*HP EliteBook 2560p Owners Lounge*

[seabar]

INFO: How to enable Upgrade Bay Hard Drive boot

I've confirmed on my 2560P that it is possible to boot off the Upgrade Bay Hard Drive (optical bay caddy with HDD/SSD that replaces the optical drive). This worked with my newmodeus 9.5mm sata optical bay caddy.

The trick is to enable a hidden bios setting using HP's biosconfigutility from within Windows. Details below:

1. Go to the DOS prompt (Start->Run->cmd)
   
   
2. Navigate to your system's \swsetup\AppInstl folder
   

   cd \swsetup\appinstl

   In case you can't find it, here's a downloadable BiosConfigUtility.exe
   
   
3. Get a capture of your current bios settings with:

   biosconfigutility /getconfig:bios-set.txt

4. Edit the bios settings file:

   notepad bios-set.txt

   Change the following entry by removing the astericks next to Disable and moving it to Enable. Ie, from:
   

   Upgrade Bay Hard Drive boot
   	*Disable
   	Enable

   to
   

   Upgrade Bay Hard Drive boot
   	Disable
   	*Enable

5. Read this new configuration into the bios
   

   biosconfigutility /setconfig:bios-set.txt

6. Reboot your system, Hit F9 during BIOS boot and now you can select the Notebook Upgrade Bay Hard Drive and boot from it

@seabar, you may consider passing this info to your HP contact as it's a pretty important function imho.

Hi nando4 million of thanks! You made my day! Will try it out as soon as possible

[timohour]

This guide is perfect!!! It worked for my 4530s Probook too...

You can better add a link of it on the first page of ODD cuddy... it will be very helpful

[User Retired 2]

This guide is perfect!!! It worked for my 4530s Probook too...

You can better add a link of it on the first page of ODD cuddy... it will be very helpful

Thank you for the feedback, Added a comment to the ODD caddy first post as requested.

Not sure why HP have hidden the Upgrade Bay Hard Drive boot option in the F10 bios menu. It's a pretty important function that should be visible. Maybe a future bios release will show it?

[timohour]

Thank you for the feedback, Added a comment to the ODD caddy first post as requested.

Not sure why HP have hidden the Upgrade Bay Hard Drive boot option in the F10 bios menu. It's a pretty important function that should be visible. Maybe a future bios release will show it?

For the same reason they have locked the probooks @ 1333 and whitelist their wifi and WLAN devices. It is gonna be on a package with a shiny ODD bay costing ~50$.

[justinkw1]

Updated BIOS: F.22 is now available for you owners to try out.

ENHANCEMENTS:

• Provides support for an additional Wirelesss WAN module.

FIXES:

• Fixes an issue where the BIOS setup (F10) does not display the Smart Card Power Options after the system is restarted.
• Fixes an issue where the system restart (reboot) is slow after the modem is disabled in the BIOS setup (F10).

Download - ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp55501-56000/sp55677.exe

More information about this BIOS release can be found here - Current HP Business BIOS Releases

[SimoxTav]

HP EliteBook 2560p

Quick Links: Main page | SB eGPU notebooks | Modded drivers | Enclosures | Setup 1.x | Troubleshooting | Game Video Benchmarks

Informations
Hardware Setup	HP EliteBook 2560p	PAST   Intel Core i5-2520M 1x4 GB Ram DDR3 PC3-10600 Western Digital Scorpio Black 250GB 7.200Rpm Intel HD3000	TODAY   Intel Core i7-2630QM 2x4 GB Ram DDR3 PC3-10600 SSD (MISSING)
	Extra Hardware	PAST   PE4L v1.5 + 30cm mHDMI cable via EC2C Zotac nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti (822/1645/1000) DOWNCLOCKED (822/1645/900) due to artifacts problem related to GPU Bios (waiting for a fix from Zotac) DIY Enclosure with Hammond 1444-24 (Case) + 1434-22 (Cover) + 1421T4 (Rubber Feet) Silverstone SFX ST45SF (450W)	TODAY (OR TOMORROW :P)   PE4L v2.1 + 60cm mHDMI cable via EC2C 28nm Kepler GPU (MISSING)
Accessories	Tools	Canon EOS 550D (Thanks to my girlfriend) - Video Recorded on 1280x720 @ 50Hz No audio - Photos A stair (I don't have a tripod, so to reach the right height for recording I had to improvise)
	Software	Standalone build of MSI Afterburner for OSD informations (Core/Shaders/Memory Frequencies - Temperature - Framerate) Modded nVidia Verde 285.62 (To achieve Optimus data compression and internal screen option) GPU-Z / CPU-Z (To check the whole setup) Handbrake for video conversion RealTemp + Prime95 for CPU temperature benchmarks
How To	FIRST RUN PROCEDURE Set the PERST Delay Switch to "7 Seconds" Power on the GPU Plug the EC2C in the notebook Power on the notebook Once in Windows install modded drivers Shutdown the notebook Power off the GPU Power on the GPU Power on the notebook Use it   STANDARD PROCEDURE Power on the GPU Plug the EC2C in the notebook Power on the notebook Use it   REBOOT PROCEDURE Work in progress (possibly achievable with PERST Delay Switch on "500 milliseconds")

Benchmarks
	3d Mark 06	Resident Evil 5	3d Mark Vantage (GPU Score)	Devil May Cry 4	3d Mark 11 (GPU Score)	Heaven
x1.1Opt-Ext	16726	113.40	13111	102.62	3784	1106
x1.1Opt-Int	12298 (1280x768) - 12549 (i7+8GB)	52.30 (1280x720) - 52.10 (i7+8GB)	8596 (1280x1024 ???) - 8619 (i7+8GB)	39.96 (1280x720) - 40.75 (i7+8GB)	3099 - 3063 (i7+8GB)	629 - 638 (i7+8GB)
x1.2Opt-Ext
x1.2Opt-Int

Hardware Gallery

 

[Unprezz]

I bought my 2560p without an optical drive. I have been looking for a blurry or dvd burner for the expansion bay. Does it use the same as the 2530p or is it something different. And where do I find one?

[catariina]

(...)

I ordered the base 2560p model without the DVD drive and with the plastic optical drive insert. I bought a SATA 9.5mm optical drive harddrive caddy from eBay (for the SATA adapter) and after an hour with the Dremel on the plastic insert, I have a harddrive caddy that matches perfectly with the case. I have a 750GB Samsung Spinpoint in the caddy and it works great. (...)

Hi Vince,

I am so happy that I stumbled upon this forum, I Googled specifically for this. Could you tell me which caddy you bought? Exact name/type, seller, maybe a link? I haven't found any suitable for the very same model. I am OK with adjusting/destroying/modifying it as long as it's possible to squeeze it in... Your help is much appreciated.

Catariina

[prosetheus]

Now that is an unadvertised feature worth buying the unit for. You'd probably be the first person on the planet with a i7-quad in a 12.5" chassis. Awesome mods to that system +rep.

Hey Nando,

Will this system not throttle due to massive heat generated in a 12.5 chassis? Really curious about that. Was thinking of going with the 8460p but it seems to be afflicted by throttling with even i5's.

Now am torn between this and the dell e6420. Just need something that can handle quad i7's, 16gb ram, has esata and doesn't break the bank. Also, ofcourse, eGPU

[User Retired 2]

Hey Nando,

Will this system not throttle due to massive heat generated in a 12.5 chassis? Really curious about that. Was thinking of going with the 8460p but it seems to be afflicted by throttling with even i5's.

Now am torn between this and the dell e6420. Just need something that can handle quad i7's, 16gb ram, has esata and doesn't break the bank. Also, ofcourse, eGPU

I have no personal experience with a i7-quad other than know that a i5/i7 dual-core is rated at 35W TDP and a i7-quad is rated at 45W TDP (max). My i5 certainly has got no where near 105 degrees tjmax so I consider it would have thermal headroom to accomodate a i7-quad. It also has a 65W AC adapter sufficient to drive it.

We only have vnwhite's account of an i7-2820QM installed in a 2560P where he tells us:

The main reason I went the 2560p over other ultra-portables (like the Lenovo X220), is that the CPU isn't soldered. I replaced my stock CPU with an I7-2820QN QS quad-core CPU from eBay. After lapping the heatsink and using Shin-Etsu X23-7783D TIM, the idle temps are about 45 degC on Performance power setting and about 35 degC on PowerSaver mode.
...
I've been traveling and just finished playing Mass Effect 2 on the laptop on high graphics settings and it was very playable. The only issue is that the temps can get up to about 87 degC during the game.

Furthermore, a slightly larger, but with similar internals 13" Probook 4330s has had a i7-2820QM installed in successfully. See Hp probook 4330s with i7-2820qm. If you don't need the E6420's 900P/NVS4200M option then I can see no reason why not to go a 2560P instead. It's certainly more portable and imho a bettery looking piece of equipment.