OmniBook 2100 latest BIOS

[User64]

Been trying to install a OS on my OmniBook 2100, but every time I try to copy something off a USB stick Windows says "this device is not available because of a I/O error" or something like that.

I've been looking to get the latest beta BIOS but the only link I found is a archive of HP's website from the early 2000s: http://omnibooks.info/archive/ob2100-3100/Software/BIOSupgrade/BetaBIOS/HP%20OmniBook%20Beta%20BIOS....

And obviously, the links there don't work.

Question is: does HP still have that beta BIOS somewhere? And can I flash it without using a floppy drive? (bought the laptop on a flea market, even has a near new battery and the original charger!)

[Huffer]

Its a Pentium II machine. It has a usb 1.1 port probably one of the first laptops to have one. Probably was sold with Windows 95 and would run 98 and maybe Windows 2000. What OS are you trying to install? I found some purported archive sites on the internet with BIOS files and drivers but not trustworthy in my opinion. 

[User64]

I installed Windows 2000 and it seems to work fine. I've managed to install the latest stable BIOS I could find, but it still hasn't fixed my I/O error, nor did it enable ACPI.

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

You can't really expect a BIOS update to do that. I sort of doubt the hardware is ACPI compliant. Probably uses the older APM power management which you activate from the power applet in Windows 2000. 

1. Click Start, then Settings, and then Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Power Options icon. Click the APM tab.
3. Select Enable Advanced Power Management support by clicking the checkbox.

Reboot and at least the computer won't hang at shutdown. Windows 2000 should have a viable USB driver for that system built in so if you have having an I/O error on the usb port it is likely a hardware problem. I collect vintage laptops. This one is not quite vintage but it is about 22 years old and it is rare to find one of that age still running perfectly. 

I will link you to the page I found which purports to have BIOS and drivers for 95, 98 and NT:

http://www.helpjet.net/files-HP-OmniBook-2100.html

Up to you whether to use these. I would not. 

[User64]

Cool, it really has APM. I wonder if that means it can now shut down correctly instead of showing "It is now safe to turn off your computer"

Managed to get Windows Update working too, it's installing 92 updates as we speak.

[Huffer]

Its a PII233 which straddles the APM/ACPI divide in time and could be either. See if the APM button is there and if it is the "enable APM" will work and you will get a clean shutdown. 

Please accept as solution if this works for you as there aren't many of us old dinosaurs out there who have any idea what to do with these legacy machines. Feel free to post back with any more questions. I am pretty adept at installing anything back to DOS and getting it to work on vintage hardware.