HP EliteBook 840 G1
| Specification | Value | Possible upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Hewlett-Packard | |
| Model | HP EliteBook 840 G1 | |
| BIOS or UEFI (Brand) | UEFI HP L71 Ver. 01.30 dated Dec 09, 2014 | UEFI HP v: 01.49 Rev.A dated May 08, 2020 |
| BIOS Access | F10 during POST | |
| Boot Menu | F9 during POST | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-4310U (2.0 GHz, Turbo 3.0 GHz, 2 cores / 4 threads, L3 cache 3 MB, TDP 15 W) | No (soldered CPU, socket BGA 1168) |
| Socket(s) | BGA 1168 (soldered CPU, not replaceable) | |
| Chipset | Intel Haswell-ULT (8th series) | |
| RAM type(s) | DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM (1.35V) 1 slot populated out of 2 (4 GB installed), maximum 16 GB | Possible upgrade: up to 2 x 8 GB SO-DIMM DDR3L-1600 |
| Storage | 2 available slots:
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| Display | 14" (35.6 cm), resolution 1366x768, anti-glare panel, LED backlight, 16:9 aspect ratio | |
| Suggested Linux Distributions | Lightest first:
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| Usage |
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| URL | Latest BIOS available at HP | |
| Tech Doc | Icecat HP EliteBook 840 G1 spec sheet (closest model) |
Installation and configuration : hands-on Notes
Accessing the components
A single latch on the bottom of the PC unlocks the service cover, which then slides off to provide access to the main internal components.
Replacing the battery, RAM modules, storage drives or the CMOS battery presents no particular difficulty.
Boot and USB devices
Boot modes
The UEFI offers three boot modes: Legacy, UEFI with CSM, and UEFI without CSM.
Results show that "UEFI with CSM" mode works best for booting from a USB device.
Boot priority
Boot priority is configured in the "Advanced / Boot" section of the BIOS: navigate to the desired entry, use the "+" key to promote it to the top of the list, then press "Enter" to save.
Bootable USB devices (USB drives, external disks) work in both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0.
Observations
- Booting via USB 2.0 is slower, though the Live Linux environment remains responsive once loaded
- With Ventoy, booting works in both Grub and Grub2 mode
- GPT partition tables were confirmed to work as expected
- A Zalman enclosure in CD-ROM emulation mode, with a hard drive using an MS-DOS partition table, produced a boot error (Unable to find a medium containing a live file system)
(The root cause has not been definitively identified. An MS-DOS partition table might be incompatible with this UEFI implementation, though the CD-ROM emulation remains a possible contributing factor.)