Bricked Vaio VGN-SR290. How to restore bios?

Hi!

I just Bricked my Vaio VGN-SR290. Is it possible to restore bios? I found the bios upgrade file on sony.com, but I am not sure if the file in it is a bios image (".rsrc_1" 1919kb). It seems to be a exectuable.

I found a guide where they suggested using a cd or usb stick, but I am not sure my machine is compatible with this?

I am knowledgeable with electronics and have a burner, so maybe I could desolder the bios chip or something if there is no other way?

Hope somebody can help me save my vaio!

 

What is wrong with it?

What you find on Sony's support website are only Bios updates! Those are not complete, flashable Bioses! You can only run them from windows and they update/change certain options in your bios.

 

this is the bios for vaio VGN-SR290 from
Sony eSupport - VGN-SR290 - Software Updates & Drivers

you can flash your bios again from usb with win98 dos,i upload your bios EP0000209852,all what you need to do is make a bootable flash memory (usb,flobby)copy your bios to you usb or flobby and name it BIOS.WPH and then flash from dos.good luck


EP0000209852.rar

 

Thanks guys! But its bricked. Does not boot!

Does my computer have a "Insyde" bios?

Undocumented INSYDE BIOS recovery method.-Use andy's tool to obtain possible names..

 

can you tell us what happened to your SR to brick it?

recently my SR290 would not boot at all. I tried the 'reset' trick I found on google and it worked! my SR is working fine now.
-Remove battery, unplug AC adapter.
-Press and hold power button down for 30 seconds, then release.
-Replace battery, plug in AC.
-Press power button and Boot !

hope this helps!

 

I bought a battery from china that came with a bios hack. I originally thought this was firmware for the battery, so I tried it. It flashed (and killed) the bios. My laptop is on its way to a vaio workshop now, they will reflash the bios, and they did not charge to much for it so I figured why not.

 

WHAT THE H***!!??
And batteries do not have firmwares AFIK...
There is however a Sony thing you need to trick in order to use non-sony batteries.

 

Obviously there is some kind of identification chip in the battery. I figured this software programmed that.

 

Hi folks,

same problem like flipflap, just with another model: it's a Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG_H:

As in all VAIOs I had so far, the original battery was quite bad from the start and recently got even worse. So I bought a 3rd party battery from www.akkusstore.de with high capacity which I installed yesterday.
Obviously the VAIO BIOS only allows original Sony batteries, shutting the PC down if you insert another one. That is why the manufacturer also provides a CD with a BIOS upgrade to enable the new battery. I installed the upgrade (which was supposed to create a backup of the original BIOS).

After doing that I could use the new battery just fine, but not the original one, and - even worse - not the power adapter. The notebook does not run without battery, and the new battery does not charge, so I am left with little more than 1 hour of battery life. I measured the output of the power adapter and it works perfectly well, so I figure I've got a BIOS problem. My data are saved, but it still is highly inconvenient that I can't use the notebook.

I emailed to the manufacturer who has not answered yet. Also their website has been offline since I looked yesterday, which is not encouraging either.

I tried to find the original BIOS on the Sony VAIO website, but none is provided.

I found on the HDD a file with yesterday's date that might be the backup of my BIOS: 20110301164120.bio, size 2 MB. Also I was able to find instructions on how to flash a BIOS from a bootable USB stick. These instructions seem to require a DOS-executable file. however. Can I just use any version of fla.exe from another BIOS-package (changing the batchfile starting it)?

Does anyone have a DL-link for a BIOS suitable for my machine? It is a VGN-SR59VG_H the (obviously now corrupted) BIOS says it is AMI BIOS 1.23.1109, Version R4090Y1.

Thanks for any helpful suggestions!

Ray

 

Sorry to hear about your problems Ray. Apparently you are a bit more clever than me, and managed to keep your computer alive at least.

Have you tried running one of the bios upgrades from sony? Maybe they will fix it.

I think you can use the fla.exe from any.

My vaio is at a service station now, but they are unable to write a new bios, they seem a bit useless to be honest.

As you propably know you can use any universal li charger to charge your battery (If you have some cables and a voltmeter)

I have this one.

http://images.rcuniverse.com/magazine/reviews/scholefield/triton/gpmm3150.jpg



Sind Sie deutsch?

 

If things are working, don't flash anything.

Any time you flash something you run a risk of bricking, even factory bios updates.

 

Hi folks,


thanks for the fast replies!

@flipflop
Most days I use my notebook continuously at my desk, so pausing evry few hours to take out the battery and recharge it is not really an option.

Not quite: I am from Austria. Is my English so bad that you could tell, or did you guess from my Vaio model?

@leslieann

This is something I'll definitely remember for next time. I'm afraid it just does not apply to me right now.

Ray

 

Where is that guide??

Hi. I have 1 bios exe file. I unpacked it and edited 1 ROM file.
Can you be more detailed how to flash it using USB drive?

 

Sorry man, I cant find the quide right now.

I ended up sending my vaio to this man:

Reset Fix Repair HP Toshiba Dell Sony Lenovo Acer Asus BIOS Service

Worked perfectly! Have my laptop back in working order now

 

May I ask what the charge was for that service?