BIOS updating not showing

[raviya_voldo]

hello,

i have a HP Pavilion - 15-au172tx notebook and I'm having "fan not working properly" message when booting up even after replacing laptop fan with a new one recently.(old stock fan that came with laptop had the same issue).

after some research, I decided to update BIOS drivers. i tried to check for available BIOS updates using "HP Support Assitant" but it shows "No Updates Available." 

tried to automatically detect drivers in "support.hp.com" but it shows "Detection was successful but you don’t need any new drivers at this time"

I checked my current driver version of BIOS using windows command prompt and my version is "F.14".

but "support.hp.com" automatic detection shows a BIOS driver version "F.56 Rev.A"

1) so why doesn't HP Support Assitant or support.hp.com automatic detection show "no updates available" if there's an update actually available(F.56 Rev.A)?

2)should I manually download this BIOS driver and install it?

any help is really appreciated.

screenshots attached.

thank you

[A_Gayathri]

Hi @raviya_voldo,

Welcome to the HP Support Community

I understand you are facing an issue with your HP Pavilion - 15-au172tx notebook . Not to worry I will help you to get a resolution to resolve the issue.

Please try the following Troubleshoots steps. 

1.    Turn off the Unit.

2.    Disconnect the AC adapter.

3.    Remove any discs from the disc drive.

4.    Remove memory cards from the card reader slot.

5.    Disconnect all nonessential peripheral devices, such as printers, scanners, external hard drives, and USB flash drives.

6.    Disconnect the AC adapter press and hold the power button for approximately 15 seconds.

7.    Reconnect the AC adapter, and then turn on the computer.

Step 2

Turn off the unit and please press and hold the Windows key + letter B key and the power button together for 30 seconds after 30 seconds, 1st release the power button but keep holding the Windows key and B key for ten more seconds and then release these two keys If done correctly, you will see the display flashing once. Please attempt it thrice as this step and Restart the unit

Step3

The unit has to be turned off, Press Win+ V while holding these two keys then Press the Power button, continue to hold all three keys for 30 seconds and then release the Power button first and then release these two keys Please attempt it thrice  and then you may get a Pop-Up CMOS Check and it will restart the unit 

Even if you don't get a Pop-up restart the unit manually after 3 attempts.

Run the Fast Test (about 4 minutes)

When Windows doesn't start, begin the hardware diagnostics by running the Fast Test. The Fast Test is separated into a 1st pass and 2nd pass, with each pass running multiple tests.

1. Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.
2. Turn on the computer and immediately press esc repeatedly, about once every second. When the menu appears, press the f2 key.
3. On the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu, click System Tests.

If the diagnostics are not available when using the F2 menu, run the diagnostics from a USB drive. To download the latest version of the diagnostics, go to the HP Hardware Diagnostics website. For instructions, see HP PCs - Testing for hardware failures in Windows 10.

1. Click Fast Test > Run once.

While the test is running, the time remaining and the test result for each component is displayed on the screen.

• If a component fails a test, write down the failure ID (24-digit code) for when you contact HP Customer Support. The information is also available in Test Logs on the main menu.
• If no test fails, click Continue > Run once to run the 2nd Pass of the System Fast Test.

1. If a component fails a test, write down the failure ID (24-digit code) for when you contact HP Customer Support. The information is also available in Test Logs on the main menu.

Please check and update Windows and HP support assistances drivers 

And update Bios and other drivers please click on the link. to update the drivers. 

I hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[raviya_voldo]

what on earth is this?

i needed help with choosing the correct BIOS driver.  did you read my post?

[tk_srq]

@raviya_voldo,

It looks like to me that F.14 is SMBIOS version not BIOS version. They aren't the same. See this screenshot of my old Pavilion's System Information, which lists both SMBIOS and BIOS versions.

You can run System Information by typing system info in the search bar on the bottom left corner of the screen and find out your BIOS version. This Reddit link explains the difference between SMBIOS and BIOS. 

What is the difference between BIOS and SMBIOS? : r/techsupport (reddit.com)

If your current BIOS is very old, it may not be a good idea to jump to F.56 just to get rid of a fan error. let us know what you find.

[raviya_voldo]

this is what shows in my system information. what should I do?

thank you for your response. 

[tk_srq]

@raviya_voldo,

 Before responding to your post, I checked HP Software and Driver site for your model for previous bios versions and found F.14 is not listed. The oldest version is F.36 (release date May 5, 2017). This made me think that F.14 is not your bios version.

I don't know why F.14 and subsequent versions are missing. It's really odd that the version list starts with F.36. You can view previous versions by clicking "Previous Version" (it is seen at the very bottom of the 3rd screenshot in your first post).

If you want to update bios to get rid of a fan error, I suggest you use F.36 rather than jump to F.56.

Before updating bios, you can do one thing. Go into F10 bios then move to the Exit tab and reset bios to the factory default settings and save and exit to see it can remove the error.

Good luck.

[raviya_voldo]

Thank you. I'll try the F.36 update. but why does the detection shows don't need any new drivers? I'm a bit concerned of updating it to F.36 because of that. what if it's the wrong driver and it bricks the PC? 😯

[tk_srq]

@raviya_voldo,

HP Drivers Download portal for you model lists the latest drivers for graphics, audio, wifi and so on. Go to your Device Manager and check to see if your hardware' s drivers are all up to date. If no, you can say the Detection tool does not correctly reflect your devices' driver status (including bios).

The possibility always exists that flashing bios is gone wrong, resulting in a bricked PC. If you are too nervous, perhaps, you should hold off the bios update and focus more on a fan error you got.

You just mention that a fan error persists even after a replacement fan is installed. What error are you getting? 90b? Could it possibly still be a legitimate error? Is a replacement fan identical to the old one? Is the new fan is working ok?  You can install a tool to monitor fan speed and cpu/gpu temperature. If the new fan is a same as the old one and your system's temperature is in the optimal range, maybe you can just ignore the error (this is a lot better than a bricked pc!).

If your error is 90b, see if this HP link can help clear the error. Also, another HP article about various fan errors.

HP Notebook PCs - System Fan is not Operating Correctly | HP® Customer Support

HP PCs - 900, 901, 909, 90A, 90B, 90E, 90F, 911 error is displayed on a black screen | HP® Customer ...