HP Pavilion BIOS Lockout

[efs2]

Greetings:
I am trying to upgrade the very limited BIOS in the Asus motherboard in my HP Pavilion.
I have found that HP relaces the Award BIOS that are usually found in Asus motherboards with "custom" Phoenix BIOS, and engineers a lockout that prevents flashing.
Apparently, only the Phoenix BIOS "updates" offered by HP contain the code or whatever that unlocks the BIOS, and there isn't one for my PC.
Anyway, a poster on this forum, icgaff, said he had run into the same problem and that HP said it was going to provide him the unlock key. However, that message was posted in May, there is nothing after, and icgaff doesn't accept email.
Can anyone offer any insight, on the BIOS lockout or on contacting icgaff?
Thanks.
Ed

p.s. HP sucks.

[Sterling_Aug]

Have you tried flashing the BIOS with a newer HP file?

[BipolarBill]

Considering that a real motherboard replacement costs about $60, why other?

[bushmaster]

Yeah but try getting just any matx mobo to fit in those freakish cases that hp uses. and just forget about a full size atx mobo.
granted most will mount in place and accomodate the connectors for the piddling little 100 watt power supply the send with it but try and swing the mobo tray closed and watch what crashes into it.

[Cluedo]

Ed,
What model? Have you tried it?

Mind if I ask if you have any particular reason or goal in mind?

We flashed our HP no problem, but yours may be different.

[efs2]

Greetings:
Thanks for the replies.
To elaborate and address the questions asked:
My goal is to enable support for a K6+ CPU. I have an Award BIOS that will do that and have tried to flash it with Phlash, Awdflash, Aflash, and Uniflash.
I know I can buy a new motherboard, but I would rather defeat the lockout, if possible. If not, however, I will buy a new eeprom/BIOS chip instead of a motherboard and hot flash the new BIOS.
And, yes, the HP case is freakish (good description!). It was apparently built around the motherboard; so the motherboard can't be replaced except by the same model. So I would rather replace the eeprom chip.
And as I said in my original post, there is no BIOS available from HP, upgrade or otherwise. Which makes me think that if my current BIOS became corrupted and should be replaced, I would be SOL with HP.
Thanks again.
Ed

p.s. HP sucks.

[Cluedo]

Pavilion model number??:confused:

[efs2]

It's a 6640C.
Ed

[Cluedo]

Will look around more later this weekend. (Night worker and time to go now.)

Can't remember right now what we flashed ours with...but it was a very minor and might have been from HP's site. Don't believe, from memory, that you can do what you want without killing it.

Ours is also a 6640C. They've made it very proprietary in nature. Very challenging :r to do much with it without a fight. (Our very first computer; our very last OEM computer!!!)

[jrb420]

I used to work for HP. You're right, they replace the BIOS with a POS Phoenix that has most of the options disabled. There is NO way to flash it except with the HP flash.

However, about the case. Any micro ATX motherboard will fit. You may want to upgrade the power supply,since even the newer HP's with P4 2Ghz only come with a 250W PSU, barely enough to run the system. I lost count of how many power supply problem calls I got.

[efs2]

Cluedo:
Thanks, I appreciate your interest and efforts.
Yes, HP has made the 6640C and many more if not most or all of its models "proprietary" in nature.
And what is HP's reasoning?
In the case of the 6640C, HP actually had to spend money and effort to change a perfectly good Asus motherboard to install a BIOS that is of lesser quality than that which came with the motherboard and then go a step further to ensure that users could not improve it.
What the hell?
Anyway, the HP was my second and last OEM PC. I have since built a neat 1.2GHz Athlon PC, and the HP is my backup rig. So don't spend too much time on it.
Regards,
Ed

[efs2]

jrb420:
Thanks for the response.
However, you are wrong in your assertion that any MATX motherboard will fit in the HP case.
While the HP motherboard's dimensions are standard and any MATX board may be attached to the swingout structure that holds the motherboard, the CPU/cooler or the DIMMs on another board will hit the housing for the drive bays unless the motherboard is laid out exactly the same as the original Asus motherboard. I know because I tried another motherboard, and it wouldn't work.
Regards,
Ed

[jrb420]

Sorry for the misinformation. When I was working for HP, several people called and wanted to know about upgrades using different motherboards. I was told to tell them that any MATX motherboard will fit. It was probably just a way to get them to try and replace it, get frustrated and buy a new HP.
Again, sorry for the misinformation.

[Antix]

Must have worked in Stream in Winchester. I work in Edmonton at CVG. Ring any bells? heh. We are mainly CTO and Pavilion cleanup that come from you guys. I forgot how many irates' I got that came from Stream... "poke poke"...ROFL.

[Cluedo]

Spent a little more time searching (since I have an HP also). Found the below at a web site, but either I'm not competent enough to browse my recovery cd...or it's for a different HP model. (Unable to find TATTOO.IMG) But I'll post it in case yours is different and/or you're better at browsing the cd. Instructions concerned being unable to use a HP recovery CD due to corrupt or new BIOS:

There is a way round this,

* When you run the Recovery CD it will crash and leave you at a DOS prompt.
* Insert a blank formatted floppy disk into the Floppy Disk Drive.
* Log onto the M: drive and type -
o COPYDISK M:\SUPPORT\TATTOO.IMG B:

This will create a bootable floppy disk to flash the EPROM. This disk will only work on the machine it was created on. When you run it, just follow the onscreen prompts (it will ask you for the Model No, Serial No, etc.).

BIOS Update Utility

Similarly there is an option to create a BIOS Update Utility in case the BIOS on the machine gets corrupted. Follow the same instructions as above, but at the M: prompt type in
COPYDISK M:\SUPPORT\BIOS.IMG B:

[jrb420]

I did work in Winchester. For a place called EDS.

[Antix]

Generally EDS handles OOW billing and transfers the caller to PAV agents in Stream/CVG. There is an EDS in Boise that does that.

[jrb420]

We did everything. In warranty, OOW, CTO. Everything except printers and scanners.

[Antix]

Yeah up here, we are doing PAV, CTO, OOW, AiO's (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax), Advanced Services (CTO/PAV with quality research), and then there is me in Fee-Based Out-Of-Scope support.