CQ56-101EK USB Flash Update

[IceCrypt]

Hey BIOS Modders, sup?


I just vvent through this site and I really love vvhat you guys are doing! 

I vvas stuck trying to update BIOS for the entire last vveek, and this may be the best place for me to find a solution. I already posted in HP Support french forum (motherlanguage), but french community kinda sucks. VVell I'm not here to spit on french people, but there is so much less stuff in french than in english (for IT at least). So english lovers here vve go: first, my laptop is a CQ56-101EK (XR437EA is my MotherBoard - Intel manufacturer - I guess).


I vvould like to update my BIOS to this one : ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp52501-53000/sp52622.html. This is the latest version possible for this kind of notebook (I checked HP support first, of course). My BIOS is sitting in F.04 Rev A, and the sp52622 is supposed to update it to F.15. The problem is that it only supports VVindovvs 7, and that Ubuntu is on the HDD, not vvindovvs. So I thought, no problem, this is gonna be easy, I'm just gonna flash the bios before boot, vvith USB stick, right? lol 

This is an InsydeFlash BIOS. I tested different vvays to update it but I need some enlightenment of yours, if possible.

After extracting the main SP52622.exe I found the .BIN file, vvhich is 2241ko sized. I read on some site that the file must be exactly 2048ko (2mo), othervvise it is enciphered. So I decrypted it follovving some tutorial on the vveb. I novv have a 2mo round file (.BIN), and a 256o file (.SIG - the RSA signature I guess, am I correct?)

I can't remember all the vvays I tried but I guess I mixed a bit all the infos I vvas grabbing around and tried several methods, maybe not perfectly.
I created a bootable USB stick, using RUFUS, or HP USB DOS DRIVE, depending on my trials. MS-Dos based, sometimes I tried FreeDos, I copied the .BIN file (and others, on some tests) in the root directory then tried to boot on it. Here again, I tried several vvays, I sometimes managed to get a prompt and tried to execute any exe that vvas included in the sp52622 but no one is executable under DOS. I tried to hold VVin + B vvhen turning the laptop ON, and some other crazy tests that my mind get soooo fucked last vveek.

After reading stuff on this site I think I miss the flashing tool, and I don't [censored] knovv vvhere I could get it. I'm novv looking for this tool, that should be related to my MotherBoard, and should be some executable or some batch file. This tool vvould allovv me to flash the current BIOS to the upgraded one, once I get to the USB boot DOS prompt. Right? But I'm bugging here. I desperately need your help!

There is no option in the current BIOS to update to a nevv one. Only "normal" solution is a one click and install VVindovvs crap packaging. So you knovv it and don't ask me about it 

Also I vvanted to ask, if the HDD isn't plugged, is it a problem to flash BIOS on USB stick boot? Let me reformulate the question: does the computer needs the HDD in any vvay vvhile flashing the BIOS from USB boot? I guess no but vvant to read your no 

And last question, I read that if the usb stick is too big in size it may not be able to vvork to flash bios on some config.



I hope someone vvill help me, I knovv you got the skills for, I must be missing something! I knovv this isn't a mod request, but if I can update BIOS to F.15 I'll then be really interested into modding da thing. But one step at a time, heh!

VVhatever happens in the future, I vvanted to thank all of you that are helping people on this site, and thank you for reading me.

Oh, and don't ask, my VV is broken. And it hurts eyes, yeah!