Gateway P-6822 - Finding Correct Bios Upgrade

[Chris Nicola]

I have a Gateway P-6822 that I recently upgraded from Vista 32 bit to Win 10 32 bit and fitted an ssd. There are some unexplained BSOD's I am troubleshooting.

The current bios revision is 94.25. There is a new bios in the downloads section for this machine listed as 94.28. However the bios "read me" file says its applicable to the P-6822 part number 1014778R. My machine appears to have part number 1014779R (Full number is 1014779R8094768). The first 8 digits recommended end in 8R. The first 8 digits of my machine end in 9R. So is this bios suitable for my machine? I suspect it is but I am not sure.

I am tempted to try the new bios. But in the unlikely event there is a problem, is there any way I can revert to the previous bios?

Your advice would be appreciated.

Kind regards
Chris

*Applicable Part Numbers:
snip...
P-6801m - 1015522R
P-6822 - 1014778R
P-6825 - 1014978R
snip...

[rproffitt]

Note: Similar/same at https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/629753/gateway-p-6822-finding-correct-bios-upgrade

This looks to be some Core2Duo laptop and I have CLEAN INSTALLED W10 on such before. But this is old enough to have issues with cooling which is what I find to be the main cause of a BSOD after memory and then other issues.

Your question is best put to an Acer forum which you did but in this class of PCs I have never found the BIOS update to help as the machine usually had BSODs when it came in so it's not a W10 issue at all (or BIOS.)

-> I see you UPGRADED from Vista to 10 so after you have your W10 activated you can clean install W10 64 Bit to bring it current and avoid months of troubleshooting why it BSODs if it is a software issue.

[Chris Nicola]

Thank you for your advice. I am fixing up this machine for my retired father in law. I think the BSOD was caused by a bad upgrade install from Vista-Win7 to 10. Whenever I plugged in a usb mouse, the driver installed OK but it showed an error in device manager and would not start. The BSOD's happened more frequently when I used the touchpad before Windows appeared to be fully loaded. Since my original post, I have done a clean install of Windows 10 32 bit and the external mouse works fine now. I gave the fan and heat sink a good clean. Overheating does not seem to be a problem. Time will tell if the BSOD's have gone as well!

I would have preferred Win 10 64 bit but the machine only has 2Gbt ram, it might be a bit slow with a 64 bit OS. I have no idea if it can handle 4Gbt ram. I was hoping that a newer bios might help.

Thanks again for your help.

Kind regards
Chris

[rproffitt]

I'm sharing from my experience. The reason to upgrade from Vista or W7 is to get that free W10 license. Once that is done, and this is not only me sharing this, you can clean install 32 or 64 bit W10 as the license is for W10 and not about the 32/64 bit question.

As to 2GB we install the 64 bit version and it is no slower than the 32 bit OS. This has been tested so many times. There's no reason for a 32 bit OS on this PC so far.

I could write more but my advice is:

1. Get out the canned air and give the vents and heatsinks a good cleaning.
2. If there is any sign of CPU overheating, replace the CPU heatsink compound. It's old enough that it has dried and cracked.
3. Clean install W10 64 bit and test.

[Chris Nicola]

Thank you very much for this advice. I will try out the 64 bit version and see how I get on. Maybe I should leave the BIOS alone for now. Thanks for your advice abiout the heat sink.

The other minor thing that doesn't work properly on Win 10 is the brightness control. Moving the function key + the up and down arrow keys does move the windows brightness control but it has no effect on the brightness. Its stuck on maximum. The Windows settings/brightness doesn't work either. The night light function works though. Oddly enough, pressing Function + F8 once does nothing. The second time it dips to about 95%. the third time it dips to minimum brightness. The fourth time it cycles to maximum again.

Did you ever solve the brightness problem on the P-6822? Maybe installing Win 64 bit will will solve the problem...

Thanks again.

Kind regards
Chris

[rproffitt]

Aha! The brightness control. Just last month I had to work that issue and for that I turned to AUTOHOTKEY (what is, is all over the web) then a brightness control script for Autohotkey. As to W10 64 bit, I wouldn't bet on it.

Good luck.

[Chris Nicola]

Thanks for suggesting Auto Hotkey. Actually Windows 10 automatically installed HP Hotkeys which appear to work fine on this laptop running Win 10 64 bit. The hotkeys for brightness connect to the Windows brightness control. So the hotkeys will make the windows brightness control go up and down. The problem is that it has no effect at all on the brightness. Its like moving the gear changer on a car when there is no linkage to the gearbox. So I am convinced that the hotkeys are not the problem. Windows can change the rgb values but can't change the brightness. I tried testing the Windows basic graphics driver but that was even worse so I reverted back to the intel Driver dated 2012. Evidently, that is the last 64 bit driver they made for this graphics card. So unless I can find a better driver, I suppose there is no other solution to the brightness problem. It will have to stay on maximum. As a work around, I supose, I could use Windows monitor calibration to lower the rgb's equally to reduce the brightness a bit to 80% and leave it there.

Kind regards
Chris

[Chris Nicola]

Thank you rproffitt. I finally found out how to get the brightness slider to work with some help from a Windows 10 Forum.

I downloaded the Win 7 64 bit driver from here:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29370?v=t

I ran the compatibility troubleshooter which set compatibility for Windows 7. I clicked "Test the Programme", ran the setup and it asked, These drivers are older than the ones installed, do you wish to proceed?" and I clicked yes.

After the reboot, I tested the hotkeys AND THEY WORKED! I can now adjust the brightness properly using the hotkeys or the Windows brightness slider. The Windows night light also works. My only worry is if Windows update will try and install the other "newer" drivers that don't work as well.

I reallty appreciate the help I have received from the DaniWeb Forum.

Kind regards
Chris

[rproffitt]

This sounds like progress. Did you perform a clean install or what seemed to clear up some problems besides the brightness control which you solved with a driver?

[Chris Nicola]

The original upgrade install to windows 10 32 bit had lots of little problems and I was getting frequent BSOD's and an external mouse would install but would not start in device manager. Then I did a clean install to Win 10 32 bit and that stopped the BSOD's and the problem with the mouse and some other small bugs and the system worked faster.

Then I followed your advice and removed and cleaned up the heat sink and put some Arctic Silver jointing paste on the CPU and the GPU. I also backed up the system and did a clean install to Win 10 64 bit to see how it would perform. You were right! It works just as fast as the 32 bit version and has other advantages.

After that, there were only 2 problems remaining. The brightness could not be adjusted. That has now been solved using the Win 7 64 bit driver installed in compatibility mode.

The last little problem is that the wifi turns off after rebooting. If I shutdown and cold start then the WiFi Starts normally. It just doesnt start after rebooting. Then I have to run network diagnostics to reset the WiFi adapter to get it going adain. I have tried various fixes to no avail and am still working on it.

I appreciate all your help and advice.

Kind regards
Chris

[rproffitt]

As to the WiFi. This is either a driver issue or the WiFi hardware. Also why I carry some USB WiFi devices in my PC medic bag.

Good to read your progresss and the success of the 64 bit install. This will get it where it needs to be for as long as this PC lasts.