Users come second to HP finances
HP IS SHOWING its usual customer-unfriendly ways over the lastest Nvidia defective chips fiasco. The outfit is not putting up older versions of the BIOS for people to downgrade to once they are hurt by the latest BIOS-based 'fix'.
There is no question that the so called 'fix' hurts users in both acoustics and battery life, but it very well may protect the Nvidia and HP coffers as well. So, what happens when consumers put the 'fix' in and realise they have been had? How do they downgrade?
According to the HP website, you don't. Near the bottom, you see the wonderfully customer centric statement :"I do not see the previous BIOS version on the HP Support Web? What happened to the previous versions of the BIOS?
"In order to eliminate any confusion on which BIOS version is the latest, only the latest version is available on the web.
"NOTE: The current version of the BIOS contains all content/modifications from the previous BIOS versions."
How magnanimous of them. They are protecting the poor customer from picking an older BIOS version. They trust you enough to update a BIOS, not a trivial task, but not to pick the latest BIOS from a list with *->USE THIS ONE<-* in blinky text next to it.
"To eliminate an confusion" my Aris. At least Dell is doing the right thing by offering older versions on a different page. Now you know which side cares more about their customers than their pockets. µ
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Hasn't this always be their standard policy? Because if it has, maybe they just didn't think of taking special measures in this particular case...
Simple solution to help the unejukated public to determine if they have the latest BIOS version

Put a date against the BIOS version number

Jeez, it's not like every motherboard manufacturer doesn't already do this. Why can't a major system manufacturer grasp the obvious?
if the apple rumor turned out to be true, it would offset their current trouble. 

of course, it all depends on how much r&d work apple has done on their graphics side. it won't hurt to ask around...

For the time being, I would have to say that HP cares more than Dell, because they recently extended the warranty for affected products by 24 months. No such action from Dell yet. As an owner of a new Dell laptop with a 8400GS, I will be waiting for them to state how they will be addressing the known faulty parts.
Dell has downgrade bios. HP if it doesn't you just ask help from a forum to upload small older bios. I think I won't buy HP because it doesn't have previous version. Toshiba and DELL has.
That's why you only buy what HP is really good at, printers. They do make the best printers from all my experience with them and seeing tons of HP printers being run constantly when I was in th Air Force. None of them ever broke and there is no need to update printer bios yet, pray that never happens.
Buy a Mac :-)
... someone who cares even less about customers than Dell!

Who'da thunk it. But then, customer-friendliness does tend to be inversely proportional to commercial success.
Everybody saves their old bios first before flashing don't they?
Saw Carla on TV Today, Face d' Nation. not as dumb drashek reported, on meet d' press, yet I looked pretty good on both, tv on TV that is.

Carla is NOW Deeply involved with Hon McCains' campaign, So NO computing was even mentioned. NO Loss.

So this TV Goes on to LANES, Bit String Length & 48X Pcie Slot. Obvious Solution to Todays UnderPerforming DeskTop. TOP is Word to beat & internal speed is what makes TRUE 64 bit readily writeable. Now How to FORCE Microbum to reengage the redesign phase from fundumental standpoint. 
Everything NEW, It is BEST to maintain NO Identifiers, AS that ALLOWS Virtulization to Engage easily, Even Better Yet. 

Why? Both Virtulization Server & DeskTop Software Should RUN Same Bit String Lenght, To avoid Humps & Bumps of Unpackaging Signal.

Some How Cap'n Crunchier, Gotta Getta My TV on Top of MY Carly.
drashek
Grow the company, increase the bottom line, and increase stockholder worth.

Those are the three things corporations put in their mission statements. Customer services is several tiers down and will always take a backseat.

If you only knew....

The CIO, Randy Mott (formerly of Wal-Mart) is infusing the Wal-Mart attitude throughout the entire company. EVERYTHING is secondary to finances.

It's no longer a question of "What do you need to be able to respond to customer requests?".

It's "Why do you have so many servers? Those things cost money. You need to get rid of 50% of your servers.". Never mind that they are all HP servers...
I can still get my older BIOs from HP, so...err?
In our experience, being that we recieve over 40 HP/DELL Laptops in our workshop per day with the common fault of No Video i.e Graphics Chip problem, the fault is not with the chip itself but due to the solder contacts being dry.
This happens due to the heat generated in these laptops cause the solder points to become impure.
All graphics chips (GPU's) are BGA chips, Ball Grid Array Chips, so a convention soldering iron or SMD Hot Air Rework Station will not work.
What is needed in a BGA rework Station which reworks the solder contacts.
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