HP Compaq Elite 8300 Ultra-Slim Desktop PC

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model/serial number sticker

Overview

The "Ultra-Slim" edition of the HP Compaq Elite 8300 desktop computer. It doesn't have any expansion card slots, however it does have integrated WiFi/wireless that doesn't affect the realtime performance of LinuxCNC.

Specifications

Information off the model number sticker, may vary with product configuration:

Description	HP Compaq Elite 8300 Ultra-Slim Desktop
Product No	C7H79US#ABA
Configuration	8300EeU/i53470S/320hd/4V/27k US
OS	Windows 7 SP1

lspci output under Debian 9.8 (LinuxCNC 2.7.14's uspace distribution):

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller (rev 04)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:16.3 Serial controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family KT Controller (rev 04)
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev c4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev a4)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Q77 Express Chipset LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Advanced-N 6205 [Taylor Peak] (rev 34)

BIOS

Some older versions of the BIOS don't play nice with GRUB2 (which Debian/LinuxCNC use). The BIOS must be upgraded, which can actually be done from within Linux. Here is the overall procedure:

use an rEFInd pen drive to boot into Linux (despite it's GRUB2 not being fully installed)
download the BIOS utilities .exe (sp58029.exe)
extract the contents of the .exe using Engrampa or a similar archive utility
inside the "HP Utilities for Linux" directory extract both "hp-flash-1.00-1_x86_64.tar.gz" and "hpuefi-mod-1.0.3.tar.gz". The resulting directories need to have paths that do not contain spaces, so if extracting them into the same folder as the archives, you must rename "HP Utilities for Linux" to "linux_util" or something containing no spaces.
in the "hpuefi-mod-1.0.3" directory run make to compile the kernel module
run sudo insmod ./hpuefi.ko to load the built kernel module
run ./mkdevhpuefi to create the /dev/hpuefi device
extract "J01_0228.BIN" from the "sp71294.exe" self-extracting archive into the "hp-flash-1.00-1_x86_64" directory
in the "hp-flash-1.00-1_x86_64" directory run sudo ./hp-flash J01_0228.BIN
after it has finished flashing, reboot!
after using rEFInd once again to get into Linux, fix GRUB using the instructions at GrubEFIReinstall - Debian Wiki

The BIOS flashing utilities for the HP Compaq Elite 8200 Ultra-Slim:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/closure/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultra-slim-pc/5037958

The same sp58029.exe file is appropriate for the 8300:

https://support.hp.com/my-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/hp-compaq-elite-8300-ultra-slim-pc/5232866/swItemId/vc-146025-1

The actual BIOS file:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/Looking-for-Download-to-Flash-BIOS-on-HP-Compaq-8200-Elite/td-p/6440002

Upgrades

SSD

The computer supports a standard 2.5" hard drive, as well as an mSATA drive. TODO: find out the physical size of the mSATA drive.

The following inexpensive SSD works well:

$19.99 -- Kingston 120GB A400 SSD 2.5" SATA 7MM 2.5-Inch SA400S37/120G

RAM

$44.99 -- Corsair CMSO8GX3M2C1600C11 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz PC3-12800 204-Pin DDR3 SODIMM Laptop Memory 1.35V

The maximum RAM specifications:

8GB of RAM max (2x4GB)
industry-standard 204-pin
unbuffered non-ECC PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 MHz-compliant
1.5 volt DDR3-SDRAM SODIMMs (not 1.35V)
CAS latency 11 DDR3 1600 MHz (11-11-11 timing)
512-Mbit, 1-Gbit, and 2-Gbit non-ECC memory technologies
SODIMMs constructed with x8 and x16 devices; SODIMMs constructed with x4 SDRAM are not supported

Above specifications taken from Page 226 of the service manual.

Replacement Parts

Power Supply

-- VUOHOEG 135W AC Adapter Laptop Charger Replacement for HP 391174-001 384023 481420-001; HP DC7800 DC7900; HP Compaq Elite 8000 8200 8300 with Size 7.4mm 5.0mm Power Supply Cord Plug

Hard Drive Caddy

Appears to be HP part number "672365-001" or perhaps "578006-001"

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part number

Above images taken from eBay seller rami.albe's eBay Item #332054010009 which has since been sold.

Wireless Card

Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205

Intel 62205ANHMW WiFi card

It will also need the antenna assembly which seems to official be HP part number "646811-001", but maybe also "698604-001" or even "646811-001", "621904-001", or "640247-001".

HP Compaq Elite 8300 Desktop PC Series - Spare Parts | HP® Customer Support

HP Compaq 8200 Elite Ultra-slim PC - Spare Parts | HP® Customer Support