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Pavilion 7885 Bios

 
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David Wolder
New Member

Pavilion 7885 Bios

I am looking for any information on updating my bios on my 7885 from the 2.12 version released 3 years ago. I AM running WinXP, of course, but I recently realized that I have an ATA100 disk drive, but the ATA100 isn't supported by BIOS. Also, the performance of my PC has always been awful (even when running Win ME, which it was purchased with), so I hope that a BIOS update would fix something. I can not believe that there wouldn't be any type of BIOS upgrade since 2001, especially considering that the bios doesn't even support ATA100 mode! Grr... I have to assume the motherboard does, since it has all the correct cables etc. (I hope).

If anyone knows of a BIOS upgrade, about ATA100 and Pavilion 7885's, or about 7885 issues that have resulted in poor PC performance, I would love to know, and have some tips on fixing the problems.

To put my performance issues in a nutshell, it is as if I am running a 286 in my Athlon PC shell... the PC runs extremely slowly, and I feel like there is constant traffic jams in the bus.

If anyone suffered the same, I would be interested.. or as mentioned, knows anything.

HP PEOPLE: Any hidden BIOS upgrades after tahiti 2.12?

Thanks!
David
5 REPLIES 5
Roger Faucher
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: Pavilion 7885 Bios

David:

I think your best bet is to replace the entire system unit (MB, case, power supply, RAM, CPU, and optionally the hard disk and "glass media" drive). If you're determined to try to boost performance without a 'heart transplant', you should

1. max out the memory to 512MB, http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=HP%2BPavilion+7800+Series&mfr=HP&cat=RAM&model=Pavilion+7885&submit=Go
2. add a Promise ATA100 controller,
http://www.promise.com/product/product_list_eng.asp?familyId=3
3. download/install the latest driver package for your VIA KM 133 chipset,
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&Type=1
4. defragment your hard disk drive
5. set the paging file to a minimum of 1.5 times the real memory size (consider adding a small secondary hard disk drive for the paging file)

HTH

Other people will hopefully make additional suggestions.

Make a great day!

Roger
Make a great day!

Roger
Roger Faucher
Honored Contributor

Re: Pavilion 7885 Bios

David:

You should also ensure your system is virus-free, spyware and adware free and minimize the number of non-essential programs running in your system at Startup.

Make sure your OS is at the latest SP and has all the appropriate Windows Updates installed.

Roger
Make a great day!

Roger
David Wolder
New Member

Re: Pavilion 7885 Bios

Hi Roger! Thanks for the reply. So, I did ensure that my PC is Adware / Spyware free, and I have the latest VIA chipset drivers installed. Memory is high.. not 512, but 384.. getting closer.. but still I have awful performance. It has never been good so I do suspect something else is amiss. I think that the idea of replacing the guts of the machine is probably the best.

Any idea if I buy a new ASUS motherboard, RAM, and CPU, if I can just swap it in, in place of my old one in this HP? They seem to be the same size / back plates, etc.
Roger Faucher
Honored Contributor

Re: Pavilion 7885 Bios

Hi David:

It is possible that a new motherboard will fit your old HP case thanks to the ATX standard. You have to make sure you get the same size motherboard as your old motherboard (ATX or micro-ATX). The other concern (and a bigger one) is whether the power supply in the HP case will work with your motherboard (proper voltage and CURRENT outputs, as well as correct physical connectors). If it will not and you need to replace the power supply, you may have a difficult/impossible task to find one meets the above requirements AND has the correct physical dimensions to fit your HP case.

These reasons are why I usually suggest that people spring for a new case/power supply (typically less than $100 for both).

Another thing you may want to consider is that the ATX standard will probably be around for years to come, but a new standard called BTX has been announced and case/motherboard manufacturers will be coming out with BTX products very soon. They should become plentiful within the next six months.

There are other new technologies which you should be aware of, especially PCI-X (since it can have a profound effect on performance). Check out this link and search google for more PCI-X info.

http://www.pcisig.com/specifications/pcix_20

HTH

Make a great day!

Roger
Make a great day!

Roger
Roger Faucher
Honored Contributor

Re: Pavilion 7885 Bios

David:

I left out one very important new 'technology' called PCI Express (PCIe). In fact there are really three new technologies related to PCI that inter-operate: PCI Express├в ┬в, PCI-X 2.0 and PCI 2.3.

See: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1087

Ro
Make a great day!

Roger