Speaking of quads. I’m talking to Maxinator500, maybe he will help us insert the extended APIC table for quads into the BIOS
HPUnpack reports an error while flashing:
hpunpack HDX9000.BIN replace C0000 VIDE HD4850.rom
HPUnpack modded by Remdale for HDX9000
Performing action: replace, target address: C0000, name: VIDE, source file: HD4850.rom
Unhandled Exception: System.ArgumentException: The offset and length values are out of range of the array or the number exceeds the number of elements between the index and the end of the source queue.
in System.Buffer.BlockCopy (Array src, Int32 srcOffset, Array dst, Int32 dstOffset, Int32 count)
in HPUnpack.Program.Main(String[ ] args)
CMD running as administrator. I also changed the Vbios extension from .rom to .bin and still the same error.
Windows 8.1 64bit.
Seriously, I don’t know how to explain this magic. It’s the same for me now on my HDX9000, but I have tried to do the unpacking procedure on another PC and it worked fine. Just have a look
Try doing it on another computer or give me the vBIOS file and I’ll do that for you. But the program works well with 8710W’s BIOS. Get it from the web and use it as an agent to replace the video module and then move it into the Dragon’s BIOS via a hex editor.
I have figured out that the BIOS file was wrong. That was the reason for the crash. I have tried another file I had and it worked well. Here’s a working ATI version for you. Try replacing the module here
https://www.mediafire.com/file/2juj3afxy0y3hkq/BIOS+ATI+(no+whitelist+microcodes).bin/file
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I didn’t notice your previous post. I’ll check if it works soon.
It worked!
We’ll see if the Radeon HD4850 will work in the HDX9000.
What program is used to change the bios? I remember that I did it with some Windows program. I had this program from the old forum about HDX9000, but this forum was closed and I cannot find this program on my disk.
There’s just this command line utility. The config you want to have is set up through a text file which you then upload into the utility, but not all parameters work. Examples included
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/h2v7bf7qjdz2yk4/HP_BIOS_Configuration_Utility_%2528BCU%2529.zip/file
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I want to flash the bios. This program is from what I read in the pdf file for editing the bios. I remembered that previously I had a bios .exe file that flashed the bios. Here I have a file with the .rom extension. I looked for the option to flash from USB in the BIOS but there is nothing there.
How do I flash the bios from a .rom file?
That was probably an official exe file. Here’s a hacked version of the flasher (with signature check disabled), try using it
https://www.mediafire.com/file/1ucp3olas4tszzw/HPQFlash_No_Rom.sig_check_patched.exe/file
You can also follow these steps for blind flash:
- Rename Rom.bin to 68DVD.BIN
- Copy the 68DVD.BIN file to a freshly formatted (not bootable) floppy.
- Remove battery from HDX.
- Plug a USB floppy drive into the HDX and place the floppy with the bios file in it.
- Hold down ‘Windows’ and ‘B’ keys simultaneously while turning on the power.
- Release keys when floppy drive is accessed (when the light on the floppy drive starts blinking).
- Sit back and wait about two minutes
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The program shows the error: “The driver failed to load”.
I don’t have a floppy drive, is it possible to flash the BIOS from a pendrive?
You might need to copy HPQFLASH into the root of the disk partition along with the BIOS (Rom.bin) which needs to be compressed into “Rom.cab”. This is the only file the utility accepts. In order to compress your BIOS into .cab, you need to run makecab on it via CMD. “ver.txt” file might also need to be included into the cab file.
I don’t remember how I revived my first HDX9000 either by using a pendrive or floppy, you can give it a go with a pendrive of up to 1-2GB (better with a LED indicator to watch for the activity).
Hello. BIOS on my HDX9200 was damaged during an upgrade from F.35 to F.40.
Would someone please help me find a way to flash it and repair?
I have tried multiple procedures and none have succeeded so far.
I would really appreciate your help.
Hi. I don’t remember well, but these are probably the steps I went through to revive mine.
- Download latest bios from HP and extract to a folder. Use WinRar or 7Zip to extract all the files in the executable.
- Extract either NV.cab or ATI.cab depending on your graphics card.
- Open the ver.txt file and look for the string after ‘ROM’ (for F.40 bios it was ‘68DVD’).
- Rename Rom.bin to 68DVD.BIN
- Copy the 68DVD.BIN file to a freshly formatted (not bootable) floppy.
- Remove battery from HDX.
- Plug a USB floppy drive into the HDX and place the floppy with the bios file in it.
- Hold down ‘Windows’ and ‘B’ keys simultaneously while turning on the power.
- Release keys when floppy drive is accessed (when the light on the floppy drive starts blinking).
- Sit back and wait about two minutes for your HDX to rise from the dead!
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Thank you for the quick reply!
I will get a floppy drive and a floppy first 
Hopefully it will do the trick.
USB does not react at all, so I am a bit pesimistic about this solution. CD-ROM kicks in, so maybe I will also try to burn a CD.
I’m pretty much sure that the DVD drive won’t work out. Ask a repair shop to flash the BIOS for you if my guide won’t help.
Your method has worked!
Thank you so much for helping to revive my dragon 
Awesome! You are welcome👍
Hey everyone. I got some news in this thread
Hi All,
I tried to find the old HP HDX 9000 DRAGON Owners Lounge, on NotebookReview, but I see that’s long since closed down 
and this seems to be the next best place to post this:
I’m having a clear-out and I have a few Dragons and loads of HDX9000 parts in a bag, that I’m unlikely to ever put to good use.
As I recall, I have at least one fully operational Dragon and more than enough spares to build more, including screens and bezels.
I’d like all of this to go to an enthusiast, who will enjoy building a new Dragon or two.
Would anyone in here be interested?
CJ
This is what I used to have on my signature on Notebook Forum. Can’t be sure that I have all of this still, but I might…
HP HDX9250EA, HDX9320, (2nd)HDX9250EA, HDX9160EA and HDX9120EA
Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 (3.8GHz) and T9300 3.3GHz (Throttlestop and FSB O/C 242MHz)
Windows 7 64bit
8192MB memory in two of the Dragons
128GB OCZ Vertex SSD with 640GB Spinpoint 7200RPM
60GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD with 750GB WD Scorpio Black 7200RPM
WSXGA 1680x1050 and WUXGA 1920x1200
NVIDIA 8800M GTS (3), ATi GPU (2)
Panasonic UJ-220 Blu-Ray Burner and UJ-120 Blu-Ray Combo Drive.
(2nd)HP HDX9250EA, HDX9120EA & HDX9160EA are Bog Standard.
Glad I found this forum. I too was sad when I saw the owners lounge shut down. I have two of these laptops with different goals for each that I’m hoping I can get some assistance on. I got one new when they came out with the 8800GTS and T9300 that’s pretty much in mint condition, and just recently got one with the core 2 extreme X7800 and ATI (don’t know exactly which model) gpu that’s in pretty rough shape. I already tore the ATI one down all the way it was filled with dirt and dust so first step is to just clean that one. My dilemma I’m faced with is that the 8800GTS with the latest drivers causes bluescreens so I have to run older drivers but it’s still pretty lacking in performance. I also swapped out the wifi card for an AC card which connects at 1.3Gbps but when you try to do any large file transfer it’s slow and disconnects. I have also put in a bluray drive. Everything else is stock running Windows 10 with 4GB ram (I tried some no name ram to get up to 8GB but it was less stable). I was thinking about doing a GPU swap with the ATI or maybe just swap the whole board since I think the extreme CPU is slightly faster. Though I may just keep it as is.
The rough second one I was thinking about putting a framework 13 board in there. The keyboard, mouse, and side ports should be fairly easy to adapt or change, but what I think is going to be the biggest hurdle is getting the screen to work. I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of driver board I need but I don’t know how to tell which one will work. The plug is a 50 pin plug and what I’ve found is that LVDS may be a standard also might not be the right standard. Any help here would be appreciated.
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