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Problems with my HP Omnibook Laptop by DJRice
Started on: 01-21-2000 08:49 AM
Replies: 7
Last post by: GT Bastard on 01-22-2000 07:49 PM
DJRice
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Report this Post01-21-2000 08:49 AM Click Here to See the Profile for DJRiceSend a Private Message to DJRiceDirect Link to This Post
Ok so I did a good job on this.....I surfed up to the HP website about a week ago and discovered a BIOS upgrade for my laptop. So I downloaded the file and made the disk and turned the machine on to update the bios. 3 out of the 4 steps completed correctly and then the stupid machine gave me some error about not being able to verify the contents of the EEPROM. And that was the last thing the machine did.

Boy was I torqued.

Now it does not even power on.

Boy am I torqued.

Its out of warranty.

Boy am I torqued.

Anybody got a 5500CT laying around that has problems other than a lack of BIOS? I have a service manual on order from HP that should be here next week. I dont know if I will need to find a replacement processor module or a replacement main board yet. HPs tech support is not very helpful to those who can acutally ask technical questions.

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Cliff Pennock
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Report this Post01-21-2000 08:56 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Cliff PennockClick Here to visit Cliff Pennock's HomePageSend a Private Message to Cliff PennockDirect Link to This Post
It all kinda depends on whether or not the Bios chip is integrated on the mainboard, or if it is a removable chip. In the first case the only solution is getting the chip flashed again at an authorized HP tech center (and knowing HP, this can be quite expensive). If the chip is removable you have several options.

Try to get a replacement BIOS chip, or find someone with the exact same laptop and try to do the following, very dangerous trick (if something goes wrong, you end up with 2 broken laptops):

Swap BIOS chips (putting the working BIOS in your laptop). Start your laptop. Once it is started carefully remove the chip and replace it with the faulty one. Flash it.

Remember, this is a very dangerous operation and if you are not sure what you're doing, you could easily end up with 2 destroyed laptops.

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batboy
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Report this Post01-21-2000 11:53 AM Click Here to See the Profile for batboySend a Private Message to batboyDirect Link to This Post
I've heard a number of horror stories about failed attempts to update the BIO chip.
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DJRice
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Report this Post01-21-2000 01:20 PM Click Here to See the Profile for DJRiceSend a Private Message to DJRiceDirect Link to This Post
Maybe Ill snap a picture of my Kitchen Table and post it because the laptop is in about 400 pieces all over it. I took it apart in the hopes that it would be a removable chip. If it had been, I can get access to PROM programming equipment at work, but no such luck. Tech support couldnt even tell me on which board the PROM resides, and I just dont have the time to track down the part number for every chip inside that thing to see which one is a prom. I may have to wait until another ebayer breaks his laptop and wants to sell it. Hopefully the $60 service manual from HP will have some kind of reasonable solution.
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Cliff Pennock
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Report this Post01-21-2000 06:50 PM Click Here to See the Profile for Cliff PennockClick Here to visit Cliff Pennock's HomePageSend a Private Message to Cliff PennockDirect Link to This Post
Is there a chip with "SystemSoft" on it?
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GT Bastard
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Report this Post01-21-2000 09:56 PM Click Here to See the Profile for GT BastardClick Here to visit GT Bastard's HomePageSend a Private Message to GT BastardDirect Link to This Post
You mentioned that it's not powering on AT ALL?? Even if the bios has been wiped clean, you should still get power. Usually what happens is you get a totally black screen, and possibly a series of beeps. You may want to make sure it's not a power-related issue first.
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Cliff Pennock
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Report this Post01-22-2000 04:59 AM Click Here to See the Profile for Cliff PennockClick Here to visit Cliff Pennock's HomePageSend a Private Message to Cliff PennockDirect Link to This Post
It's normal for a laptop to not start at all if the BIOS is corrupted. Most laptops only have "soft power on" switches which is controlled by the BIOS.
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GT Bastard
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Report this Post01-22-2000 07:49 PM Click Here to See the Profile for GT BastardClick Here to visit GT Bastard's HomePageSend a Private Message to GT BastardDirect Link to This Post
You can tell I'm a desktop technician then... hehe
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