K75VJ semi-bricked after BIOS flash - can only boot with one HDD

Today I've updated BIOS on K75VJ from version 232 to 234 via EasyFlash in BIOS which I've found here: http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/K75VJ/HelpDesk_Download/. After flash, it automatically turned off, but as soon as I turned it on after a minute, it just started to continuously boot loop at ASUS logo while completely ignoring F2 and ESC keys. Then I turned it off, removed AC and battery, pressed power on button for 60 seconds and tried to turn it off again without any luck - it just stayed at ASUS logo.

After reading several forum threads I finally managed to boot it up into windows by removing 2nd HDD. This is also the only way to get into BIOS and use notebook normally. As soon as I connect secondary HDD, it gets stuck at ASUS logo. I've also tried to switch HDDs into each other slots but it's always the same.

Please don't advise me to send computer to service center because I urgently need it for my work and it will probably take weeks to have them repair it.

I'm sure there's a working solution out there since it's not completely bricked. Loading BIOS defaults don't help, is there any way to completely clear CMOS without putting CMOS battery in and out?

Maybe it would help if I would flash older BIOS version, but EasyFlash won't let me do that since it says that the build number is too old. Are there any workarounds here to force older versions, maybe by modifying BIOS file?

I've already tried with procedure explained in first post here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/asus-g73jh-bios-recovery.657861/ but I get error "image file is bigger than flash rom" when I try to flash v232.

Pressing ctrl home buttons as soon as notebook turns on doesn't do anything except blank screen for a while. Could that even work in K75VJ?

Please let me know if you need any additional information

Thanks for help in advance! I

 

You might be able to blindflash the BIOS. That might get it going again.

Try an older BIOS update, and blindflash it. If you could tell me what maker of the BIOS is, I could give you instructions on how to do it. Make sure you have a flash drive.

 

I've already tried to flash older version with EasyFlash utility which is integrated in BIOS, but I get error that build date of BIOS is too old even if I try to flas v234. When I try to install "Windows BIOS Flash Utility" in Win 8.1 x64 from Asus support site, I get an error that it only supports Asus notebooks, so obviously it doesn't detect it correctly.

Here's the BIOS name: Aptio Setup Utility Version 2.15.1228 - American Megatrends inc.

 

So it's an AMI BIOS then?

There is a problem though. Your model of laptop does not use a ROM file or the BIOS. This adds more issues. The stupid winflash utility ughh..

If you can somehow get the ROM file, I will assist you further. Did the BIOS files when you installed them extract to a directory? If so, please tell me all the file names in the directory/folder it was installed into. Maybe we can save this Asus. If there are any files with a ".rom" extension, tell me what they are.

 

Please see these links for better explanation on how I flashed BIOS fr0m v232 to v234:
http://shrani.si/f/g/hI/2xm8OXHM/img20150519150713.jpg
http://shrani.si/f/2k/8Q/F8kqszL/img20150519150750.jpg

I didn't use Windows Flash utility, but I tried to afterwards. Unfortunately, it didn't even install, so I couldn't try it out.

Link for v234: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/K45A/K45VMAS234.zip
And for v232: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/K45A/K45VMAS232.zip

What else may I provide?

 

Bump

 

No, but ' load defaults' ought to do the same thing, sometimes excepting hidden settings or settings available in one bios version, but not in another. With that caveat in mind, clearing CMOS via battery removal is the only 100% method ... unfortunately, with this model it isn't as easy as removing the bottom cover; it's underneath the palm rest, near the 3 USB ports.

No need to go there, yet. Since the 2nd hdd appears to be the culprit, it may simply be the result of the system trying to boot from a partition on the 2nd hdd, which might contain a copy of the MBR, even though you haven't installed the OS on that drive (ask MS for the reason ...). See here for instructions: How to fix common boot problems using the Windows PE.

Have recovered several non-bootable systems using this simple method. Need to boot from the PE usb stick or cd, of course, so first make sure boot order is correct before inserting the 2nd hdd (since you can't enter bios menu when it's present).

 

I've finally managed to fix it. Here's the solution if it will help someone in future: I had to install ATK package for Win8 first because it doesn't exist for Win8.1 on support site. That allowed me to install WinFlash. In order to downgrade BIOS, one has to open WinFlash with CMD by this command: "WinFlash.exe /nodate". That allows WinFlash utility to flash older builds than the current one.

 

Wait please!!!
i have the same problem and now finally tried your solution

but before getting into the menu of winflash i get an error! it says

in german: (BIOS-Aktualisierung nicht gestartet. Fehlercode: 0XFFFFFFFF)

translated to english: (BIOS-Actualisation not allowed. Errorcode: 0XFFFFFFFF)

then it crashes ! what may i do? I have the same problems as krneki! and also the same Notebook