Oct 20, 2009

BIOS recovery method for Compaq

There are two special keys Windows Key+B or up key+down key+left key+right key
to use for this recovery processes.

Below are the step by step procedures to perform the recovery

1) Make sure power is off

2) Make sure AC Adapter is plugged in.

3) Plug in a USB floppy drive with floppy disk that contains only one binary file (for example: 68ytt.bin for nx6125/nx6115, 68tt2.bin for nx6325/nx6315, or the correct binary file for your series of HP Compaq Commercial notebook ).

4) Press Windows Key+B (or all 4 directional keys)

5) Press power button (to power on the system)

6) Don't release the Windows key+B (or 4 directional keys) until floppy is turning and running for a period of time.

7) If floppy is turning and running for a period of time then you can release the keys and it must be doing the recovery already.

8) When it is doing the recovery, you'll notice that num-lock LED is constantly flashing.

9) When it is finished flashing the bios, the system will reboot itself.

10)Don't do anything right now and wait until HP logo shows up because it will do several reboot to update KBC ( Key Board Controller )....

11)Voila! you've got your system updated with newest BIOS.... when see HP logo press F10--restore to default--check the system info for BIOS version.

If system cannot be resurrected, it means that the BB ( Boot Block ) inside the ROM chip has been destroyed. The only way to reflash the BIOS is to remove the ROM chip from the motherboard and use an external BIOS ROM programmer to program the BIOS content again.

How to get the System BIOS binary file.
The easiest ways is to get a ROMPaq version of the System BIOS for your notebook and following the steps below;

1. Double click the downloaded SPXXXxx.exe file.

2. File Download – Security Warning window pops up and then Click Save.

3. Select the location where you want to save this ROMpaq file.

4. After download complete, select Open Folder

5. Double click SPXXXXX.exe to bring up Open File – Security Warning window and then select Run.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to generate a folder to hold all the files.

7. Open this folder and locate a WinZip file. Inside this zip file, you need to extract all the files and the Rom.bin is the binary file you need for this recovery process.

compile by: Clinton Tam

17 comments:

  1. This is good stuff.
    But how do I recover BIOS of a COMPAQ Presario V6502EO Notebook?

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are two BIOS which is:
    version F.42
    and
    version F.3D(vista based)

    to recover you bios you need to have external floppy driver, check again the method i already update it

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,
    Thanks for a quick reply.
    I have tried the method with a usb thumb drive. But it searches the drive and makes one long and two short beeps every two seconds and the usb drive light flashes. the specific file I found is sp42853.
    I extracted and got two files worth mentioning 30CFF32A.WPH and 30CFF32B.WPH. But I think the laptop still did not find the correct file and Compaq is telling me that without rompac bios it is not possible. What and how sould I do it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another question is how much time should I wait for the process to complete?

    ReplyDelete
  5. ok, have you try with SP42854 which contain 30B7F42.WPH, anyway ill update tomorrow, need some research first, about how long you have to wait, just wait until it restart (mean it finish flashing)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi black-x, im desperating to safe my compaq presario cq20-320tu BIOS. Blank display, just the dvd rom LED keep blinking(looks like asking for dvd disc but if i put any dvd in it nothing happen). No beep sound, just lousy dvd rom. I had tried contacting HP support already but they give none information. The method i tried as below :
    1. I format a usb flash disk with FAT, also tried with FAT32 too.
    2. download sp45717.exe, extract and copy rom.bin to usb flash disk. I also tried with older version of bios.
    3. press windows button + B
    4. Plug in the power.
    5. Now the caps lock led blinking also it read from the usb flash disk, but no sound just silent. I waited for hours and tried many times but that was as far as i could go. It'll result the same if i burn the "bin" files into dvd. Not yet tried with floppy since i don't have one. I also tried renaming bin files with 68phu.bin. I wonder if it searched the correct file name too, since the usb flash disk not blinking for long as like copying 1MB file to BIOS ROM. Once along time ago, on a successful updated bios, i ever backed up the bios to usb flash disk when it requested, and the file name looked like in Hexadesimal. But unlucky i didn't keep this file. I flashed my bios without any backup this time. It said success updating bios and ask for restart. So i restarted and got this disaster.

    Well, since you are an expert i hope you could help me with an alternative solution. Thanks alot

    ReplyDelete
  7. BIOS is quite difficult, for now what here something i can share.

    1. Here are the list BIOS for your model, from current to older version:
    http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/previousVersions?softwareitem=ob-77116-1&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&os=2064&product=3887170&sw_lang=

    2. After finish flashing (like u did, remove the battery and power for 10 minutes and start you notebook.

    For now that all i can share, ill post again if i find other alternative solution to your problem.

    ReplyDelete
  8. If you still faces the problem after applying these steps. Then you can use the third party tool to recovery your data i.e Stellar Phoenix data recovery software, recovers all the lost/deleted files and partitions from hard drive.

    ReplyDelete
  9. If after trying above mentioned steps you still facing same problem, it means damage is severe and you need data recovery services to recover your data.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have a compaq 102au. My problem is that the lcd has no display when i turn the power. Power LED is ok but the caps and num lock are blinking. There is no beep sound when booting up.

    I find some laptop tips at Best buy cheapest laptops

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi blackX

    I have the same problem, black screen, led cap lock and num lock flashing forever without stopping, I suspect it is a bios problem, I have tried to guide that has been given here, but did not succeed but it did not detect a direct USB floppy drive when pressing the window + B or the four arrow keys.

    maybe i insert incorrect binary file or you can show the right way to insert a binary file to the floppy for my laptop model

    the guidance and assistance from you is very appreciated.

    regards

    ReplyDelete
  12. sorry forgot...
    :)
    my laptop model is compaq presario cq40-402au.

    ReplyDelete
  13. thnks 4 fast feedback.
    now i has been completed.(3file)
    so then how?

    ReplyDelete
  14. can u guide me step by step....?

    ReplyDelete
  15. In case you have a HP nx7300 it's possible to use a bootable CD generated by HP's utility. Some USB drives work, some don't, and there's almost no way to know for sure if yours will. If only you have a working CD/DVD drive, this method works 10/10:

    1. Download and run this package from HP: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=3310301&prodNameId=3311761&swEnvOID=2096&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=ob-65081-1
    2. Follow the steps or if you prefer to do it by hand unpack the installer with WinRAR or 7-Zip and burn the 1,5 MB .iso with your favorite software.
    3. Unplug power cord and remove the battery
    4. Press and hold Win+b, plug in the AC adaptor and power on the laptop
    5. Brace yourself! :) You won't actually see much activity other than Capslock light blinking, but you can hear the CD drive head moving. The screen will remain black and unlit for 2-3 minutes, so be patient. After a successful flash the system will reboot itself automaticaly and hopefully you will be presented with a HP logo screen.

    Surprisingly I didn't see anyone recommending this metod yet, so spread the word if it worked for you.

    ReplyDelete
  16. A problem with Compaq 615 - the proper Rom.bin file is more than 2MB and cannot be placed on 1.44MB diskette!
    The method with .iso image burned on CD also did not work.
    It is still Capslock blinking.

    ReplyDelete