Acer Laptop with Phoenix BIOS: BIOS MOD Request

Yes, you can flash Extensa 5620's BIOS with the modified BIOS image for Extensa 5620G because both model use identical BIOS. You can check yourself by downloading original BIOS for Extensa 5620 & Extensa 5620G from Acer's support website & compared both BIOS file. You can use tool like Beyond Compare 3 to compare both BIOS files. You also can check Readme.txt for supported model which is included in the original BIOS package.

I recommend the modified BIOS image with EIST unlocked (EIST MOD). Flashing BIOS is risky, so I suggest you to proceed carefully.

I'll PM you later. You can refer to this guide if you like.

You can find guide on how to unlock hidden options at the first post on this thread.

 

Hello Kizwan ,
Is possible to have a bios for acer 5739g 734g50mn (based on 3310 bios) that opens the wi-fi and ethernet pci card from bios? Iam interesting because i have test my laptop with mac os (snow leopard) and i have an issue with pci ports. It does not recognizes ethernet and wi-fi pci (i replaced the wi-fi card with a compatible os wi-fi card and the problem not solved! The touch buttons wi-fi + bluetooth is not lighting but the strange is that wi-fi pci card is hot. I read on the forums that the problem is specific on the acer laptops because of the faulty Acer memory map on the pci cards. But on the win 7 there is no problem all pci works.

I flashed your bios VT3 but no hidden menu is visible. If i replace my P7350 with P8400 is possible to run VT-x on my laptop?
Thank you in advance!

 

Sorry, I don't have any solution for your issue. I already unlocked hidden options in the R3 modified BIOS image.

Do you means none of the unlocked options visible? If you change to VT capable processor, you'll be able to use VT-x.

 

Thank you i will buy a P8400 !

 

Thank you for the information. I had somewhat of an idea that they would be similar, just wanted someone with more knowledge to confirm it for me. I will try it out. Thanks again.

 

My video bios is corrupt, I get the one long and two short beeps. Is there any key combination to make it continue?

 

I don't know. Sure you can blind flash it right?

EDIT: Usually if it halted while POST, I think possibly pressing F1 key will make it resume. I guess you already tried it too.

 

Bah I don't think it's possible. Will send it off to be programmed manually then.

 

This is MXM card right? Actually how did VBIOS corrupted? The beep error code means it failed to find correct option ROM. Option ROM is integrated in system BIOS. If I assume you didn't flash your graphic card with new/custom VBIOS which lead to this problem, I guess option ROM for graphic card integrated in system BIOS conflicted with VBIOS on the graphic card itself.

 

I found option ROMs for graphic card in Aspire 7738G's BIOS. What got my attention is there is a "MXM" string in the option ROMs.





I don't have experience with MXM card & I don't know option ROM for MXM graphic card also can be included in system BIOS. Maybe this is some kind of "whitelisting" for MXM card?! This is interesting to look into if you didn't flashed your graphic card with new/custom VBIOS which lead to this disaster.

 

I can't use the PM here.Send me E-mail is ok,Thank you very much~~
email address:[email protected]

 

No it is my fault, i tried to modify the graphics bios.

The whitelisting did not make the system refuse to boot initially but maybe it caused the card to stay in low power clocks.

 

Ok,I have the tools needed,now.I will have a try

 

Can you modify the Dell Studio 1558 BIOS?

Link: ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/bios/R284826.exe

Personally, I'm just interested in the unlocked menus, not overclocking the video (though others might be). Can you also see if there is a "HDD Delay" or similar option available? Some 1558's (depending on CPU) are problematic with Crucial C300 SSDs, sometimes not detecting the drive (a control-alt-delete will usually detect it).

Thanks!

 

@Terry,

I'll look into it. The modified BIOS image will be ready soon.

 

Great, thanks!

 

I flashed mod bios vt 3 for acer 5739g , the proccesor replaced from p8600 , nothing changed in bios , i reflashed the bios , let the notebook cold with no battery and power, ...nothing happens about hidden menus and vt option in bios . I replaced again the p8600 with my old p7350 and brought back to the computer shop.Maybe the laptop is locked from acer and should buy a new with vt option.

 

That is strange. Please answer these important questions:-
- How do you flash BIOS on your notebook?
- Do you see "Numlock" option in "Main" section in BIOS menu?
- Please take a picture of the "Main" section in BIOS menu & post it here. For the picture, please use this html code:-

HTML:

[URL='url-of-the-picture'][img]url-of-the-picture[/img][/URL]

* Change url-of-the-picture to correct URL of the picture.

 

Thanks for your reply.
1) i flashet your rom files with winplash (i replaced 2 files in official folder of bios with yours)
2) Num lock is not pressent in bios that i flashed 3310 vt3
3) wait for a minute to post the screen shot

 

What you did here is actually flashing BIOS with original BIOS file. Why? Let me guess. You put the modified BIOS files in the " ROM" folder. Then you run " ZK63310W.EXE" in windows to flash your notebook's BIOS. When you run " ZK63310W.EXE", you actually flashing BIOS with original BIOS file. The original BIOS is integrated in the " ZK63310W.EXE" file. It didn't read the modified BIOS files in the " ROM" folder at all.

The correct way to flash BIOS on your notebook is flashing it in DOS mode using " phlash16.exe" tool. Please go to first post to learn how to create DOS USB bootable drive & to get " phlash16.exe" tool. The correct modified BIOS file is the one with .WPH extension.

I have emailed you. I still didn't get any response from you.

 

Hi,

I corrupted my bios with a bad flash update via Windows 7 64.
I have an Acer 7741G is like the 7740G but with a 17'' screen. I read all in the first post and also download AS7740G from your post link and makde the recovery pendrive. The issue is the start up procedure my light never flash orange neither pressing fn+esc before connect the ac cable or after and so the pendrive never blink. Is there an hardware block on this model?

Thanks in advanced

 

i replaced again the proccesor , the seller ......???? ha ha

 

This is modified BIOS image for Dell Studio 1558. It is based on BIOS A11.
Dell Studio 1558 A11 MOD.rar

( Update 11 April 2011)
New modified BIOS image based on BIOS A12: Dell Studio 1558 A12 MOD.rar
( MD5: F750DD07BECBD282DEF464CB46F40AFB)

Some of the unlocked options:-
- Clarksfield (QPI & memory) sub-menu
- Fan trip point options

Regarding the "HDD Delay" option, try look in the " PCH Control Sub-Menu". Find the "SATA" sub-menu & see whether such option or similar available in it. EDIT: Try enable "Hot-Plug", maybe it will make the SATA port detect the SSD faster.

Please make sure your notebook can recover corrupted BIOS with CRISIS disk before flashing BIOS with this modified BIOS image. I will not responsible for any problem. Good luck.

 

i try to flash with phlash16.exe /x /s /mode=3 ZK6_3310.WPH with bootable usb flash drive and when phlash starts say that bios file maybe corrupt do you want to continue and make a beep , i press n . What i can do (versios is acer 5739g vt 3 mos . (i place one file in my usb only wph right?

 

Just ignore the the light flashing/blinking. Follow the procedure carefully. If it is similar with AS7740G, the recovery procedure should be the "2nd version" at the first post. If the power button doesn't flashes, just count 1 2 3 & press the power button. Then count 1 to 10 & then release the Fn + Esc button. Let it run for 15 minutes. Do not interrupt it even though you didn't see any activity.

Did you try:-
phlash16.exe /x /s ZK6_3310.WPH

 

yes but says at the begin that the file maybe is corrupted press y/n to continue and a press n because of afraid the brick! Have you a idea what happens?

 

I don't know. The BIOS image is properly re-build. If you're afraid to brick your computer, do not flash it. The modified BIOS image checksum should be (CRC-32) 20C33118.

 

Thanks again! I installed it on the 2 identical 1558's (see my sig) and it works fine. I'll experiment with the SATA control stuff later on.

I did notice a few oddities in the unlocked menus. Presumably these are just errors in the original Phoenix code that never showed up because the menus were hidden. But I figured I'd report them anyway:

1) The "LPC Control Sub-menu" of "CPU Control Sub-menu" has no items in it. I assume this is just because that section wasn't relevant to the 1558 when they built the BIOS, but thought I'd ask.
2) The "Clarksfield MRC/QPI" menu has "Clarksfield" mis-spelled "Clsrksfield" on one of the lines.
3) A number of the help text messages in the right-side panel wrap over into the left-side panel due to line lengths greater than are available in the right-side panel.

Anyway, the systems seem to be working fine (I did a brief test on each after the update). Thanks again!

Oh, and I'll be sending you a PM about something I can give you which may help your future mod work and tweaking.

 

It doesn't work yet, are there some technical issue regarding the usb pen drive? I wait 30 min and the notebook never restart automatically, so I push the power button and restart without the pen drive, but is still the same.

 

YES thank you kizman!!!! , the mistake was the phlash16 which i download. The only that works is in the crisis files!

 

1) "LPC Control Sub-Menu" on my 1557 also doesn't contain anything. I'll check further on this later. It probably doesn't link to any options at all. Other options in "CPU Control Sub-Menu" does visible right? e.g. VT-d, Speedstep, Turbo Mode, etc.
2) That is original string, I don't want to correct it because it will only make something else not working if not done carefully.
3) Yeah, I experience the same thing, I believe it is help item for Speedstep. I can't correct it because of the same reason I mentioned above.

Please try again the same procedure but this time, after releasing Fn + Esc key, press the right button at the touchpad one time & wait for 15 minutes.

 

Thanks kizwan for the updates of the modded bios. It is very useful for me that using Acer Laptap with Phoenix at rv rentals arizona.

 

I was thinking to ask you about the which version of phlash16.exe did you use. However I got distracted or forgot somehow. Anyway good to hear you have successfully flashed BIOS with the modified BIOS image.

May I know which modified BIOS image did you use?

 

Hi guys.
Been making alot of research lately on how to recover a faulty bios. Been reading alot here and there, but nothing seems to be helping.

My problem (i have an acer 5740g i7 )
-Updated my bios to ver 1.22 on windows. It took a wile more than normal but ended ok, and so i rebooted.
-The notebook does nothing now.

What i tried:
Various crisis disks using a usb flash drive - no success
-My USB arent being acessed by the pc; usb flah drives leds dont light up BUT the usb's have energy since i can, for example, recharge my phone there.
-Wanted to know if it should work using a usb floppy drive (how will a 4MB fit in there??)
-Tried various keys combinations to get it working (fn+esc, win+b and do on...) - nothing helps.
-Tried using CD's (boot cd, floppy emulated cd, with phalsh programs, tried all BIOS versions); it reads the cd alot, but does nothing;
--->Using any of those mentioned get's my laptop to autoreboot passed 40sec or so.

What i'm thinking next:
-Buying a BIOS chip on ebay (the sellers program it with the bios i want) and replace mine. Some guy on these forums did it and worked.
Related to this, my questions are:
-Is the bios chip soldered on 5740g? (couldnt find any info)
-Can somebody put a disassembly guide on Aspire 5740g?

Why i'm asking this here?
I'm desperate. I got presentations to do, im farm from any1 i know that can borrow me a pc and on top of that Acer support doesnt do a thing because it's my responsability when updating a BIOS blah blah

Any help is wellcome

 

Hi papeles,

I'm surprise you can't recover your Aspire 5740G with CRISIS disk. This is because sustmi was able to recovered his Aspire 5740G using CRISIS disk. The combination key is confirmed Fn + Esc for Acer notebooks. I'll PM you the link to service manual for Aspire 5740 series notebook later since forum rules doesn't allow me to share it publicly here. I strongly believe the BIOS chip is soldered.

Please answer this important question/request:-
1) Please list down the procedure you take in detail when you attempt to recover BIOS earlier. This include where you created the CRISIS disk, in Windows 7 or XP.
2) How long did you wait?
3) Please list down the size of the USB flash drive & it's brand.
4) Did you hear any beeps sound when attempting to recover corrupted BIOS?
5) Did you format the USB flash drive to FAT?


EDIT: I can't PM you. Can you allow me to email you? You'll need to configure it in your control panel - allow "Receive email from another members".

 

Let me just start by saying that the way you answer, despite being helpfull or not, is already conforting.

1- Downloaded several crisis disks (specially those for the 5740g, some listed here on first post, some other from the thread "enable swichable graphics on 5740g") and extracted it (using winrar)
Formated the flash drive on FAT
Downloaded Acer bios (tried 1.10, 1.16 and 1.22 - I'm pretty much sure my first bios was 1.09)
Renamed the JVxxx.WPH (From acer bios to BIOS.WPH) and copied it to crisis disk folder (later i tried the jvxxx.ROM also)
Ran wincris.exe as an administrator (both on win7 x64 and x86)
All options on default and then clicked to make the disk
It copied 3 files to my flashdrive: phlash.exe minidos and bios.wph

Acer laptop without energy (no batt no cord)
Plugged in usb flash (tried all 4 usb's on the pc)
Pressed Fn+ESC and wile doing that plugged in the cord and hit the power button
After a bit (5sec) left Fn+ESC keys (later i tried different key combos)
Passed 30-40sec laptop autoreboots (without reading usb flash drive - leds didnt blink even once)
-->tried doing same with and without battery on, same thing happens

2-Waiting time:
-on releasing the Fn+ESC after powering laptop on: tried from 1sec up to 15 sec;
-on waiting to see if he actually does something: he always selfreboots after 30+ seconds. After that tried letting it be (for 30min at least) and didnt work. Also tried hitting fn+esc when it autoreboots: didnt work.

3-USb disks used:
-JetFlash Transcend 4GB
- I-Stick IntelligentStick 128MB
- Kingston DataTraveler G2 8GB

4-Signs on life:
No beeps
No computer or usb leds flashing/blinking
No image
Things working:
Fan (low noise and air flow, but it's working)
CD/DVD drive - the laptop always reads a cd, if there is one, as if it was looking for something (thats why i also tried boot cd's, floppy emulated cd's etc..)

5-Formating
Yes i did but i also realized (fost time i used it) that wincris.exe formats your usb disk anyways


Again: thanks for your help

Edit:
contacts: [email protected] (email and msn-messenger contact)
Also enabled recieving mail from others

 

Hi papeles,

I just emailed you the link to service manual.

Can you try recover it using CRISIS disk one more time? This time try these:-
- If possible use Kingston 2GB
- If possible create CRISIS disk in Windows XP (recommended)
- When WINCRIS ask to format your USB flash drive, try select FAT32

Please let me know how it goes. Good luck.

 

I will. The only problem will still be that my acer laptop doesnt acess the usb disks ;x

That's why i asked how on earth will i fit a 4mb bios file on a floppy disk (assuming this works and i buy one)

 

Hello kizwan,

I am from Germany.
I can not be your language and writing is not particularly good.
I want to thank you very much for your commitment here.

My notebook is the Acer Aspire 8942G-434G50Mnbk i5 450M CPU with 2.4 GHz.


Your bios mod does my laptop not able to complete:



Initially give the faulty BIOS 3212 was standard on my notebook.
With this, there was not the above error, but the Ram was not recognized correctly.
With bios 3212 I can only use 3.93 GB of 8 GB Ram!
Bios 3109 will be 8GB but fully utilized, but there is then the above error.

Here are the original bios file 3109 and the 3212

Can you help me please?

Thank you and greetings from Germany

 

It doesn't work yet, I recorded a video so you can check what's wrong.
YouTube - Recovery Bios
Thanks

 

When I recovered my Dell a while ago (earlier last year), there is no activity at all on my Kingston 2GB flash drive but BIOS recovery was successful. So, even though there is no activity at all, it doesn't mean your notebook doesn't accessing your USB flash drive at all. Maybe it tried but failed - maybe this is why it automatically restart just after +30 seconds. That is why I ask you to try format it to FAT32 if possible when creating the CRISIS disk using WINCRIS.

It won't fit in floppy disk, there is no way to fit it. Even WINCRIS can't compressed the BIOS file to fit it in a floppy disk.

I saw power button light turn off & on again. Does the battery plugged in? If not, please plugged it in. Please try again. This time after pressing the power button, count 1 to 5 (seconds) & release the Fn + Esc key.

Yeah, this is because lack of microcode update support for your i5-450M. I can add CPU microcode update to BIOS 3109 for i5-450M but right now it is still experimental. If you want I can prepare a modified BIOS (3109) for you. At your own risk of course.

 

Really?
You're the best!!

 

Ditto on a Studio 1558 A11 BIOS mod.

OP request here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/420768-dell-studio-1557-a-172.html

 

So far, nothing working. The laptop keeps restarting after 30seconds.

I'm almost sure i'm missing some little detail here, but i dont know what.

Some things:

-You asked me to try to format as FAT32, but none of the crisis disks i made so far have that option. They simply format it FAT and thats it.
For that, i'm making a crisis disk and then copying the 3 files to another pre-formated (FAT32) usb flash drive.

-As for the laptop manual you mail me, i apreciate it alot.

One little detail there is that it says i have to copy a certail *.FD file for the usb disk (in order to upgrade a bios, not recover it). Where do i get it?

 

Already done and posted earlier in this thread here.

 

To Dell Studio & XPS with modified BIOS:-
- The help text (Item Help section on the right column) in BIOS menu can be annoying a little bit. Sorry because so far I don't have any solution to it yet. I'm afraid we have to accept it as it is for now - the extra option that matters.
- I just found out that when VT-d is enabled (for Dell notebooks with capable CPU), I can't boot to external USB flash drive. However, I only tested it with DOS USB flash drive. So, if you enabled VT-d & can't boot to external USB flash drive, the solution is to disabled VT-d. It is not the USB flash drive or USB port that broken/faulty.

Yes, CRISIS disk should be formatted to FAT. I suggest you to format to FAT32 earlier just in case it will accept it.

*.FD is an extensions use by Insyde BIOS. The information in service manual sometime can be a bit inaccurate.

I don't have any other idea to give to you except try get a Kingston 2GB & create CRISIS disk in Windows XP. And try every USB port. You can try use CD-ROM. Burn BIOS.WPH & latest PHLASH16.EXE you can get (refer to first post) to a blank CD-R or CD-RW (try both).

 

Dear Kizwan first of all thanks, I try after 5 sec as you say but there's always the same routine: the power light blink for two time and the after 15 min nothing happens. The battery pack is connected as read in the first post.
Here is the video:
YouTube - After 5 second

 

If you turn ON your notebook without pressing the Fn + Esc key, does it behave the same (power button light off & on again)? If yes (just guessing here), only start hold the Fn + Esc key when the power button light off. After 10 seconds the power button light on again, release the Fn + Esc key. (Sorry, now I just guessing since the power button behavior look it does something in the background)

Also make sure the PHLASH16.EXE is the latest version from the first post of this thread. I have to sleep now. See you after 8 hours.

 

No, the light stay steady. That routine happens only with the fn+esc combo.
I made the pendrive recovery with the 7740G pack now I try with the last Phlash from the first post.

 

share results after. I'm kinda having the same problems as you (more or less) and nothing seems to help out.

Such a good laptop, can't let it die like this