# Help upgrading BIOS.

## windz

Hello,

I have a Compaq v3252AU Laptop with Gentoo AMD 64bit installed. Occasionally I come across an error message during boot-up saying:

MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC

Recently I checked the Compaq website and realised that there is a critical update asking me to install WinFlash. It is an exe file.  

I tried to update the BIOS using FreeDOS by following the instructions on this website

However the FreeDOS utility only allows up to 1.44MB of storage, whereas the WinFlash utility from Compaq amounts to more than 4.1MB. Can anyone please advise me on what to do next?

Thanks

----------

## BradN

I'd say either run windows from a bartpe disc, or forget it... that winflash executable won't run in DOS.

----------

## schachti

I read about people who where able to flash their BIOS using wine - however, I do not know if it really works or if it will kill your system.

----------

## windz

Thank you for all the replies. 

Just to let you know that I ran the SoftPAC file downloaded from the HP/Compaq website using wine and extracted the BIOS flash utility (flasher.exe) and the BIOS file  30B5F39.WPH and made a floppy image using FreeDos. Upon booting up the CD with the floppy image and running the *.exe file, i get an error message saying that the *.exe file cannot be executed in a DOS environment. Output from "file flasher.exe"= MS-DOS executable PE  for MS Windows (GUI) Intel 80386 32-bit. Guess I would really have to use Windows if I want to update my BIOS.

Another strange thing: Running flasher.exe using wine (Yes, I know it's not wise updating BIOS using wine. I wasn't going to do that. Just wanted to see what appears when I run is) resulted in this message: This BIOS is not for your Notebook PC.

That is so strange as I've entered the correct Product Name and Model to acquire this BIOS update.

----------

## robnotts

I got around a similar problem with a Compaq laptop by booting into the recovery environment from a Windows Vista boot disc and loading the required BIOS flash files onto a USB stick.

Rob.

----------

## jmartos

hp also has a bootable usb flash drive image that you can use to copy the bios image and the flash utility. Do a google search for the compaq usb bootable image and you should find it. You can use a windows box to make the usb bootable dos image. You may also need a bootable floppy to copy the boot record off of it. That is how i do the flashing on my machine.

----------

## windz

 *robnotts wrote:*   

> I got around a similar problem with a Compaq laptop by booting into the recovery environment from a Windows Vista boot disc and loading the required BIOS flash files onto a USB stick.
> 
> Rob.

 

Does that mean that if I get someone to create a Windows boot disc using his Windows computer, I can boot up my laptop using that disc and flash the BIOS using USB stick without having Windows installed on my com?

 *jmartos wrote:*   

> hp also has a bootable usb flash drive image that you can use to copy the bios image and the flash utility. Do a google search for the compaq usb bootable image and you should find it. You can use a windows box to make the usb bootable dos image. You may also need a bootable floppy to copy the boot record off of it. That is how i do the flashing on my machine.

 

I don't really understand. Why would it be different when I use a bootable usb flash drive image? I'd still be using the same utilities which I copied into my floppy image and it'd still be in a DOS environment where the *.exe file cannot be executed, wouldn't it?

----------

## jmartos

The file you are trying to run is for updating the BIOS from within windows and that's why you get that error. There should be ROMpac that does not use windows. the rompac will create a bootable floppy or usb key with the utility I mentioned before. key thing is to use the rompac and not the softpac for windows.

----------

## windz

```
The file you are trying to run is for updating the BIOS from within windows and that's why you get that error. There should be ROMpac that does not use windows. the rompac will create a bootable floppy or usb key with the utility I mentioned before. key thing is to use the rompac and not the softpac for windows.
```

I see. HP Compaq does not provide a rompaq for the model of my laptop. Only the Softpaq file is provided. I guess there's no way to flash my BIOS outside a Windows environment then. Thank you for your help.

----------

## BradN

If the bios file is an exact power of 2 in size (ie, the raw contents that go in the chip), then it may be flashable with flashrom (linux) or uniflash (dos), but YMMV.

----------

## jmartos

Not sure if you have tried this method. It will get you a windows environment where you may be able to run the softpac in. Been a long time since i've build one of these windows recovery disk, but its worth a try.

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

----------

## windz

 *Quote:*   

> It will get you a windows environment where you may be able to run the softpac in. Been a long time since i've build one of these windows recovery disk, but its worth a try. 

 

Yes, BradN mentioned in one of the earlier post to use BartPE to flash the BIOS. I just thought that maybe I could find a way to flash the BIOS without needing to use Windows. (Windows installation CD is needed to create the recovery disc using BartPE)

 *Quote:*   

> If the bios file is an exact power of 2 in size (ie, the raw contents that go in the chip), then it may be flashable with flashrom (linux) or uniflash (dos), but YMMV.

 

According to ls -l 30B5F39.WPH, the file size is 1083454 bytes. So I guess that's possible. I'd like to try that out, but not when there's no easy means to recover the BIOS if things turn bad... hehe. Thanks

----------

## BradN

In all likelyhood, even if uniflash supports the chip, it probably won't work (I've only found one motherboard that could properly flash like that), since many chipsets have a special write protect setting for the BIOS.  

Funny story with that though... I screwed up a flash on a 256KB BIOS for an ABit board because I was using too old of a utility that didn't recalculate the ROM checksum (I was trying to change the EPA logo), and then I had to reflash the chip in another board...  Well, the only board that it would work with supported only 128KB, so I had to flash it in two parts... one with the high address line grounded and again with it set to +5V... a hell of a hacky way to do it, but it worked  :Smile: 

----------

