today we're going to manually update the
bios in an hp pavilion
specifically a gaming desktop with a
model number of 690024
however the procedure should be the same
for all recent hp desktops and laptops
bios updates can fix problems with
hardware support
or more importantly address security
vulnerabilities
such as the recent problem with amd's
smm callout privilege escalation
before we begin i need to add a
disclaimer stating that you're applying
the bios update at your own risk
i'm simply following the general
guidelines documented by hp support
first you'll need to make sure you don't
run out of power while the bios is being
upgraded
so you'll want to plug in your laptop
during the bios update process
for desktops you have the option of
plugging it into a ups battery backup
unit if your power is unreliable
second it's always a good idea to backup
any critical data before you start the
bios
upgrade third you'll want to close any
open applications
fourth temporarily disable your
anti-virus program
for microsoft defender all you need to
do is search for anti-virus
then click on virus and threat
protection after which you'll need to
click on manage settings
and toggle the real-time protection
setting off
fifth you'll want to suspend bitlocker
protection
if you have it i'm using the home
edition of windows 10
so i can't show you on this system but
if i move to a windows 10 professional
computer with bitlocker turned on i can
search for bit locker
launch manage bit locker and then hit
the suspend link
you'll also want to have the recovery
key handy just in case
sixth and finally don't upgrade the bios
if you don't need to the general rule of
thumb is that if your computer is
running fine
and a bios update has a fix or
enhancement that doesn't really affect
you
you shouldn't upgrade however if it's a
security upgrade that fixes a
vulnerability
or if you've experienced hardware
malfunctions that the bios upgrade
addresses then it's a good idea to apply
the latest
to find out the version of your current
bios let's search for system information
and click on the returned result here
you'll see several pieces of information
that we're interested in
including the bios version which in my
case is f.21
and you'll also want to make a note of
baseboard product
which is really the model number of the
motherboard you may or may not
need this but write it down just in case
go ahead and close this window
and launch your favorite browser to
download the bios
you'll want to enter support.hp.com
in the address bar after it loads
navigate to software and drivers
and i'll close out the notification
window and then select whether you're
using a laptop or a desktop
since my pavilion is a desktop i'll
choose that
here even though it asks for a serial
number you can enter other identifiers
like the model number or system sku
for example i have a pavilion model
690-0024
and if i enter that model number it'll
perform a search to return everything
that
includes that number the only problem is
that it may return more than one model
so if you don't know your specific
internationalized model number or if you
have any doubts
you can always go back to the search
field and enter your serial number
instead
where do you find it it'll be printed on
a small label on the back of your
desktop
as shown here or if you have a laptop
just look at the bottom and you'll find
it there
returning to the website i'll simply
enter my serial number
and click submit which will take us to
the page for the exact model of 690-0024
that i need
verify that the correct operating system
is listed here
and then expand the bios section for
this particular model there are two
different families listed
8433 and 8436 and these correspond to
the motherboard model
if you recall this was listed in the
system information
so you'll want to choose the correct one
scrolling down
you can review all of the previous bios
versions that have been released in the
past
we're way down here starting at f.21
which basically means we're leapfrogging
over five revisions in order to apply
the latest
which is f.52 if you see a large number
of versions like this
and have any doubts about whether you
can skip versions in order to apply the
latest for your specific computer
you may want to contact hp support
directly expanding the version will show
you what was fixed in each
so you can review the history of fixes
and enhancements
it'll be a cumulative upgrade so by
applying the latest version
i should get every fix and enhancements
of all the previous versions
and since f.52 addresses a security
vulnerability i'll apply that one
confirm the operating system requirement
and then click on the link
which takes you to the download page and
prompts you to save the file
let's click on the file to launch it hit
yes when prompted
click next when you see the wizard
accept the license agreement and hit
next we'll leave the folder location as
the default and click next again
after a few seconds you should see a new
wizard that has the update radio button
selected by default
click the next button after which you'll
see a warning about
encrypted drives since i don't use
bitlocker or any other drive encryption
i'll click next which prepares the
update
keep in mind that it's not updating the
bios quite yet
we'll need to restart the computer to
kick off that process
the computer should immediately enter
the hp bios update screen as you see
here
there will be a countdown timer during
which you can hit the apply
update now button to bypass the timer or
postpone or cancel the update
once the update begins make sure you
don't shut down or unplug the computer
this process will take a while at least
on my pavilion model
so i'll go brew a cup of coffee and i'll
be right back
okay we're back the entire process took
about seven minutes on my pavilion but
your mileage may vary
once the update's complete we can hit
the continue startup button
to reboot the machine after the familiar
hp logo and login screens
we should finally see windows from here
let's verify that the bios update has
been successful
let's search for system information
again
and start the application where we can
see that we are indeed at version f.52
of the bios
after the reboot your windows defender
anti-virus program should be running
but if it remains turned off we can
simply switch it on again
search for the keyword anti-virus click
on the virus and threat protection
and click on this button to turn it on
after which your real-time protection
toggle should be restored back to normal
if you suspended bitlocker before you
applied the bios update
you can return to the encryption screen
and hit the resume protection link
and if you run into any problems you can
visit hp's bios update website whose
link i've included in the description
not only does it explain the manual
method to update the bios as i've done
in this video but it covers a way to
automatically update the bios using hp
support assistant
as well as updating it manually outside
of windows using a usb flash drive
which is useful if you switch to a
different operating system
or if you're having problems with the
other two methods it'll also point you
in the right direction
if you run into any cmos checksum errors
i hope you enjoyed thanks for watching
you