HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

[douglas.01]

thanks brows

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

hello, my 4540s fan is running fast, is it necessary to disassemble the bios to flash these bios, is there anyone who can explain how to install it, is there anyone who can separate the bios from the motherboard and flash it in a different way, help please

You need a SOIC8 clip and a programmer such as CH341A programmer (and some knowledge/experience) to flash the BIOS.

In the case of 4540s/4530s, the BIOS can be flashed without removing the chip from the board. But you must remove/unplug the battery from the laptop and obviously remove the power cord from the laptop too (otherwise you will almost definitely burn your programmer).

Lastly, if the fan is spinning really fast and there is no display on your 4540s then most likely it is a CPU problem or a RAM problem and less likely a BIOS issue. but you could try using the appropriate/correct BIOS for your laptop/chip.

You should also share the Charger port LED's symptoms and behaviors i.e. color changing, blinking a certain number of times, etc. The Charger port LED's blinking behavior and the number of times it blinks have specific meanings which are all documented on the HP website in the support documents. A quick Google search could lead you to the exact page for your specific model of the laptop.

if you need specific help, I would suggest that you post exact and specific details of the issue along with the behavior of the Display, Fan, and charger port LED's behavior (whether it's normal, indicating charging? or just blinking or changing colors?). if you have recently changed/replaced the CPU, please share which CPU was previously present and which new one you installed now. The more specific your details are, the more likely is the chance that you will get a helpful response.

[TIXOU14]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try this...

tested work 100%

[ugur010]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

I have the same problem, why does no one give me information on how to install it?

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

So far, only @peste's 4540s' BIOS works on 4530s, saves settings, loads OS but has some other issues e.g.


1. Audio must be disabled in BIOS (to prevent Driver PNP Watchdog BSOD)
2. only 2 USB (R.H.S) ports work, NEC/Renesas USB 3.1 do not work,
3. Restart/Shutdown operations from OS don't work, hardware does not restart/power off, continues to shutdown/restart for a very long time then results in BSOD and then system resets (normal after a BSOD).
4. Underlying Keyboard & touchpad (EFI?)driver is extremely slow like a tortoise. It's extremely slow. You have to hard-press keys and then wait for the key to work after 3 seconds then delay 3 seconds then press another key and so on...

The behavior of keyboard/touchpad/mouse is the same in BIOS as well as after the OS is loaded. so a USB keyboard and USB mouse has to be attached to make things work. This occupies the only two working USB ports

So I have not given up and during the last few weeks, I was able to break BIOS signature (dual) verification and now modification to any DXE volume does not cause any blinking LEDs.

now the only things left to do are the following:

1. Audio must be disabled in BIOS (to prevent Driver PNP Watchdog BSOD)
2. only 2 USB (R.H.S) ports work, NEC/Renesas USB 3.1 do not work,
3. Restart/Shutdown operations from OS don't work, hardware does not restart/power off, continues to shutdown/restart for a very long time then results in BSOD and then the system resets (normal after a BSOD).
4. The underlying Keyboard & touchpad (EFI?)driver is extremely slow like a tortoise. It's extremely slow. You have to hard-press keys and then wait for the key to work after 3 seconds then delay 3 seconds then press another key and so on...

I need help identifying the Audio DXE Driver/module, Keyboard, and power monitor modules in 4530s and 4540s modules.

For the keyboard, I replaced (from the 4530s BIOS into the modified 4540s) KBC flash, EfiLowLevelKeyboard, and all Keyboard-related DXEs but they did not seem to have any effect... BIOS still works with the aforementioned issues.

So this leads me to think there is some other PEI module that is loaded during POST that eventually becomes responsible for keyboard or touch handling.

or maybe there is some kind of clock speed frequency thingy that is causing the sluggish behavior of the native keyboard and touchpad.

Any help or guidance will be appreciated.

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try this...

Hi Thanks for sharing the 4540s BIOS image.
Maybe you didn't intend it for me as but I tried it anyway

Your BIOS image POSTs, BIOS is loaded but when making any change such as BOOT type, and then using F10 to save settings, it does not seem to save settings and as a result it is not possible to load UEFI boot from the Disk.

So far, only @peste's 4540s' BIOS works on 4530s, saves settings, loads OS but has some other issues e.g.


1. Audio must be disabled in BIOS (to prevent Driver PNP Watchdog BSOD)
2. only 2 USB (R.H.S) ports work, NEC/Renesas USB 3.1 do not work,
3. Restart/Shutdown operations from OS don't work, hardware does not restart/power off, continues to shutdown/restart for a very long time then results in BSOD and then system resets (normal after a BSOD).
4. Underlying Keyboard & touchpad (EFI?)driver is extremely slow like a tortoise. It's extremely slow. You have to hard-press keys and then wait for the key to work after 3 seconds then delay 3 seconds then press another key and so on...

The behavior of keyboard/touchpad/mouse is the same in BIOS as well as after the OS is loaded. so a USB keyboard and USB mouse has to be attached to make things work. This occupies the only two working USB ports

[rex98]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try this...

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try this..

Hi @peste. Thanks for your reply and the bin image you attached. I appreciate it very much indeed.

I flashed your outimage1.bin on the 8MB chip (which is currently soldered to the board) after a full erase and I got a "blinking charger" LED. I did not get any display. CPU did not seem to POST.

Gentle Reminder : I am using a 4540s's BIOS on HP Probook 4530s to get IvyBridge Support with i7-3840QM processor on 4530s chipset (HM65) - which works fine but with some issues . For context see OLD post here with screenshots:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...&postcount=139



I noticed the following with outimage1.bin which you provided:

1. The bin image is 4096KB for the original MX25L3206E 4MB chip while the chip I am using is an 8MB chip (W25Q64FVSIQ)
2. The bin image has an ME of 7.1 while 8.1 ME is required for IvyBridge support (i think)
3. The bin image does not seem to have any Ivybridge GOP driver ( I used UEFITool to check and I am not an expert so please excuse my ignorance in this regard).
4. The bin image seems to have microcodes only for 000206Ax while i think, for 000306AXh is required for IvyBridge i7-3840QM
Here by X i mean numerics for revisions

Quick questions:

1. Could you share technical details regarding what things did you change in this outimage1.bin you attached?
2. Should I put the 4MB chip back and flash this image?
3. Maybe it's a good idea to modify the 4540s image I attached in my message ( i am attaching it again for reference)

Please note that Probook4530s had a 4MB chip originally which I have replaced and put in an 8MB chip to allow flashing of 4540s BIOS and that the attached "[4540s]8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN_Audio-Disabled_WLAN_LAN_GPUs_SSD_OpticDrv_16GB_RAM_FAN_DateTime_.zip 8MB image" works on 4530s with an 8MB chip but with problems mentioned in previous posts.


Side by Side Comparison (left[blinking LED] vs right (working but with issues))
===================================================
ME version 7.1 vs ME version 8.1 - 8.1 is required (i believe)


000306AXh microcode is required for IvyBridge i7-3840QM


IvyGOP is required which is present in 4540s BIOS but missing in outimage1.bin


@peste

The only issues with you (originally submitted) BIOS i.e. https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...9&d=1699204636 are the following issues:

1. Keyboard is very slow
2. Touchpad is very slow
3. Audio must be disabled in BIOS only then windows 10 or windows 11 installs/boots.
4. Win11/Win10 writes something to [4540s]8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN_Audio-Disabled_WLAN_LAN_GPUs_SSD_OpticDrv_16GB_RAM_FAN_DateTime_.zip bios in the chip after Windows Updates and a result, laptop stops posting

Can we fix these issues somehow? I am happy to use the 8MB BIOS ([4540s]8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN_Audio-Disabled_WLAN_LAN_GPUs_SSD_OpticDrv_16GB_RAM_FAN_DateTime_.zip ) on an 8MB chip and not the 4MB one because I believe it lacks IvyBridge and ME support. Only if we could fix the above issues!


Laptop : HP Probook 4530s (HM65 Chipset)
CPU: i7-3840sQM
Working BIOS (with some problems) : [4540s]8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN_Audio-Disabled_WLAN_LAN_GPUs_SSD_OpticDrv_16GB_RAM_FAN_DateTime_.zip
Working ME : 8.1.0.1248
Chip Used : W25Q64FVSIG

Appreciate you taking the time to read my post and your response.
Thanks

[ugur010]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

hello, my 4540s fan is running fast, is it necessary to disassemble the bios to flash these bios, is there anyone who can explain how to install it, is there anyone who can separate the bios from the motherboard and flash it in a different way, help please

[peste]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

I have made some progress by flashing your firmware quoted above on 4530s and except the Audio, Power Monitor Circuit, Keyboard, Touchpad and the left-hand-side USB ports, everything else seems to work.

Audio had to be disabled in BIOS otherwise Windows 10/11 clean install from USB/DVD fails with Driver PNP WatchDog error on BSOD

Another issue is that Windows 11 seems to write something to this firmware (see quoted message) and it stops loading/POST-ing and BIOS needs to be flashed again.

I have some questions:
1. How can we prevent "Windows 11 Update" from writing to BIOS?
There is no firmware entry in Device Manager so I can not disable it there.
Disabling Driver Downloads in Windows seems to have no effect.
2. Is there a way to make BIOS chip read-only? I am using WIBOND W25Q64FVSIG
2. Is there a way to import the Power Management Module/Power Monitor Circuit from HP Probook 4530s's BIOS?
3. Is there a way to import the Keyboard Controller (KBC) from HP Probook 4530s's BIOS?
5. Is there a way to import the Touchpad Controller firmware from HP Probook 4530s's BIOS?

I am attaching the BIOS firmware from HP Probook 4530s as well as the 4540s's one that you have provided (which I am currently using).

Kindly respond and help if you can. Thanks

try this..

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try..

I have made some progress by flashing your firmware quoted above on 4530s and except the Audio, Power Monitor Circuit, Keyboard, Touchpad and the left-hand-side USB ports, everything else seems to work.

Audio had to be disabled in BIOS otherwise Windows 10/11 clean install from USB/DVD fails with Driver PNP WatchDog error on BSOD

Another issue is that Windows 11 seems to write something to this firmware (see quoted message) and it stops loading/POST-ing and BIOS needs to be flashed again.

I have some questions:
1. How can we prevent "Windows 11 Update" from writing to BIOS?
There is no firmware entry in Device Manager so I can not disable it there.
Disabling Driver Downloads in Windows seems to have no effect.
2. Is there a way to make BIOS chip read-only? I am using WIBOND W25Q64FVSIG
2. Is there a way to import the Power Management Module/Power Monitor Circuit from HP Probook 4530s's BIOS?
3. Is there a way to import the Keyboard Controller (KBC) from HP Probook 4530s's BIOS?
5. Is there a way to import the Touchpad Controller firmware from HP Probook 4530s's BIOS?

I am attaching the BIOS firmware from HP Probook 4530s as well as the 4540s's one that you have provided (which I am currently using).

Kindly respond and help if you can. Thanks

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try something else besides Rufus... do you still have the original bios??

I have made some more progress with my experiments.

At this point in time, I only want to have the SataController of the 4540s firmware replaced with the one present in 4530s.

If that is done, I hope, I can install Windows 11 and bypass the “Driver PNP WatchDog” error

My understanding is that, with the current state, (Driver PNP WatchDog error) it should be possible to install any other OS such as Linux or maybe older version of Windows… but I hope to be able install windows 10/11. So I am wondering if only the above-mentioned change is possible…

@peste Do you think, that a single change, is possible?

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

Attach files directly to your post instead of linking to external websites.

Attach files directly to your post instead of linking to external websites
.

sure. For some reason, I am no longer able to edit the original post, so I will attach the attachments here..

[SMDFlea]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

Thank you so much for your reply

Attach files directly to your post instead of linking to external websites

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=103570

.

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try something else besides Rufus... do you still have the original bios??

Thank you so much for your reply

English is not my native language so excuse my manners if I sound rude. Apologies in advance. :'(

Yes, I have the dump of the original BIOS but the original BIOS of 4530s does not support IvyBridge because 4530s does not have Sandy-Ivy Support and does not have the necessary GOP drivers of for GPU.

Original BIOS (4530s Dump with Serial and PROD) + 2 4540s BIOS that let the system boot + FFS from 4530s that I have tried to inject



FFS Files extracted from 4530s using UEFITool


Problems with 4540s BIOSes
1. Keyboard is extremely slow in BIOS
2. Touchpad/Mouse does not work in BIOS
3. USB ports attached to the NEC/Renesas/USB3.1 side don't work
4. Saving BIOS only seems to work with the following BIOS(es)

Probook_4540s_4MATIC_saves_Clock_Boots_Disk_Sata_But_No_NEC_Support

and
4340s BIOS

5. 4540s_8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN_Doesnt_work-after-saving-settings.bin works but also has all the above problems plus CDROM does not work with it and after saving BIOS, the display disappears. fan runs on full speed after that...

I have two processors. i7-2860QM and i7-3840QM. A new CR2032 cell is installed for CMOS data retention.

1. i7-3840QM - runs extremely cool! The display works but only with 4540s BIOS (copied shared above, originally shared in this thread). No Display with 4530s BIOS because of an obvious Lack of Support for IVY.
2. i7-2860QM - runs extremely hot , works with both 4540s and 4530s BIOSes and with WIN10/WIN11 it takes a very long time to install (3 hours) and boot (15-20 minutes), CPU usage remains high after boot

Thus my motivation to use i7-3840QM.

I have a custom rig to the cooling fin, fan for the PCH CHIP, CPU CHIP and the dedicated graphics Chip all set inside the laptop. so heat can be managed if at all with i7-3840QM.

I am a software engineer by profession and know my way (a little bit) around IDA pro, WinHex/Hxd and have been experimenting with UEFITool and following various guides to port the DXE Drivers (for SATAController, RaidDriver and EfiLowLevelKeyboard) from 4530s to 4540 BIOS. but any change/import to 4540s BIOS results in no-display on the laptop screen. 4540s BIOS gives display on Probook 4530s machine if I use the BIOS on an 8MB chip as it is.

I have a lot of 8MB chips to experiment with and TL866II+ programmer and I have flashed a few bios to laptops (no bragging, just sharing what I am open to doing... and learning!)

The BIOS with the PRD_RGN suffix is one of your Bios copies shared in this very thread.

I understand that this may be a bit daunting task and somewhat ambitious but if I can make this work, this can help potentially many others around the globe who have this (once popular machine) and I can make my 4-year-old take classes on this LOL (as an added advantage). Not to mention, I will be able to learn and potentially help others based on this experience.
With i7-2860QM or lower, I can barely run WinXP...

What I wish could work is
1. Use 4540s BIOS because IvyBridge and HD4000 graphics can be used with low-heat
2. Can use Windows 10 or Windows 11 (already have a SATA3 SSD)
3. If possible, EfiLowLevelKeyboard (from 4530s) could be imported and injected into 4540 BIOS (if that solves the extremely slow navigation in 4540) BIOS
4. Import Raid Controller DXE Driver from 4530s
5. Sata Controller from 4530s (if that is better and more compatible)
6. DXE Driver for NEC/Renesas so that USB 3.1 Boot can work in UEFI mode
7. Ability to save the settings in BIOS (if its possible)

I have attempted creating variants of 4540s BIOSes for all these (from 1-6 points) using the UEFITool (using ExtractIs and ReplaceIs & verifying using UBU Tool) but the resulting modified "4540s BIOS copies" don't give any display on 4530s and cause full fan speed (indicating the BIOS didn't load properly?). Only the original copies of 4540s shared in this thread/mentioned above show Display on Screen with IvyBridge.

Maybe, I am using an incorrect approach? Any guidance regarding the correct approach will be greatly appreciated!

4504s Screenshots from the two 4540 BIOSes.

1.4540s BIOS


2. 4340 BIOS that also works but with the same problems as above



I hope it's not too much to ask (or maybe it is...) :'(

[peste]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

Hi, Sorry if i am reviving an old topic, but is it possible to modify the "8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN" ROM to set "UEFI boot (without CSM)" as default?

Current it is set UEFI Hybrid which causes problem with Rufus boot and I would like to install windows from USB but Rufus complains that it needs UEFI native (UEFI without CSM) to work.

I am using this Probook 4540s BIOS on Probook 4530s (using an 8MB 25Q64 chip, to allow IvyBridge support - which works) but the Keyboard is extremely slow (maybe need to borrow EfiLowLevelKeyboard.ffs from 4530s BIOS?), mouse and touchpad does not work and settings don't save. So I am hoping you can help with this :'(

Desired Configuration if possible..





Appreciate your help. Thanks

try something else besides Rufus... do you still have the original bios??

[timematcher]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try..

Hi, Sorry if i am reviving an old topic, but is it possible to modify the "8.1.0.1248_1.5MB_PRD_RGN" ROM to set "UEFI boot (without CSM)" as default?

Current it is set UEFI Hybrid which causes problem with Rufus boot and I would like to install windows from USB but Rufus complains that it needs UEFI native (UEFI without CSM) to work.

I am using this Probook 4540s BIOS on Probook 4530s (using an 8MB 25Q64 chip, to allow IvyBridge support - which works) but the Keyboard is extremely slow (maybe need to borrow EfiLowLevelKeyboard.ffs from 4530s BIOS?), mouse and touchpad does not work and settings don't save. So I am hoping you can help with this :'(

Desired Configuration if possible..





Appreciate your help. Thanks

[sgh123]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

This is a list of common HP blink codes. Please note that it doesn't cover all cases of malfunction.

Hi ivastchip,
Thanks for your reply.
I've looked at the codes as well. The original BIOS had the Caps lock blinking continuously, indicating something to do with power. Other Bioses had the Caps lock blink 3 times, indicating memory issues, however this was happening even without memory stick inside.
In any case, I believe that whatever the issue is, it's not [necessarily] related to the BIOS, so I gave up on fixing it.

[ivastchip]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

This is a list of common HP blink codes. Please note that it doesn't cover all cases of malfunction.

[sgh123]

Re: HP Probook 4540s - BIOS

try..

Hi @peste,
Thanks for the file ! Unfortunately, the issue remains the same - caps lock blinks 3 times and fan goes full speed.
I'm guessing at this point that perhaps it's not [only] due to a bad BIOS. I've read that multiple faults could cause this behavior, including faulty CPU, bad capacitor, etc.
Does anyone have any other ideas regarding the BIOS or should I call it quits ?

Regards,