New Bios 2.22 Worth Installing?

[HarryWild]

I download this latest bios and burnt it on to a CD from my ThinkCentre and was wonder if I should try to install it on my Z61t?

I just currently have the bios number something like 1.01 done in June 2006!

I am not sure how to do it either. Do I just load it like normal installs and wait for it to boot itself. The system is already set to boot to the DVD Rom first then the HD.

I kind of afraid that it might ruin all I work for!

Has anyone done it before; update the bios? How much time does it take and is it easy to do?

Thanks!

[ryengineer]

You can also use the ThinkVantage System Update in addition to the following two methods:

BIOS Update (Bootable CD) - ThinkPad Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t.

OR

BIOS Update Utility - ThinkPad Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t.

Both pages give precise installation instructions, everything should be fine if you follow them clearly.

If you opt for System Update then be sure not to choose any other package from the list other the BIOS update, it will take few minutes to download the package and some more to flash and verify the firmware blocks, upon successful completion the machine would reboot automatically.

There is also a verification process where you press F1 to enter the BIOS to verify the BIOS version, you would find it somewhere on the above mentioned linked pages.

[HarryWild]

ryengineer,

I cannot get my CD to boot! Reading the Readme.txt states:

* NOTES ON CUSTOM START UP IMAGES *
* ------------------------------- *
* *
* THIS VERSION OF THE FLASH UPDATE PROGRAM GIVES THE OPTION OF *
* REPLACING (OR ELIMINATING) THE DEFAULT "LENOVO" IMAGE THAT IS *
* DISPLAYED DURING SYSTEM START UP. THE USER CAN SUBSTITUTE A *
* 16 COLOR WINDOWS BITMAP (.BMP) TO REPLACE THE DEFAULT IMAGE. *
* *
* 1. LOGO.BAT WILL ONLY WORK IN A MICROSOFT (R) OPERATING SYSTEM *
* DOS WINDOW. *
* 2. PREPARE YOUR IMAGE BY NAMING IT 'LOGO.BMP', AND COPY IT. *
* 3. GO TO THE DOS WINDOW. RUN LOGO.BAT TO COMPRESS AND PREPARE *
* THE BITMAP FILE FOR FLASHING. LOGO.MOD IS THE RESULT. *
* 4. UPDATE ACCORDING TO INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS *
* *
* AFTER YOU UPDATE THE BIOS ON YOUR SYSTEM, YOUR LOGO WILL *
* APPEAR ON THE STARTUP SCREEN. *
* *
* SOME GUIDELINES FOR THESE IMAGES INCLUDE: *
* *
* 1. THE COMPRESSED IMAGE FILE SIZE LIMITED TO 10KB. *
* 2. SIMPLE DESIGNS (THE IMAGE WILL BE COMPRESSED AND COMPLEX *
* IMAGES DON'T COMPRESS WELL...) *
* 3. AN LENOVO LOGO IS USED BY DEFAULT, BUT A 16 COLOR 640x480 *
* WINDOWS .BMP FILE CAN BE USED INSTEAD.


I have decompress the file and burn the contents in a CD using Nero 7 Ultra!

Maybe I should use RecordNow! I guess I am at a lost!

I will download the RecordNow! But can you guide me as to how to make the CD bootable?

[HarryWild]

I don't think I have the ThinkAccessory Options on my startup menu! I wait your advice before download RecordNow!

I think this program just burns it to DVD-r I can do it with Nero! But I still need to know how to do it so it boots.


By the way, thanks for all your help! I know I need it!

[ryengineer]

snip....I have decompress the file and burn the contents in a CD using Nero 7 Ultra!...snip

You don't have to decompress the file, you need to write the .iso image to a CD.

In addition, did you change the boot order in the BIOS to make CD/DVD drive 1st boot device?

Also, I don't think we're reading the same .txt files:

Txt File

Creating the BIOS update CD

-Make sure you have a ThinkPad system with a CD-RW, CD-RW/DVD combo, or DVD multidrive installed and a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc.
-Start Windows Vista, XP, 2000 and logon with administrative privileges.
-Download the ISO file.
-For Windows Vista, click Start, then click Start Search. For Windows XP, 2000, click Start, then click Run...
-Specify the path where you downloaded the file, then click OK. RecordNow! or the default recording software will open. Example: C:\temp\7fuj22uc.iso
-Follow the instructions on the screen.

The following page lists the required package along with detailed procedure:

BIOS Update (Bootable CD) - ThinkPad Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t.

[HarryWild]

Well, I guess it does not read the file - iso. It does ready the drive and I can detect it loading and scanning the DVD but no booting of any sort on the DVD drive.

I even disable the HD and excluded it! No luck!

How do you do it using the inside of windows? or using the blue ThinkpadAdvantage function! I have already update everything on the Z61t using this function but does not do the bios!

[ryengineer]

snip...How do you do it using the inside of windows? or using the blue ThinkpadAdvantage function! I have already update everything on the Z61t using this function but does not do the bios!

You can either run the .exe file directly or let System Update download and install the update for you. In former case, you would need to download the package manually, unpack the initial setup to extract the installation files to a specified location on your HDD (default would be C:\DRIVERS\FLASH\7fuj22us.exe) and then go there and run it.

Following page lists the required package with very explicit installation instructions:

BIOS Update Utility - ThinkPad Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t.

As previously stated, System Update downloads and installs the package automatically and reboots once it has flashed and verified firmware blocks.