OK so i'm new to this whole BIOS Mods thing not really sure what to do but here's the deal. I have an HP business dc5000 small form factor PC. Its my step dads computer running Windows 7 and a Phoenix BIOS v 1.00 from HP and its been infected with a rootkit and I cant get any OS it load what so ever. The BIOS itself I think has been infected given the way the machine wants to behave. Anyone have any idea as to what i need to reflash the BIOS. I can get the .exe file from HP however I can run an executable in the BIOS. It has to be in .txt format. and the .exe is too large for a floppy anyways. I really don't need this BIOS modded just functioning properly so I can get Windows 7 to load back in and run correctly. Thank you in advance.
Also I have looked for the tools and or threads to kind of guide me in this process. I am pretty sure I need to convert the .exe to .txt, or strip the .exe from the .txt file so it can be loaded to the PROM. I'm sure the only way to implement the text file once I have it is to reload it via a floppy disc. This PC is pretty old now and don't believe there is any other way to reinstall the BIOS.
I did try testing the RAM but I ran it through Windows installer. Probably why is never finished??? I also ran it through the already installed BIOS and it also was ineffective. But I haven't had any luck getting this PC to do anything I ask it to do. I tried installing three flavors of Linux, Windows XP, 7, and Server 2008 (just for kicks) and all of them tell me the files are "corrupted" or "missing" so I gave up on it for the rest of the day. And asked around to some of my other computer friends and i was referred to My Digital Life Forums.
rompaq to 1.44 virtual floppy then grab files from the A:\ (virtual) corrupted = bad hd or ram. or mobo chipset issue> is this an amd/nvidia laptop ? known isuses with mcpxx southbridge or northbrigde neeeds reflow if ram tests fine on other pc p.s. ram test never finishes.. or at least its a whole day.
Its a tower PC basic graphics nothing special. Its an HP Compaq SFF (small Form Factor) business dc5000. Like a mini tower but its not called that by HP. The RAM test sat all night when I used the BIOS memory test utility. The RAM did show before the problem but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I'm not familiar with rompaq, What is that? I have looked at the three options of BIOS .exe on HP's website and couldn't find a text form or a floppy version. Now I have flashed routers but never done a PC BIOS before. The router was easy since i could access it from my working machine and execute the file. But this particular PC i'm sure the only way I can get a new BIOS in it is a floppy. I tried Running Linux live ios off a USB DVD/CDROM drive and still no go. It would not let me run a live OS disc. I'm trying to understand all this as best I can. I mostly have spent all my time in OS's routers and other hardware. I apologize for my lack of knowledge here.
Does the floppy work in the dc5000? PROCESS!!! Files included in this folder: ROMPaq.IMG Copydisk.exe Readme.txt (this file) ROMPaq.bat That is taken from inside the exe. from the link I posted above. You have to be proactive here .. In the machine where you have downloaded the exe. from HP double click and follow the instructions . Just make sure you start with a formatted 1.44mb floppy.
Yes It does have a working floppy in it and I have another PC with a working floppy as well. Oh OK so I think I get it now. I download the BIOS (sp40409.exe) on a working PC, run it and follow the instructions and save the text (.txt) file (or is it the CVA file that I need) to a formatted 1.44MB floppy disc using ROMPaq diskette creator (Just copy and paste a text file of it to the floppy?) to make a bootable floppy then run it on the machine in question. Still a little confused on this ROMPaq because all it gives me is a text file from the link provided by the .exe
On the working pc just double click on the the downloaded file after you have inserted a formatted 1.44mb floppy disk in the floppy drive of working pc. The rest will be self explained once the exe. opens. once you have created the floppy put it in the dc5000 and power it up. do not touch a thing until the process is complete. When the powers down eject the disk. put in your operating system install disk and boot and follow the instructions for install. To format a 1.44mb floppy disk put it in the floppy drive of working pc after it the OS has booted. click on start menu > then my computer find 3 i/2" floppy in menu > right click on icon of floppy drive > left click on format > then left click on start only > when that completes you are ready for the above mentioned process.
Eureka!!! I got it working and its now running the latest BIOS version and so far working as intended. However now I have a hard drive failure. Go figure! I guess that's what happens with a 6 year old machine, time for an upgrade is size anyways. Thank you all again for all the advice and knowledge in an area I had no idea. Didn't get the Diskette flash to work but I did get a USB boot to flash from.