The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    hi, need help flashing M15x bio, stuck at flashing EC

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by bltcool, Dec 11, 2009.

  1. bltcool

    bltcool Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    hi, i hope someone can help me, today i decided to update my M15x bio, it went well untill it ask me if i want to flash the EC. i keep typing Y but it keep saying bad command or filename and im scare to turn off my laptop right now....so i hope someone can give me and idea or solution on how to get out of this situation
     
  2. 5150Joker

    5150Joker Tech|Inferno

    Reputations:
    4,974
    Messages:
    7,036
    Likes Received:
    113
    Trophy Points:
    231
    It's probably already flashed to the new EC. Did you check the bios yet?
     
  3. tangtang2002

    tangtang2002 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    163
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I had the same problem as yours, trying to flash EC but system says bad command or filename. Just turn off your system, cause it's in dos now, and it's perfectly safe to turn it off. Then flash the EC again, it will do the job!
     
  4. Messiah2k1

    Messiah2k1 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Pretty simple. Due to whatever reason the Flash Utility has already quit.

    Type:
    DFLASH EC_W670.096

    Greetings
     
  5. lgsshedden

    lgsshedden Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    299
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    31
    thank you, same situation happened to me and I din't know what DOS command would activate the flash -- much appreciated
    just reflashed bios first, ec flash got hung up as before, typed in the DOS command above and it kicked into gear, flashes and turns off. Re-boot and all is updated.
     
  6. bltcool

    bltcool Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    thankyou so much, that command works
     
  7. Roxy

    Roxy Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    177
    Messages:
    338
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Um, I also stumbled into the problem mentioned above.
    First of all... what the heck does EC stands for ( yeah dumb question )
    Secondly, is it safe to re-flash the bios like lgs mentioned? re-flashing the bios mean running the iso file again, right?

    This thread is kinda confusing to me, cause when I checked the bios version, it says AO2 for me even though all i did was restart the computer when it was stuck at the command prompt. Do I need to flash the bios again and enter the DFLASH EC_W670.096 command
    ?
     
  8. electrosoft

    electrosoft Perpetualist Matrixist

    Reputations:
    2,771
    Messages:
    4,117
    Likes Received:
    3,979
    Trophy Points:
    331
    Yeah, same here. The EC wouldn't flash.

    Quick scan of the contents and locate the .bat files.

    type filename.bat shows the contents of the batch directives

    Then just manually type it in as Messiah described above.

    You don't need to reflash the BIOS as that completes successfully.

    You don't even need to reboot.

    After the BIOS is flashed and you get the error for EC Firmware update, just type:

    dflash ec_w670.096 (Note: DOS is not case sensitive for command line directives)

    The problem is the second line of the batch file which is used to auto flash the EC firmware (control strip, buttons, etc...)

    Most likely a control character is in there somewhere accidentally causing the error on execution.
     
  9. nodeffect

    nodeffect Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    88
    Messages:
    318
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    You can try to boot by making your own bootable flash drive and type manually:

    phlash16 W6702M.A02 /mode=3 /bbl /c /s /exit

    then

    dflash EC_W670.096

    the FA.bat file has some error I think. I can't find out the real reason since I'm not using the M15x.
     
  10. Avengement

    Avengement Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    294
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Hi guys, I just did what everyone said in this thread and now I think I lost my video card driver? because the display went to 800x600 and I got the popup saying that the standard vga adapter was being installed. Is this suppsoed to happen?

    UPDATE: I did a quick restard and am back to my native resolution, but I still don't know why my drivers were potentially removed. I was using the beta nvidia ones but I don't know how to tell if they're different now. It says driver version 8.17.11.9562. Is there any way to check to see if I'm using the Beta 195.62 drivers still? Or is that what the 9562 in the driver version on my 260M Device manager properties means. Thanks for the clarification.
     
  11. HisSvt2

    HisSvt2 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    228
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Your answer is right there 8.17.1 1.9562 there drivers are always listed that way
     
  12. Aikimox

    Aikimox Weihenstephaner!

    Reputations:
    5,955
    Messages:
    10,196
    Likes Received:
    91
    Trophy Points:
    466
    EC stands for Embedded Controller.
    It's safe to re-flash the BIOS, but you don't need to.
     
  13. Isaac252

    Isaac252 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    32
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Haha, same thing happened to me cus my dad said I should update all the drivers and the bios and w/e. So I start doing it and it gets stuck there and i'm like oh (crap) oh (crap) oh (crap) and I call him up and I'm like zomg what do I do???? He's like you break it alredy? Well just turn it off and hope to god it comes back on. So xD ya scary stuff but it all worked out in the end.
     
  14. bltcool

    bltcool Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    lol almost the same happen to me, i was updating it and my mom was sitting there, and when she saw my face when i got stuck she was like "wow, nice first experiment with ur lappy and u already broke it"......so i freak out and went on my desktop and shoot this forum a thread calling for help lol
     
  15. Isaac252

    Isaac252 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    32
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Ya I was just like well ok if it does bork then I'll use the warranty xD after I just got it.

    And lol your name looks like Bit not blt