BIOS UPDATES

[Willow1949]

Yesterday I downloaded and installed HP Support Assistant after having mistakenly uninstalled it a week ago.  Today I had 17 new messages from HPSA but all were merely information messages so no problem.

I also got this "recommendation"  today on HPSA under Software & Drivers ~ HP Consumer Desktop PC BIOS UPDATE (Rom Family SSID 8446).  After just finishing reading several posts about BIOS Updates in which people said they had problems and after having had problems myself in the past with BIOS Updates, I'm hesitant to install this one.  Some of the suggestions on the posts said not to install if it was merely a "recommendation" and only install if it showed "critical".  So I clicked "Remind me in a week" until I get your suggestions.  Thank-you.  

[BeemerBiker · Accepted solution]

If your system can pass UEFI diagnostics it is likely the bios update will not cause a problem.

Release history for your 8446 ROM family is here

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/swdetails/hp-all-in-one-pc-22-c0000i/model/22700085/swItemId/cp...

The latest version was released over a year ago and is likely to have been tested many times already.

That being said, It is always dangerous to upgrade bios. Unless there is a real need and the HP support assistant requests the upgrade, I would not do it. Look at the above BIOS revision history and see if an upgrade is useful. Updates that improve security are needed in a corporate environment but for gaming system they will likely slow down your system.
I personally would not upgrade any gaming BIOS that was only security related unless the PC was used in a corporate, industrial or military organization. 

Have you run diagnostics?
Tap the ESC key after powering on to run diagnostics.
Do not allow any updates if disk or memory fail, especially a BIOS update.

[Willow1949]

Thanks so much for your fast reply, Beemer.  You said "Unless there is a real need and the HP Support Assistant requests the upgrade, I would not do it."  I can't see there be any need for me to do it.  It was a "recommendation" today on my HPSA dashboard and not one that said "Important" nor said "Critical".  

I'm not in a corporate environment and I don't do any gaming.  I only use my computer for emailing and doing Google searches.  I'm not even on any social media.  Just call me an old dinosaur 😉 

From all you so kindly took the time to let me know, I think I'm going to take a pass on this BIOS upgrade.  Thanks again 😉 

[daroach88]

Hi I am new here. In November I was making sure all my software was up to date. I didn't want to touch the BIOS but the HP Assistant did all the work. I figured if the assistant was doing everything it would be fine. I d/l the file and looked like everything worked. Tried to turn on the next day & nothing. Fan came on blank screen. BIOS is gone. I got an exact MB replacement & everything came on & worked again. But as the PC updated itself the BIOS file updated again & corrupted the NEW MB. I used HP Consumer Desktop PC BIOS Update (ROM Family SSID 8433). HP's sp101891, file version 0.2.39.21874.

How did this go wrong? I have nothing to lose trying to fix this now. I bought the CH341A programmer to try to restore the BIOS. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Where do I find a better version of the BIOS that won't corrupt my BIOS chip like the one from HP site did?

[Willow1949]

YIKES, Daroach 😨 I'm so sorry for the trouble you're experiencing.  The BIOS updates are so far "over my head" and having read so many posts about problems so many people have with them, I've decided not to install them unless HP Support Assistant shows it's urgent.  The HP Support Assistant messages I receive only show "recommended".  

Late last month I got a recommendation on HP Support Assistant to install BIOS BIOS Update 8446 but I didn't do it.  Then at the first of Dec I got another HP Support Assistant message saying BIOS Update 8446 is no longer applicable for your system and has been removed.  I hope someone on this HP Support board can help you out.