M17X R4 No Power but 7 Beeps

Hi there , i'm here to ask for your help with my M17X R4 not powering on at all ( No fans / no Lights , nothing ... ) but beeping 7 times . ( btw already tried to put off everything , change cpu by another or reset CMOS , still 7 beeps even without ram inside )
As far as i know , it seems to be a bad bios or EC ? ( i don't know exactly how it happened , bought it not working )
I tried to flash with ch341a ( U48 for bios , U36 for EC ) by taking t456 binary files , Bios went well it seems , but when trying to Flash EC , i'm having a warning : " file length beyond range of will be ignored " . I flashed it this way and by trying other binaries i found ( motherboard LA-8341P A00 ) , but still no sign of life but 7 beeps ...
Any help guys ?
Many thanks

 

Had to do this procedure due to a messed up BIOS update/downgrade when playing around with a m17x r4.
The BIOS chip will let you write, but the EC chip (u36) wont. You'd have to desolder it, write it and resolder it again, that should work (did for me).

 

Thanks but i can read and write EC , no problem at all . I found ec.bin searching LA-8341P on google that was 128k ( cause t456 ones are 1024kb = file length blabla , and my chip is Winbond W25X10 128k / 1Mbit , that's what is written in the program ) and this time no file lenght... wrote it but still 7 beeps.
No lights / fans on your laptop too ?

 

I'd say it wouldn't save your data as long as it's on the board

I had used the exact same files from the above location (t456...) with the same error message, and was successful.

The m17x r4 I had played around with, was completely dead, no signs of life at all. And now it's living and running again.

 

Ok i understand , but What's wrong on the board as when i read the chip after writing it , it reads ok .
I tested to check if it really writes by erasing chip and trying to boot computer = no boot at all , not even the 7 beeps si i guess it's writing ok no ?

 

As I had found out, with a helpful person from a German forum who had knowledge of electrical circuits, the EC starts to communicate as soon as you attach the clip (it gets powered instantly). This prevents it from saving the data a 100% correctly.

You could also double check this by writing, then reading the chip 2x (give different names, eg: test1, test2 for example, and then hex-compare these 2 files with each other).

 

Ok thanks i will dig this way then . Is it hard to desolder ?

 

I can't exactly say that, as I had bought a new chip then, written it with the data, and let the pros in a IT shop do the soldering work, that cost me about 10€ + 5 tip, so shouldn't be that hard I think, but I wanted to be safe.

 

I just took chip off . Looking to buy a new one , which one did you buy and where please ? Mine is Winbond W25X10 , what about yours ?

 

I had bought this one: the mx25l1005 from eBay: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.fr/ulk/itm/152903635509


But when you've already desoldered yours, you could just try to write and solder it back again. Normally the chip is not defective it's just being hindered to save correctly when on the board, that's from my understanding (but I'm not a pro).

 

I wrote it ( when outside ) with t456 file , solder back , still 7 beeps ...
Then took it off again , and broke it by mistake xD
Why do i have a winbond w25x10 , everywhere i check i see the same as yours ( mx25l1005 ) ?

 

And one last question , how do i know the side to put it on the ch341a and then on the board please ?
Many thanks
Btw ordered 2pcs on the link you sent me ( he's in France so i am xD )

 

Maybe because of different board revisions or so.


Pin 1 is marked everywhere: on the chip there's a little a dot, the red line of ch341a is pin 1 and on the board there must be a little arrow for pin 1.
See picture for example on the chip.


And yes, you have to be veeery careful, that's why I didn't do that soldering part myself

 

I dont see any arrow on the motherboard . Can you tell me the side you put yours if you remember please ?

 

I had done some photos but I think I have deleted them all. I have a spare board smwhere, can check tomorrow evening or Wednesday.

 

Ok thanks =)

 

Here you go, the pin 1 is the one on the upper left side.

 

Thank you very much !
But i think my motherboard is out now ... Programmed chip , put it on the board , no life ... tried to put it off then and ... broke a pin on the pcb ( no copper anymore ) . Don't know how to repair this kind of problem. I guess i need a new one ...
Big thanks to you anyway =)