irreversible bios update makes fan loud (8710p, 8710w, 8510p, 8510w, fan issue, F.20, F.0E)

[Alexxxx]

Hey.

I just want to share my experience with bios update on my hp 8710w laptop and talking to HP support. I updated from F.0E to F.20 and after that fan has gone wild. Under windows 7 it works fine every 2 out of 3 boots, or so. Every other time fan spins fast no matter what the temperature and system load are. This makes the laptop noisy.

I normally use linux, and there fan just doesn't slow down after spinning up to cool the system. This is really something you won't want to have, because it turns an excellent and quiet machine into a loud vacuum cleaner.

I have enough evidence to assume that the issue was caused by bios update. First it started exactly after bios update when nothing else was changed. Second, some 5 years ago I had a very similar laptop (8710p) and when I updated bios to F.0F, the same thing happened, but I happily downgraded the bios and everything was back to normal. Plus there are reports of others on the internet and these discussion boards in particular.

Now with update to F.20.... There is no way to downgrade. It is embarassing: HP released an update that breaks functionality... and there is no way back (except replacing the system board indeed, which is expensive for laptops out of warranty).

I was chatting and then talking over the phone with HP support. They aren't really any close to being professionals. First they said that my windows 7 is not officially supported and I should install xp or vista. I got xp installed just for them, and that consumed quite a lot of time. Of course nothing changed. And they actually have all the drivers published for windows 7...

The best advice of hp support was to try to install all the previous versions of bios. I reported failure on all of them, only then they found in the description of version F.20 that it could not be downgraded... After reading forums here for 15 minutes I knew much more than technical support about my laptop and the issue, lol.

After talking with me for a very long time (like 3 or 4 hours) and suggesting that I try rebooting my machine, or start it with winkey+b, etc, they said that my laptop is out of warranty, and there's nothing they can help me with.

I admit that the laptop is out of warranty... but is suffers purely from the official firmware update that cannot be downgraded. Yes, I know I am supposed to buy a whole new replacement HP laptop. But... This... looks wrong.

Now I am going to get a replacement bios chip, programmed with previous version of bios, and solder it to the motherboard...

Hello to HP support guys. They are nice people who try to be helpful, they just don't know anything about their products 🙂

Hello to HP bios programmers... Please... please be better, please learn that bugs can be corrected.

[Alexxxx · Accepted solution]

Problem solved! 😄

I downgraded to F.0E

Find a difference on photos below:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

[Alexxxx]

Image upload does not work on these forums. Also there was an error about invalid html found in my post (whaaat? I didn't use any html). Some buttons are displayed wrong, and different in firefox and chrome...

Probably HP has fired everybody who could do any good job 

[Al83]

Same situation 😞 Unfortunately I do not have the skills for self-flashing BIOS.

[Al83]

Dear Support team,
For a long time, was the proud owner of your product - Laptop HP Compaq 8710p. Recommended your products to family and friends as a benchmark of quality. All I want to be wrong - but it's probably not the case. In recent months, the laptop has faced a number of challenges the nature of software , which led to the idea of rolling back the operating system to factory settings. Numerous attempts to restore the preset system has not been successful. Our IT specialists  decided to establish a system of new generation - Windows 7 , with a full driver update . After updating the firmware , uploaded to your website ran into a problem - the ongoing work of the cooling system , the constant hum of the fan , with the seat in the upper left corner of the laptop. After reading on your site is that I'm not the only one who has faced such a problem, and that to overcome this problem, you need to update the BIOS . That our service IT and done . All of the instructions - installation, subsequent off in the BIOS of the continuous airflow . The noise did not stop , on the contrary - only strengthened. In the network has found a number of comments on the issue, where many have noted the same problem with running after updating BIOS . I know that the support is stopped , but it is fair to remove almost leads " useless " software from your website , replacing it with corrected .
Another problem is that now I can not go back to my factory settings , install the pre-installed operating system of the younger generation - Windows XP. This , apparently , is also a problem of bad faith of your programmers to their work . Be so kind – to correct your mistake . Please update the BIOS , laid out on your web site.

[blumshuett]

Hi,

sorry for my stupid question.

What is the difference between picture 1 and 2 ?

Holger

[Alexxxx]

The bios chip is replaced...

If you use linux, there's a software fix for fans:

http://pastebin.com/49PYQ8Zx

That is a bash script that has to be run as root. Ask me if you have any questions.

[Albert67]

Can you please tell witch is the chip to replace ?

Regards

Albert

[Forshaa]

I made the mistake of flashing my BIOS to F.20 and it has made my OS unable to boot. I use Windows 2000 on this laptop for a specific reason and upgrading the OS is *not* an option. Even reinstalling Windows doesn't work. I've traced it to a problem somewhere in setting up the kernel boot drivers, but otherwise for the past two days I've tried everything possible, scoured the net, and I've found no solution. I went on ebay and ordered a replacement motherboard (which I'm praying has a pre-F.20 bios) and a replacement BIOS chip just in case.

I'm *very* angry about this. I've always bought HP laptops in the past, but this is completely unacceptable. What did you do to break the OS? And *why* can't I downgrade to the version that works?

/incensed

[Andrii_Semikov]

Good day!

Help! Where did you get the chip firmware F.0E?
Can you still have a dump?

Help. Please!