Solved BIOS update results in slower boot up time

Cytherian

Vista Guru
I know this doesn't have anything to do with Vista really... but I'm just curious about a few things regarding the BIOS.

I have an HP dv5 laptop and when I discovered that I was over 5 releases behind on the BIOS, I decided to update with the latest.

The flash process went smoothly, but I immediately noticed some differences with my system start-up:
  • About 30-40% slower than before
  • My CD-ROM drive is accessed 3 times during the process, despite being disabled in the BIOS settings (I enable it only when I need it).

There was one BIOS update specific to SP2 compatibility, so I rolled back to that one... no difference. I'm now thinking I should just go back to my previous BIOS version. What I'd like to know from anyone familiar with BIOS installations is if the flash is a 100% complete replacement, and is it completely safe to roll back to an earlier version. Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
Yes its safe to roll back, and should be a complete replacement
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
OK, thanks Patonb. Knowing this, I could try different versions and see if this is influencing the change in performance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
Some of the boot up lag went away, without any BIOS changes. I loaded the latest BIOS again and boot up time was unaffected. So... somewhat of a mystery that magically went away.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
Yha BIOS are strange things that only known to MS and Unicorns.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Hi, The when you tried to flash the BIOS it actually did not flash properly or the latest on did not get installed properly due to some reasons (which are not mandatory) like due to an immediate change to higher version, due to improper flash and so... So its good to here that you installed it correctly...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    H12Gx52
    CPU
    Dell
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell
A failed BIOS flash should result in an unusable computer. I've never heard of a partially successful BIOS flash that still allowed a computer to work. Binary result: pass/fail.

I actually have a feeling that it wasn't the BIOS, but some other software and/or configuration setting. As I'm usually multitasking when troubleshooting, I probably did something else that resolved the issue. If I had more patience with myself, I'd be more methodical... but sometimes the urge to "move fast" wins out. ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion dv5t
    CPU
    Intel Core Duo 2.53GHz
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800 32bit
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Momentus XT 500Gb
    Hitachi Travelstar HTS543225L9A300 250Gb
    Mouse
    Microsoft 4000
Back
Top