i need urgent help Any oof you Guys are good at component level on M17xR2

I was trying to rollback bios from A10 to A09 on my M17xr2 had an accident of power failure, now my system has no power at all , battery is fully charged, charger is working but nothing work on my laptop i have done power drain as well as cmos battery disconnection, pull apart the system and put them back on again, nothing comes up , no LED , no light, no fan operation , have i damaged the bios? do i need to change the bios chip, anyone knows where the bios chip is ? please help.

 

Hey, Sorry to hear that.
Give this a try if you have another PC that you can borrow for a few moments.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/404987-how-recover-bad-bios-flash.html

 

Sorry to hear that too. You cannot change the BIOS chip. This is one of the worst things happening that I can think of. Can I ask how you lost both AC and battery power during the flash?

 

Thanks Deathcore, i can not start the system at all to be able to take procedures indicated in your link , as i mentioned i have done ordinary steps to solve the issues but i do no if there is a way of Jumper setting or any sort of short circuit to get the blockage away and let the power run to the system not going to have power back on . my understanding is if i can get the power back into system then in can follow link you have provided as is great actually.

 

The later BIOS versions may not be recoverable by the "crisdisk" approach, amirau, unfortunately. Try it, but I think it's very likely that you will need to arrange for Dell to get you a new motherboard. The BIOS chip is soldered directly, so you can't replace it alone. But take heart, because though the system may be dormant for now, it is very fixable.

 

Thanks TurbodTalon, I know is going to be hard but not harder than Not having warranty i bought this system in an online auction , all worked perfectly till i upgrade the bios and did not like the A10 bios and wanted to to rollback to A09. in other hand can not even find mother-board for this Crazy R2 well i found one and he is asking $799 .
i have purchased some basic tolls to change Bios chip , but as i am not very good as component level , since now have found 4 Micro controller some how related to each others and marked on the system . see what happen the rollback was fine but system freeze on shutdown non of key on keyboard were functional and fan was running at full speed as well as all LEDs where on . i left room and my brother thought system overheats and gone crazy so he could not see the taskbar . could not shout it down by power bottom and he tried pull the battery and then power cord of the wall socket . when i got back was too late .

 

Yikes! Well, I'm sure you won't blame your brother, but this is exactly why I do all software installations, OS wipes, and anything else that is delicate alone, in a quiet room, and I fiercely defend the peace and time I need to do it right. I suppose in theory you *might* be able to de-solder the chip and replace it (I have heard of that being done before) but I'm not sure. I admire your courage if you go that route!

 

that sucks man =(

http://forum.notebookreview.com/wan.../554735-intrest-check-m17x-r2-mb-gtx460m.html

 

I need serious help to solve the common problem might happen to all of us, when system seems to be dead after bad bios flash.
i can guess only bios chip goes bad in this situation but can not locate the bios chip or better say i locate one chip marked C8051f34T with 32 legs and 3 other chip also marked with 8 legs, please whom can help let put our head together and find solution , i am ready to put my board in practice for all and also ready to purchase component we might need to be changed and sound logic.
Thanks all

VoiceInTheWilderness totally agreed with you that is the why i came to you guys to get some component level advice and make sure which chip need to be changed or might need to change 2 or 3 chip at the same time. i heard someone said R2 are little secretive and 1 chip not going to solve the absence of power showing in the system . i am ready to go hard and put this board into real challenge. i know is the bios firmware no any short circuit or any other damage to the board at least problem narrowed down to the bios as the system was perfectly functional before this downgrade cheers mate

 

Did you try a bios recovery:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-your-phoenix-bios-bios-recovery-methods.html

 

Well, I would perhaps try the "crisdisk" approach first, and in the likely event that it does not succeed, then you can Frankenstein your motherboard in full view of all us Alien masters. I'll bet those are surface mount components, so you would need one of those super-thin soldering irons, and you will need some excellent de-soldering gauze and stuff like that. Good luck, and please take photos!

EDIT: Wait! Before you get out the chainsaws and sledgehammers, I don't know exactly how Dell would handle this, but might it be better to have an exchange part for the tech?

 

Moral hazard no i did not because there in no power running into system , bios recovery link showing in posts might be applicable if power back to the system. i know all parts up to the main board are working , i have other R2 also and when only change the main board everything is OK so i can say all cables, ribbons, adapter, battery and cards are functional except the mainboard itself.

VoiceInTheWilderness no use of bios recovery as i have no power running into system at all . i need power back on before be able to use that method . i have the rework station tools such as hot air, flux and desoldering iron. i past i was in TV repair field and have some knowledge of soldering and surface mount component removal and replacement. i need Expertise in area on M17xR2 to put our head together and solve this common issues .
cheers mate

 

well if you can't power up, then hopefully you can locate the chip and replace it.

There have been some folks who have obtained schematics for some dell laptops, hopefully you can as well.

But it maybe easier in the end to just replace the motherboard.

Last did you check on Dells site with the service tag to confirm if the warranty is expired ?

just a shot in the dark, have you tried resetting the CMOS - remove the backup battery for a few min, and try to see if you can power up.

 

Dave-p is the chip need to replace is the c8051f34T ? locating next to the Bluetooth slot ? if you have any link of schematic please help me with that, this is the first thing i need and did many search and could not locate at all. thanks

 

I can find any info on that chip it could be a proprietary chip

 

Yes i have done that also . interesting thing is when i connect the keyboard ribbons to the board i also hear the High pitch frequency from left side of the system, the high pitch noise some also call it as annoying faulty transistors or crystal but. some how there is blockage to the power button and won't lest the system start up

 

these folks may be able to get you a schematic

Clevo, AJP, Alienware, Baycom, Gericom, Fosa, Prostar, sager, mesh, Pico, iridium, kts, disassembly parts guides, and full service manuals

they have a link on that page to send a request for info on any laptop model

also there are places (on Ebay for example) that do motherboard repairs they maybe able to recover the bad flash - worth asking

 

Thanks Dave, check this link C8051F340-TB Silicon Labs MCU, MPU & DSP Development Tools

also showing the documentation for these chip series . i little over my head and could not conclude thst is this the bios or not
cheers

 

that is not a CMOS chip

 

i have no warranty on this item, bought it of eBay auction as second and it was perfect before i mess with it

there are few chips marked,
first the one i mentioned above , then other one is SST 25vf0328 . other one is SST 25LF020A both are 8 lrgs chip also there is another on numbered ICS VS31850L with 32 pins

also there is another on numbered ICS VS31850L with 32 pins

 

8legs is normal for a bios EEPROM I think.

 

you can try blind flash using crysis recovery. I would not recommend messing with the cmos chip, one of mine had the exact same issue, a failed bio's flash, I had a tech pro who switch out cmos chips as a business look at it, he said its not feesable to swap it, in fact he mapped out the entire motherboard and could not even locate it and concluded that the chip must have been built into the board itself.

If all else fails, ebay a motherboard, a r2 motherboard is roughly 300 usd on ebay.

 

I would suggest follow the Bios guide. It pritty easy. Your laptop might be a Brick. But once you put the flash drive on and hold the start button. The computer will boot up after 15 20 seconds and the bios will install.

Like the others unsure going back will fix the issue. Best idea. Download the Bios rev 10. Follow the instructions.

 

AtolSammek, there is no power into system at all, to make the system boot from anywhere first i need to get the power activated then i promise i will follow the Bios Guid . Thanks

Thanks idofgrahf, not sure but i guess even built into board need a micro controller to control that section or sort of jumper to hard reset , for some reason can not accept the alienware going to put all into the board without any backdoor, if you have seen they also place a little switch to power up the system without even connecting the powerboard, how can they be so dumb to design board without backdoor to the bios that can not be

yes but i want to be sure which one the the bios chip then i can pull it out and perhaps replace it , there was a trick on Latitude to clear up the bios admin password, by shorting the pin 3 and 6 few times and password was cleared up, i was reading somewhere that these SST chip are similar and can be cleared up by shoring 2 pins , but don't know is this better say these as there are 2 of them bios chip and why 2 and many many question, unfortunately i am new (2 days old) in this froum and don't know many guys i'll wait see if a genius turn up i am ready to take risk as long as some one sounds knowledgeable forward a pattern to investigate.

 

Try removing:

1. the power cord
2. system battery
3. the CMOS battery(next to the CPU fan)

now press the on/off button for ~20seconds
plug the power cord back and the CMOS battery and see if you can get juice into the laptop now.

 

No luck , nothing comes up.

 

You may wanna check out this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/404987-how-recover-bad-bios-flash.html as it may be of use. Could help you get back up and running after your bad Bios flash with a bit of luck!

 

Thanks, but there is no power among the system at the moment , i need to get system light up first then i do this recovery

anyone knows where is the Bios Chip in M17XR2 ? CMOS chip

 

Ok then.
Plug your USB key with the BIOS on it (USB port on the left side or eSATA port)
Unplug the power sources (battery + power cord)
Press the Fn+B keys AT THE SAME TIME and plug the power cord,keep the two keys pressed till the leds of the alienhead turn on.
The BIOS should flash (in about 10minutes) and your system should restart and you should be fine.

cheers

 

nothing happens , still no power up at all, system does not power up , there must be a controller to block power up the system, perhaps a jumper setting is a solution but don't know is there any or or not ?

 

Are you sure you correctly assembled everything?
The LCD cable can be a surprise sometimes might want to double check,you can't loose anything now.

 

why do you need it ?

 

he has a few threads open, apparently a bad BIOS flash.
@amirau2000 please post in only one of them so we will avoid cross posting.

 

Also touchpad/mouse cable if even slightly loose or not lined up properly will cause system to not power up. Check LCD cables and Power button panel ribbon cable. If it was a bad bios flash it should still power on and just keep rebooting so sounds like maybe one of the ribbon cables are not seated properly. Worth a shot to disassemble and reassemble before ripping out a CMOS chip

 

100% everything is in place, i also have another system when only change the mainboard all are working but bios on this board is bricked

i agree with you , but this system was working perfectly before Bad bios flash. system froze and when my brother try to be nice and pull power out of wall socket everything gone black, no power at all now, i have done all sort of power drain, , cmos battery disconnect and all common used solution, but guess bios is gone bad, i found a clip on youtube on an ACER it was exactly like mine after bios change all back on , but on this machine i don't even find the bios chip

i need to get it changed as i killed it due a bad flash , and now get no power at all to the system, i have done all basic recovery and power drain . now i think even i need hot HARD RESET or change the Bios Chip, but don't know which one is it i found 3 chip marked SST .......

 

For others who may have missed the cross-posting (Batboy will probably close a thread soon): Amirau is going to attempt to de-solder and change his BIOS chip physically, as his system is bricked anyway. He's doing it for posterity's sake, as he knows that if it fails he'll have to get a new motherboard anyway. I requested that he take photos as he goes. I myself don't know where the BIOS chip(s) is on the board, so I'll just stand by and watch...

 

if you ever get to finding it(i don't have a m17x r2 motherboard) it should be a simple soldering action.

 

correct VoiceInTheWilderness, i am ready to risk this board and go as much as we can to see where is the problem and can we get it fix all together,

 

Just a few quick questions, Why do you want to swap the Bios chip?

Are you taking it from an identical donor board? If so, Why not swap the whole thing.
If you're going to look for a replacement one to solder on, You still have the problem of it being blank unless you have a programmer sitting around.

Not to mention unless you have the correct equipment or are VERY good with a soldering iron it would be very very hard to get off without pulling up pads/traces, The IC will most likely be PLCC package or a variant thereof rather than TSSOP/SSOP/etc adding to the complexity of taking it off with a normal soldering iron.

EDIT - I do this kind of thing for a living and just wanted to add, It is VERY easy to break things further, I've seen others do it multiple times and I've done it multiple times, Explore ALL other ways of fixing it, before you even think about attempting this without the correct equipment/knowhow.

EDIT EDIT - I very much doubt it would have damaged the BIOS chip flashing it incorrectly and it won't have damaged other chips around it, So you shouldn't need to worry about changing multiple chips, Like i said, before going crazy changing chips, explore any and every other route.

 

i looked all over it and there isnt a chip that stands out as the bios chip, but in my experence if you actually damaged the bios chip to where it needs to be replaced, then you likely damaged other things on the board such as the voltage regulator and surrounding capacitors. its very unlikely that even if you are successful at replacing the bios chip that your system will come back to life. there is also a hard reset button on the board, on the cpu side right be low the lcd connector on the edge, did you try that?

 

Deathcore I like the way you explore the problem and seems to me i need to listen to you very well , reason of changing Bios chip is the similarity i have seen on youtube to an ACER laptop, and the cause was also the same, i hope i could have explained the problem , while rollback the bios system froze on the last moment of restarting and well power cord was puled out by my brother after he tried to use power button to shutdown system and then what i have no is the results. when i connect power cord and the keyboard i hear high pitch on the left side of laptop . i also mesured V along the board and reading voltage also. it could be also LM358 chip as some section around that chip i am reading 18.5 V which i think is high and should not be that much. i am just guessing , i have done some repair in the past and have some Rework station ( NOT THE IR BGA just hot air and average tools, i think i am ok with soldering also beside i am going to get help from FLUX and self alignment as well , do you think you can help me with my problem to narrow down possible faulty part ? there in no sign of power up at the moment and i have done all common known power drain, disassembling and put back again. so what do you think i need to do ? cheers mate

hello again , well yes i have tried the switch you mentioned just above the Camera socket it did not do anything, i think that is the power button also if main power connection is not placed you alaso can turn on system from here. Now two question how much would you sell your board ?
2- where is exact place of chip ? can you upload any picture ?
Thanks mate

also just to remind my system is R2 with the part number 148MC

 

i don't know which chip is the correct bios chip. i will pm you with the info about the mb i have...

edit:

i think its the 32 pin chip to the right of the battery charging port.

 

Amairau, I'm sure you have already tried, but there are BIOS recovery methods out there. You just need to search and find one which will work. Also, since you are a new member, please review the forum rules. Once you have created a thread on an issue it is not necessary to create multiple new threads. Cross posting becomes confusing not just to you but also those who try to assist you as they may end up having to re-explain everything again.

Threads merged - best wishes... hoep you are able to recover the system.

Thanks to everyone for providing input to the OP. Having a dead system/serious system crisis sucks, we've all been there at one time or another.

 

Cool, Sounds like you could do well in regards to rework, You say you checked the voltage on the suspect LM358, If that voltage was read from pin 8 of it, then it's fine, The IC is stable up to 32VDC on a single rail power supply.

I'm not sure of what to do besides the recovery way mentioned above, I've only ever recovered BIOS' by in circuit programming it with an external programmer.

I have an R1 and as such i can't really say about what's under the hood of an R2.
Sorry

 

Thanks BatBoy, sorry about multiple Threads but only tried to make my issue specific and you are right i am new and sure i learn from you guys and hope i can fit firmly here among all of you. Thanks

i need to disassemble the unit again and do more readings you mean only pin 8 should shows max Voltage and how about other pins ? Thanks mate, soon i disassemble i will take high res pic and upload somewhere that all can access and use in future, Thanks

 

it's not a chip you can replace imho, best bet would be to replace the whole mobo.

 

Hello everyone,
My M17X-R2 just died during bad Bios Flash, i assume the voltage regulator might have been damaged, which part should i change ? I already done all the basic steps, such as hold power button while CMOS battery removed, also done the Bios Cris method , non worked , Thanks everyone

 

You tried everything from http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/404987-how-recover-bad-bios-flash.html?

If so, call Dell. You need a new motherboard.

 

I don't have warranty on my laptop, bought it on eBay

 

Wait...don't you have 2 or three other threads already on this subject?