Help! I bricked my G73 with vBIOS

all you need is teh tools i posted in a thread recently..


step1) downloadmy tools
step2) download ziddys original vbios
step3) boot in dos
step4) type nvflash "ziddys bios name" hit y after
step5) waitt and see if it works I did the same thing with my g71...its scary stuff eh

 

Hi eazy e, it's step 3 that is the problem. We can't tell if we are getting to a DOS boot, but as another approach, what are the "my tools" you speak of?

Thanks.

 

Man if it an't fix then don't break it sheesh so mad at you, where will your videos and extensive guides go to now lol. This is the fourth time this has happened to you! Man this machine just isn't reliable as i thought it was, look what happened to me, try to repaste it so the temps can get better and it gets fried won't boot!! Just RMA it and don't say anything about that, this is why i invest my money in having a second and even third gaming comp. Now not trying to be a naysayer either but sometimes playing around with these things too much will cost it to be dead. I hope you have a powerful desktop. But like USMC said each comp has its mind of its own.

 

Might sound dumb, but have you tried removing a stick or 2 of RAM and booting then?

 

After spending a couple more hours with premudriy on skype, we (he) went through many attempts to get a cd to autoexe with several switches to try and get around the blind spot, but no luck.

The VGA just acts dead, no light on the screen, no gpu fan running, like it's not even there.

We can turn the NumLock and CapsLock lights on and off though, so it doesn't seem to be freezing.

I'm not into lying to Asus and hoping for the best, I believe I will be upfront so I'm not wasting theirs or my time and deal with it. It may cost me a new card, idk.
Maybe I'll get lucky and can get a tech that has seen a corrupt vBIOS do this before and can tell me what is happening in the dark.

Wish me luck and thanks to everyone. I prob won't send it in (if I have to) right away, so if you have any life lines to throw, I'll be here at the bottom of the well waiting to get hit in the head by one

Again, major props to premudriy and everyone's help. Thank you.

Q

 

Try this:
1: keep the HDD out and remove the USB flash disk

2: put the CD/DVD back and use bootable CD instead

3: turn on the computer and press "ESC" key immediately for 2~3 times (once is good enough but in case you missed)

4: that should bring up the "select boot device screen", at this point, CD/DVD should be the only option since HDD and USB Flash disk was removed.

5: Press Enter key to see if CD drive starts to read the disk.

 

I must have missed this post , sorry.

Me too. I pulled it using RBE/WinFlash, made a couple copies, reopened and edited the 3D clock voltage to 1.05 and reflashed. The progress bar took, idk, around 7-10 seconds to get 3/4 of the way and then a small plain white popup box said "Fail".

First crash of any type since my gpu was replaced and everything working sweet. It got mixed up a little in a personal conversation, but I remember being froze because my only choice was to hold down PB for a few seconds (familiar). Coming back on, darkness.

I even shut down a few back apps that I don't when I install a game, just to avoid a crash. Warning heeded too late, but lesson learned for first unsuccessful winflash.

Totally not Asus's or ATi's fault here folks, let's fault me as I fired the gun. Anybody ever see a small white popup saying fail, maybe with punctuation, I could guess around 120-140 pixels square?

I'll keep the board informed, thanks.

Q

 

Thank you Ken, but we've done it.
From the very beginning premudriy and I have been under the impression that #4 would be the case. So many usb attempts with that very same logical structure by myself with NBR help. More usb and several bootable cd iso's later with premudriy doing a killer job to see if we can speak in the dark. We aren't sure that #4 is the case or that it is asking a question I can't see getting stuck in #3.
Early on I thought it was some kind of vga dos error keeping me from #4, but when I was told F1 would pass that, I hoped that pre step would be the answer, but it was well worked.

I'm still trying out the cd's. Everything from you is outstanding Ken, I'm all ears and thanks.

Q

 

Q:

If you cant navigate your bios screen, you are out of luck.

all you can do is remove ram sticks (hopefully one works) and try to get the bios screen up.

 

you know we're doing vBIOS right? sounds like you're thinking system BIOS

 

I'm not sure that step 3 and 4 really matter once all hard drives and USB devices are removed. The Disc drive is considered a bootable device and with the others removed it should move up to the P0 position. Without the other priorities there, the laptop would normally attempt to boot from the Disc drive automatically without further intervention. That is as long as something else isn't getting in the way.

You can see what I mean in my Clean Install guide. In there I talk about the boot priorities. If the Disc drive is moved up to P0 or if the other devices aren't there, as soon as the laptop is powered up with a bootable disc in the drive, it should directly boot from the bootable disc.

Edit: If you want to make it a three-way call on Skype send me a PM. Warning: I'm dead tired, but besides that I don't know how much help I can provide. I'll be around for another 30 or so.

 

I totally agree Kalim, I have been working with that logic also as I'm very familiar in drive removal and additions. It wasn't my idea to remove all other drives, but I dubbed the idea "pure gold" as I knew exactly why it was said, an elimination process. Should have thought of it myself, but this is what NBR is all about.

Imo after all the various attempts with the multitude of help, it really comes down to 2 things:

1) all of our experience on what should happen, isn't, because of something (pun intended) unseen. (BTW: Am I the first official G73JH vBIOS fubar on NBR? I think I was the first PSOD )

2) The flash isn't being done right.

With all the great clear minded help I've received here and my panic mode gone, I really have to lean towards #1.

Q

 

So we've come to the conclusion that either:
1: G73Jh won't do anything without a working GPU.
2: It got stuck at post screen with error message.


Let's assume it's #2 otherwise it'll be pointless to try all the troubleshooting.

From what I've seen in the past when it stuck post screen it should say press F1 to continue or F2 to enter BIOS (usually CPU uCode error).


So let's try this:
1: Turn on the computer and press F2 to enter BIOS.

2: press Left Arrow key once to go to Save & Exit tab

3: press Enter key once and Save configuration and Exit message will popup with "yes" as default.

4: Press Enter Key once again to get out of the BIOS.


This work for me with older Asus model that has old BIOS which doesn't support newer CPU, before I know this trick it always stuck at post screen, I had to install the old CPU and then flash the new BIOS and put the new CPU back.

No guarantee it'll work but doesn't hurt to try.

 

#1 is a nasty possibility by efforts so far, however, we can:
a) CTRL-ALT-DEL and behave what appears to be a reboot while already in a dos mode
b) Turn on/off the indicators for NumLock & CapsLock (cannot control any other blue lights, but they're on)
c) must power off by either holding PB for a few seconds or instantly upon hitting the reset button

#2 is a good probablity due to #1a, unknown and painfully enough, unseen error waiting for a proper response.

Tried it and no behavior difference, she's just about a one trick pony.

Thank you Ken.

Q

 

Never ever flash your vbios, bios in windows..

 

Is there any possibility that this rbe program did something to your bios under flashing proces Quag.?

 

It's a shame that it's 2010 and manufacturers don't include easy recovery mechanisms, especially since they are not hard at all to implement.

 

Sure, but RBE comes with plenty of warnings for using the windows enviroment to flash, they don't condemn it, just advise against it when possible.
With higher goals from reading about dkillzone, Xeven and ziddys findings, I decided to stick with what I know (i.e. windows enviroment over dos enviroment) and for the first time in a dozen or so flashes over the years, I rolled craps. Instead of loading someone elses vBIOS, I just wanted to try a small mod of mine.
While flashing in a windows enviroment is hazardous, it is not a death sentence, ziddy was using WinFlash.

Looking forward, I am sending my G73 bareboned to Ken@GenTechPC for some hands on mojo. It will certainly take any inexperience I may bring to the recovery process out of the equation. I'll keep the OP updated.

Thanks for your help.

As a user, I say rah-rah, where's my pitchfork. As someone who can put himself in anothers shoes, that's like FORD giving you a virtual mechanic with detailed how to's when you run your car into a ditch I'm sure there's a better metaphor, but you get me.

Q

 

This is weird, I went to sleep thinking about your issue. Before I fell asleep I thought why not treat this as a hardware change. I wake up, go over to the computer and what do I see? Ken talking about a hardware change.

Anytime I change any hardware I always like to go into the BIOS afterwards and just resave the settings whether it needs it or not. <strike>The only problem is, what Ken wrote won't get you to where you need to go since the ASUS G73JH BIOS is set up differently. Perhaps you knew this and you adopted accordingly when you tried it?</strike>

 

Nope, I can't say I remember the layout, I just try what the smarter people suggest . Are his steps off to get to where he wanted to go?

I have it packed and FedEx opens in 1.5hrs. Soon, any advice in the thread is to help via Ken, but if any miracles pop up b4 I go, I'll open her up.

I figure with 3 day started first thing today, I can get it to him for the weekend. I may go 2 day pending insured cost. I'm not sure when he will be able to work it.

Thanks for thinking of my problem Kalim

Q

 

I'm terribly sorry, I was still waking up and thought Ken wrote right cursor key. Which of course would have been incorrect. However, something in my head told me to review the instructions again and Ken is correct.

I think I'm going to go sit on the couch for awhile and try to wake up. These 3 hours of sleep a night are starting to get to me.

 

That "something" is that Ken is Ken and I myself figured he was speaking from a G73 in hand. He's human, but we know if we think he's wrong, we better double check ourselves I questioned something he wanted to try and I was educated.

The man was working on a USB bootable drive with a default G73 vBIOS shortly after my thread started. I think he wanted this challenge, hopefully I'm the stumbling block and he whips it up in 10 minutes.
My boo-boo should cost me some coin and I'm happy to send it Kens way for all he does along with the other fine resellers that help in this forum.

Sorry my issue is weighing you down Kalim , try to get some rest when you can

No prob bud, it was going to take a lot more for me to unpack it than what could have been with that. I believe it's best in his hands for a vBIOS flash. Thanks much.

Q

 

My apologies for any confusion and false hope I may have caused. I wish your G73 and you, a speedy recovery.

 

Sorry to hear that Quagmire. I belive, that you laptop will perform superb after reflashing vbios back.Wish laptop will return to you soon. We will be waiting your new videos from G73.

 

Yeah, I think if F1/F2 aren't getting you out of BIOS and into a boot selection where you see activity lights the only real option left is to swap the MXM card into a clevo or something with room for 2 cards so you can boot off the good one and flash the corrupt one.

Glad to hear you're getting A grade service from Gentech, that's nice. Too bad there wasn't a way to fix it yourself, but oh well. Keep everyone posted. I'm waiting to see how this goes before I flash my own vBIOS. I could use the lower voltage and powerplay, but battery life isn't so important to me as to risk the warranty or a lengthy shipping repair. GL

 

Thanks Tim4 . Didn't yours go in, how's that going?

Indeed, several good reasons to send it Kens way, knowledge and resources are the top two.
I wish the blind method worked as expected, maybe it stills does and I'm in the way.
Smart, before anyone else flashes vBIOS, whether your bootflash or windows flash, you may want to see how deep the rabbit hole gets before you start jumping over it
Thanks man.

Q

 

Ken is amazing. I'm definitely buying my next notebook from Ken if Asus or MSi continues to support the top, high end ATi GPUs in the future.

 

Heya Q, I'm sorry to hear about this, I hope you get a fix for this, I'll try to research and help as much as I can, Good Luck!

 

My LCD replacement on it's way to me. Hopefully it will be here this-next week and I will be in line again. Can't wait until my machine will fly again.

 

Thanks man.

Sounds great! I imagine you're gaming by now

------------------------------------------------

OP Update #2 posted.

Q

 

I used the vbios in ziddy thread. It was painless and error free.

 

Yeah I finally got to some stable internets, grabbed ziddy's bios and am loving the overdrive and powerplay in his vBIOS version 3.

I heard someone mention before that ASUS MXM cards are nonstandard, but didn't know whether to put any stock into that. Definitely a negative point for asus on that one. What are the chances of popping it into a W90Vp? It should be able to sport the 5870s if the 4870s it shipped with are the same dimensions. I'm not sure I'd have sent it to Asus for RMA; but I've never had dealings with them on a call like this, where it's definitely warranty voiding actions.

If only they shipped a reasonable vBIOS to begin with... GL again Quag.

 

I had the same thought, but didn't specifically ask Ken. He said the Asus 5870m only fits a G73 and that's when I gave up the thought. I guess it can't hurt to make sure so I'll PM Ken.

So you feel a vBIOS flash is a def warranty voider? While I'm not all that confident in the Asus phone supports answer, I did specifically ask if flashing the vBIOS voided the warranty, he searched his info and even asked his supervisor and did not find that answer, so he issued a RMA#.
We'll see, thanks.

If anyone is certain it voids the warranty, I'm surprised they would do it considering a PSOD can come out of nowhere.

@Kalim I think your ceiling cat wants to join my gamer cat for some MP

Q

 

The nice thing about the ziddy vBIOS v3 is that he kept the original vBIOS number.

 

The ASUS 5870m probably has a reversed mxm board or "dead bug".

As for the warranty, it probably doesn't matter. They repair by an almost random component swap problem isolation technique, so they'll probably just chuck it up to "dead" GPU board assembly. Don't be surprised that they changed the keyboard, cpu, motherboard, memory etc along with your GPU board though.

 

I really like some of what you say

5870m won't fit in the W90 and Ken doesn't see it to matter if it did since whatever is going on, it is preventing P.O.S.T.

Q

 

I'm speculating that it's because the W90 might be using an older mxm version (probably 2.1 type III HE) so the slot is different (from the 3.0b).

If you're up to it, you can also desolder the PM25LV010 and re-program it using a standard SPI EEPROM programmer. You can even make your own programmer using a cheap microcontroller that has SPI or if not just code the SPI bus arbitration (Mode 0(0,0) or Mode 3(1,1)) manually through MCU GPIOs. If you damage the PM25LV010 you can also replace it with an SST25VF010A which is command-set and pin compatible and much easier to find (should cost around $0.50). It just supports faster SPI rates (33Mhz) which doesn't matter. Heck I can even send you a pre-programmed one for free. You just need to re-solder it yourself. Anyhow, you still have options so don't worry too much about it. You'll probably receive your unit all fixed up like new in a few days too.

 

Yes you are right the W90Vp's 4870 card is MXM-III HE and the G73Jh uses MXM 3.0 Type B so they won't fit.

Quagmire LXIX's unit shipped to Asus today. wish I can fix it but couldn't, the card seem prevent system boot, as long as the card is not in the slot the computer will boot even without that video card.

Also tried MSI's 5870 card on his unit and the system does post without any problems, put his card on another G73JH and the result is the same, won't boot from anything.


Sorry Quagmire LXIX, I thought I can fix it but I couldn't.

 

My vbios flash failed as well and I'm going to RMA it, but
Has anyone tried using an external usb SVGA Graphics card to see if bios will detect that?

 

novel idea, no I never tried that

 

Hi Chastity

Sorry for my ignorance, but I am trying to learn, I am still confuse what the vBios is

Is the v bios a bios for the main system ? or is just a bios for the Ati card.


TY

 

vBIOS is for the video card (hence the V).

 

Oh V= video

Ty lol

 

Good idea. How did yours fail? Windows, jump drive, etc...

No worries Ken You are professional Awesome Sauce. Thanks.

Q

 

Mine errored out and froze when I tried to flash it using the ati flash utility, I don't remember what the error was, but I was forced to reboot and well you know the rest of the story .

I sent my laptop out yesterday to get RMA'd hopefully everything goes smooth .

 

Personally i prefer to wait until i get bored of my new machine before messing around with Bios and other risky things (my 2 cents)

 

Indeed I do It was a heart wrenching moment.

Do you have the exact same symptoms as mine? Thanks.

Mine is there now, I hope we both come out of this well, good luck.

Q

 

Yea I had pretty much the same symptoms. My RMA status says 'waiting for materials/parts'. Hopefully they get the part soon . Good Luck

 

I've gone trough the same vbios bricking described here...sent it of last thursday its in the "Final Testing" Phase of repair now. So I hope it works upon return.

 

Well I got my laptop back yesterday. So far everything is working great. They even fixed my keyboard lights (stopped working after bios update). I havn't had any GSOD's after playing some BFBC 2,Dirt 2, and Men of War for a few hours. I hope you all have the same results, good luck.