TITLE: HP xw8600 Workstation System BIOS VERSION: 01.10 Rev. a DESCRIPTION: This package contains the System BIOS image (BIOS Family 786F5) and local and remote BIOS flash utilities for the HP xw8600 Workstation. These utilities can be used to restore or update the System BIOS. System BIOS is operating system independent. NOTE: To determine the BIOS family and BIOS date, press F10 on the target workstation during Power On to run the Computer Setup Utility, and then select File/System Information. This information can be saved into a text file on a diskette or on a USB flash media device by selecting File/Save to Diskette. In order for a USB flash media device to be recognized by the workstation, the device must be attached before the workstation is Powered On. PURPOSE: Routine SOFTPAQ NUMBER: SP38779 SUPERSEDES: None EFFECTIVE DATE: March 25, 2008 CATEGORY: BIOS SSM SUPPORTED: Yes PRODUCT TYPE(S): Workstations HARDWARE PRODUCT MODEL(S): HP xw8600 Workstation: HP xw8600 Workstation SOFTWARE PRODUCT(S): None OPERATING SYSTEM(S): Microsoft Windows Vista Business 32 Edition Microsoft Windows Vista Business 64 Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition LANGUAGE(S): Brazilian Portuguese Bulgarian Chinese(PRC Simplified) Czech Danish Dutch Finnish French German Hungarian Italian Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Norwegian Polish Romanian Russian Slovak Spanish Swedish Taiwanese Chinese Turkish US English ENHANCEMENTS: The following enhancements have been added since BIOS version 01.07 (SP38375) was released: - Adds fan control support for 8-GB memory DIMMs. - Adds microcode and BIOS support for future processors. - Adds a number of changes to hardware initialization sequences. These may further reduce rare instances of boot failure and slightly improve the performance of certain benchmarks. - Adds the ability to store and retrieve any errors detected by the processor or chipset. - Increases the completion timeout value for PCI devices. This allows certain PCI devices to function reliably during periods of heavy system load. The following enhancements have been added since BIOS version 01.01 (SP37879) was released: - Enables an additional CPU power saving mode in the Computer Configuration Utility (F10). The new mode is enabled when Idle Power Savings is set to "Extended." - Adds BIOS support for additional CPU speeds. FIXES: The following fixes have been made since BIOS version 01.07 (SP38375) was released: - Corrects an issue that allows occasional failures to occur when entering or resuming from Standby (also known as Save-to-RAM or ACPI S3) state. This issue only occurs when running Microsoft Windows XP 32-bit version with dual processors installed and an audio card in slot 7. - Fixes an issue that prevents the system from completing Power-On Self-Test (POST) when certain graphics cards are installed in both slots 3 and 6. - Corrects an issue that causes certain DOS programs to fail when accessing serial ATA (SATA) optical storage devices while the SATA controller is in Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) mode. - Corrects the Multi-Processor Specification (MPS) table to properly describe the embedded network interface controller and x1 PCIe slot. The following fixes have been made since BIOS version 01.01 (SP37879) was released: - Adds new CPU microcode updates to resolve a processor erratum. - Corrects an issue that could have reduced the reliability of Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) save-to-RAM cycles in certain situations. - Fixes an issue that prevents the correct messages from being displayed when enabling Drive Lock in the Computer Configuration Utility (F10). - Fixes an issue that prevents the maximum CPU temperature from being correctly reported through the Microsoft Windows Management Interface (WMI). PREREQUISITES: None INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS: This SoftPaq includes the following methods for changing the BIOS version: - Use HPQFlash to upgrade the BIOS directly in a Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista environment. - Use the utilities in this package to flash the BIOS in a DOS environment from bootable media. - Use the ROM images in this package with the Computer Setup Utility (F10) to flash the BIOS from a USB flash drive, diskette, or CD media. This package can be used with System Software Manager (SSM), HP Client Management Solution (HPCMS), or preboot execution environment (PXE) management software for remote updating of the BIOS. WARNING: DO NOT TURN OFF POWER OR ATTEMPT TO REBOOT THE COMPUTER DURING THE UPGRADE PROCESS! 1. Download the SoftPaq .EXE file to a directory on your hard drive. 2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to update the System BIOS. NOTE: If remote flashing is required, see the remote utility documentation for instructions about creating a Remote ROM Flash job to flash the System ROM on target workstations on the network. Copyright (c) 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.