! Thanks!

[Brian1965]

Have you tried following the HP install instructions exactly?

I didn't realize you apparently have to place the binary file in a specific folder on the USB drive. I haven't seen this mentioned in any other Zx20 BIOS update posts on the forum. Also, interesting that HP don't specify any specific USB port?

[DGroves]

the bios update file is located in the "DOS" folder of the extracted SP file.

this file is then placed on a non bootable Fat32 formatted USB key that is under 1gb in size

DO NOT PLACE THE UPDATED BIOS FILE IN A FOLDER.........IT SHOULD BE PLACED IN THE ROOT OF THE USB KEY

you then insert the usb key into a USB 2.0 port (all stock ports are usb 2.0 on a z800)

DO NOT USE THE USB PORTS OF ANY ADDIN USB CARD!!! ONLY USE THE PORTS ON THE MOTHERBOARD

power on the system (or perform a reboot) and enter the z800 bios, and from within the bios select the update bios option, it will locate the usb key with the updated bios file and prompt you if you wish to continue the update

[gerulag]

This contradicts the information I have gleaned from these forums, which specifically states that the update/new BIOS must be in the root directory of the USB flash drive! In fact this does work from my experience with updating my Z620 from BIOS 3.91 to present 3.95 progressively over several years! Unfortunately my Z820 refuses to boot properly from 3.91 to 3.92 even though during POST the BIOS displays 3.92, but windows does not load! The same occurs with BIOS 3.93, 3.94 and 3.95, the BIOS has updated during POST but Windows does not load! Each time I have recovered by reverting back to BIOS 3.91! Thanks!

[DGroves]

you may be somehow getting a corrupted download or bad extraction of the SP file

try downloading/extracting the file on another computer

[gerulag]

My Z820 has both USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports! Only the front top USB 2.0 port has been used! However I have used a Fat 32 2GB USB Drive for updating BIOS in both the Z620 Successfully, but Unsuccessfully in the Z820! Thanks!

[gerulag]

I have downloaded the sp using my Z620 Workstation, and also a HP Envy i7, with no apparent success! I could retry using the HP Envy i7 again but fear failure once again! Thanks!