HP Computer Owners - update your UEFI

Tutorials & Guides
1

If you own an HP computer, you know that HP doesn't generally use the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (which is the application fwupdmgr) except for certain servers.

They instead provide a .EXE file that is specific to the computer model and the UEFI version... this computer is on its third UEFI version since it was new, hence there are three .EXE files available for it.

Well, .EXE files are Windows-specific. In this case, you can't even run them under Wine or PlayOnLinux to update your UEFI.

You can manually extract the files within that .EXE file and lay them out so the computer recognizes that a UEFI update is available, so it works under Linux, but HP doesn't document how to do this and the file layout has changed over the years so the information you find on the internet doesn't work.

Needless to say, that's a lot of different .EXE files, a lot of confusion on the part of Linux users, and a lot of frustration for people who own HP computers and cannot update their UEFI (which can cause various boot errors, as it did with my machine) because they run Linux solely.

Well, there's a way...

First, get a USB stick. Wipe it so it's completely empty.

Then download the Ventoy .ISO (Ventoy2Disk... the Ventoy installation program) file and 'burn' it to the USB stick with the Disks (gnome-disks) application.

Reboot the machine, change your boot order to boot from the USB stick, and boot the Ventoy installation program.

Follow the instructions here:

At the end of the process, you should see something like this:

Note the "GPT"... that's in the Option menu. You want that if you've got a machine capable of reading GPT... older machines will use MBR.

Basically, you're using Ventoy2Disk to wipe the USB stick and install Ventoy proper... it'll format the USB stick into two partitions. The first partition is large and empty. The second partition contains all the files Ventoy needs to boot.

One caution: BE SURE YOU'VE SELECTED THE USB STICK IN THE DROP-DOWN MENU!

Now reboot back into Zorin OS. Download the Win10 PE .ISO file here.

Drop that .ISO file into the first (empty) partition on the USB stick.

While you're at it, download the Zorin OS .ISO file of your choice here.

Drop that .ISO file into the first partition on the USB stick along with the Win10 PE .ISO file.

Download the HP UEFI update for your computer, and save it somewhere where you can access it when you're booted into Win10 PE.

Now reboot, change your boot order to boot from the USB stick, select the Win10 PE .ISO file to boot, and let it boot up.

Now navigate to and double-click the HP UEFI update .EXE file you'd downloaded. Set it to update the UEFI directly (not to extract the files, not to create a .ISO file).

The machine should reboot and the UEFI update will commence.

After the machine is done updating the UEFI, you can reboot into Zorin OS.

Keep that USB stick handy... the Zorin OS .ISO file is good for emergency booting if you've borked your installed OS and for doing full backups; and the Win10 PE .ISO is good for doing future UEFI updates.

7 Likes
2

Huh... I put the procedure for updating the UEFI on an HP computer into a post on the HP support forum site, and they removed it! Seems likely they've got some deal with M$ to only support Windows, given that they only release UEFI updates in Windows-specific .EXE files and make it more difficult than it should be for Linux users to update their UEFI.

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There may be a more benign reason. Perhaps something in the post conflicted with some rule somewhere. Can you contact them and ask?

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There was nothing in the post that was controversial or disparaging of HP, M$ or anyone else, it was strictly the procedure to update the UEFI via Win10 PE. It sat there for more than a week, then it just disappeared.

Nowadays, given all the crony capitalism and nefarious corporatism, I tend to attribute malice rather than incompetence.

I do note that my earlier post, asking how to update the UEFI under Linux (before I'd discovered how to do so), which wickedly disparaged HP with references to Kafka and notoriously torturous HP software, remains publicly available (for months now)... there is no solution proffered in that thread.

I end that post with:

Ok, no problem... I'll put on my headdress, defrost the chicken, shake the chicken over the computer while chanting in monosyllabic monotone... because that's about all I'm left with.

How, oh, how, oh how does HP get something so simple so very, very wrong? I mean, yeah, HP has the reputation for creating fantastic hardware and horrendous software, but geez, you guys are pushing the envelope here!

Whomever came up with the idea that UEFI/BIOS updates should be in a Windows-specific file format, whoever programmed the Kafkaesque torture device known as sp143332.exe... they should all be FIRED.

Do let me know exactly the steps to take to get around your broken processes and even-more-broken software, HP.

HP doesn't seem to have a problem with that post... but the one providing the solution? Removed.

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5

You have a point.
On multiple fronts...

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Major hardware manufacturers are more or less under the influence of Big Tech. I think we should watch out for them.

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I can now affirm that the Win10PE update process described above also works for updating the firmware for the Elan touchpad on HP machines (which also only come in Windows-specific file format).

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Remember Pentium processors and the debacle that followed with MMX processors? Grey machine producers were told not to leak that MMX was coming round the corner, if they did, Intel would no longer supply them with processors. Consumer organisations here in the UK lambasted the grey manufacturers about this, not investigating properly, unlike PC Plus magazine which told the full story.

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Nice tutorial, but...
What's the point in updating the UEFI?

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Updating the hardware BIOS Firmware is often a great way to ensure that everything works. It can update patches, security fixes and add better compatibility for New software, devices and drivers.

There are many troubleshooting instances on this forum where the solution is to Update the BIOS Firmware.