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    Flip 14a bios update issue

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by Aetherhead, Sep 7, 2015.

  1. Aetherhead

    Aetherhead Newbie

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    I was recently gifted an SVF14N13CXB with the 8.1 upgrade already installed. The machine had all the reported symptoms of fan noise, ctrl+shift+arrow key problems, and the possessed digitizer. I reset the machine to factory defaults, installed all updates for Windows 8 and from Vaio Update except BIOS update R1140DD and Intel ME firmware (both of which fail with "not supported on this system" errors). Then, thinking it might be the OS version causing the updates to fail, I installed the 8.1 upgrade and tried again. And failed again. A little digging and this is what I found...

    Currently installed BIOS is version T0220DD_MP_PXE_01. I can find no documentation on ANY Sony bios starting with letter T. I assume the version check in the flash utility is preventing the update from installing.

    I have tried manually installing with the same results. I have attempted to use Insyde flash recovery procedure with BIOS update extracted to FAT32 USB drive, R1140DD.ROM copied and renamed .bin and .fd, powered on holding win+b, win+f, win+esc, fn+esc, fn+f, and fn+b but the machine just boots normally every time.

    Does anybody know the correct procedure for recovery flash on 14a or know any other way to force the bios update?
     
    Aetherhead, Sep 7, 2015
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  2. Aetherhead

    Aetherhead Newbie

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    An update for anyone interested. I can confirm that my 14a does indeed have recovery built into the BIOS. I powered on the machine with the battery out, AC adapter in, flash drive with BIOS update extracted to it, .ROM file copied and renamed .fd and .BIN, fiddled with the power button because i didn't have the chassis fully attached, looked away for a second, and when I looked back there was a black screen with a blue box stating that this firmware was not for my machine. I have tried repeatedly but cannot get the machine to do it again.

    I also cannot force the update from inside windows. Editing the platform.ini file to skip [PlatformVersion] and [Bios_version_check] results in the same error message reading "This Vaio firmware update is not supported on this computer." I have not tried modifying the dll's to skip the errors as I have no idea what I'm doing in IDA.

    I have noticed that my motherboard info in Aida is odd. Summary > Motherboard reports motherboard name as Sony SV-F14N13CXB, not SVF14N13CXB, and BIOS type is unknown. Could these be the reason for BIOS flash failing or is this normal info for an Insyde BIOS in Aida?

    Any thoughts, ideas, etc would be appreciated.
     
    Aetherhead, Sep 10, 2015
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