zBook Studio G3 - DEATH BY INTEL ME FIRMWARE UPDATE

[Joseph_G]

Hello,

My name is Joseph with the support team.  I'm going to send you a private message if you could please respond, it will have my contact information in it.

Regards,

Joseph

[DrGodzilla]

Question to the OP, was it zbook 15 or zbook 17 that got fried?

Was this issue ever resolved? Can someone form HP shed some light on this? I can see that the offending firmware is still available for download on the drivers page.

[techniker]

I noticed this too. I'm not sure if it's the same one that was causing all the problems. I'll get in touch with someone and try to find out. 

[Joseph_G]

Hello,

The firmware that is on the driver's page is the new firmware not the one that was effected.  The new one on the page is not the same SoftPaq number as the previous version.

Regards,

Joseph

[rich4501]

This is 4 months old now. Was this ever resolved?

Thanks

[rich4501]

What was the resolution of all this? Thanks

[techniker · Accepted solution]

The Intel ME firmware update released on the HP download ZBook Studio G3 section was not compatible with these laptops and was causing the laptop to not boot. Only a motherboard swap could resolve the issue. HP since then has changed the link to the Intel ME firmware update to the proper softpaq.

Those that had run the bad firmware update and bricked their laptop had to call HP tech support to schedule an onsite motherboard replacement.

[ChrisRXSz]

Hi,

I'm wondering if there was ever a resolution with this case? I do see it marked as solved, but there's nothing indicating if there are some other steps we can take to fix on the run instead of working with tech support? I've been having all kinds of strange things with a 6 week old Zbook G3 Studio. I almot had to straight up return it as it started sounding like a NASCAR at the daytona 500 after POST. 

After 3 Windows Fresh installs (New Formated Partitions) one would think that it would fix everything like new, as it usually does. However, even after updating all device drivers from the HP SWSETUP directory, then through windows updates to check what they push for device drivers, I finally have a somewhat stable HP Laptop build, what it should have been at first boot 

BUT....now upon start up, my WiFi adapters will not start up correctly, nor will it say up unless I forget my saved network connections, and then reconnect. If I don't complete this action is a short amount of time, then the adapter resets itself and you can imagine the process starts over. If I complete this correctly, then I get the privlidge of staying online to write this message, but once I reboot. I have to start the process all over until it connects again. 

I've reset the adpater settings, uninstalled the drivers frm device manager, cleared all store Registry entires, killed all hiden cache files and direcotries in app data and user profiles, rebooted and installed an older version, still the same. 

I just resorted to mounting the OS driver disc that came in the box, and reistalled all network, bluetooth, and wifi...well. I think I ended reinstalling all of the drivers except the finger printer reader (don't get me started on this pain in the butt), then rebooted. Still same issue with WiFi Adapters.

I've seen similar issues in Dell's XPS 15 (High End version). The Thudnerbolt docks were also a mess, many graphics issues connecting to multiple monitors.. and in my "OPINION" all seemed to be linked to the INTEL LM hardware Family  and thier driver sets, and now seeing this post quite possibly the INTEL MGMT Engin Firmware.

#edit spelling

[techniker]

Hi Rich. Those that were affected by the Intel ME firmware update issue had no option but to have the motherboard replaced. I worked with HP to identify the problem and get the firmware file removed from the website until the proper one was uploaded.

Chris, the Intel ME firmware issue as discussed in this thread totally kills the motherboard. If you had this issue you would definitely know. As gór the issues you are having with components and drivers, I understand because I've had similar experiences with our laptops but not to your extent. The bios updates do address many issues but not all. I've had most problems relating to the dock and the wifi adapter. The dock is very temperamental. Make sure the thunderbolt firmware is up to date to resolve many issues. As for wifi, I've had numerous connectivity and signal quality issues. I haven't seen a driver update to fix these issues yet. I've also had issues with battery life and fingerprint reader. Upon waking up the laptop from sleep state, the fingerprint reader doesn't work. It's random. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The battery life is half of what is advertised in most cases and drains even when the system is completely shutdown. HP has released a document stating that laptops that are to be stored for an extended period should be put into a special state which disables the battery. I believe the procedure is to shutdown the laptop and then hold the windows key and delete and then tap the power button to turn it on. Once the bios screen comes up, the laptop should in factory mode. When the laptop is shutdown from that point, you will not be able to power it on without the AC adapter plugged in.

There are still many issues that need to be addressed with these laptops. I'm not sure if the technology in these laptops is so complicated that it's hard for them make everything wother together in harmony or maybe the development and testing team are overworked and/or incompetent. A $3,000 laptop should have been more refined than it was.

[ChrisBo5000]

I have recently deployed the Studio G3 and I have a slew of random issues. One think that I have been able to duplicate is that if the screws on the bottom that hold the small cover are too tight, the system may not boot. In some cases, the system will start by removing the cover. The the issues range from a blinking power light to the hard drive not being recognized.
I'm know this off topic for the firmware update but, it's just my experience.