Sony Vaio X Series - bricked by flashing BIOS

Hi all,

Is there anyone who can help me?
I have a sony Vaio X Series, I flashed my Vaio with a wrong flash (possibly from Acer) after flashing my Vaio is completely dead.
I know I can fix it somehow by flashing the right flash but I don't know where to get it or how to take it out from the file (genuine sony file - EP0000216205.exe)
newest flash R0084U4

Please advice what I should do. I would really appreciate that!

Thanks in advance!!!

 

You might want to remove the CMOS battery (it is a battery on the motherboard) and then put it on again after you try turning the computer on without any power source (Note: Do this only when you are sure that the motherboard does not hold a charge of electricity by turning on the computer without a battery and a power source), it will remove the temporary BIOS settings to factory defaults.

 

One word....... JTAG

 

AESdecryption - i will try this today...
to be honest i didn't think there is such a thing in such a tiny laptop (netbook)
I thought that I can do that only with desktop computers with those big motherboards

have you tried that before yourself?
do you know how much sony would charge me to fix it?

regards

 

From my personal experience, Sony replaces the whole motherboard.

 

Sony offered me to replace my Vaio VGN-TZ21's 11" screen for 699,-€, so don't count on them.
You should be better off with a local notebook shop.
I don't think removing that battery is a big thing for someone who knows what to do.

 

I don't think removing the battery will help since you entirely messed up your BIOS flash and this is NOT a volatile memory. As ComputerCowboy posted, you will need to reprogram your BIOS flash and due to your dead computer, you will need special programming devices for that. Don't know if its JTAG flashable only or also SPI flashable. In both cases you will need electronic and soldering knowhow in order to fix it by yourself. Don't send it to Sony unless you want them to charge you one grand for that.

 

so there is no option to flash it again with some proper flash like in Dell or Acer netbooks?

common BIOS (insyde H20)

regards

 

How do you think you can do that when you got nothing else than a black screen of death on your laptop, eh? You can get the rom binary from temp directory after running the sony bios update exe, which just extracts the bios image and the flashing tool. But anyways, you need proper tools and honestly, I think you should just swallow the bitter pill and send it right away to repair and pay big money or buy a new laptop.

 

This is the part I actually don't understand either - how do you plan re-flashing it using any software method if you have absolutely no access to the computer!??

What happens when you switch it on?

 

Most Sony motherboards have a special connector on them that I think Sony uses for diag and reflashing. But I don't know if anyone has figured the pinout or how to use it. I know my UX has the connector, and I think I have seen it on the Z also. I imagine it is on the X but what are you going to do with it? Well maybe do some research and find out if someone has figured it out.

Another bet would be to get a dead X motherboard and have someone with an infrared solder station take the BIOS chip and put it on your board. (that is if the dead board was dead for another reason)

 

Whats the full model number?

 

I thought there is a way like here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq/304332-cq45-insyde-bios-recovery-using-usb-thumbdrive.html

or here:
Recovering From A Bad Insyde Bios Flash

I know that the Vaio X Series isn't that popular so maybe that's why no one has done it yet

 

model: VPCX11Z1E

there must be a way, if you guys read the posts I've given earlier you can see that those netbooks can be fixed after bad BIOS flashing.
This is exactly the same BIOS (insyde H20)

Can anyone advice how to get the *.bin file out of the genuine Sony flash?
I don't want to open and check if removing the battery will work as the netbook hasn't been opened yet and I would prefer to keep it that way.

 

now, I found a program called Universal BIOS Backup Toolkit:
Universal BIOS Backup ToolKit 2.0.rar

I have tried it on another Vaio NW Series.
I will get a backup file from another X Series and I will try to flash it back to my X Series.
Is there anyone who can help and tell me how to flash a *.rom file?

 

^I though virus as soon as I saw your post....and sure enough it is.

 

where is the file extracted cos i can't find it

 

it's not a virus it was my fault.
can anyone tell me where exactly the EP0000216205.exe file is extracted to?

I managed to get a rom file but from a Vaio X13 not X11 which is different.
I will try to flash it anyway but i'm not sure if that Acer/HP way will work :/

Will keep you posted guys.

 

I think beaups is talking about the file you used... the Universal BIOS Backup ToolKit 2.0.rar

 

^Correct....

 

didn't flash
now I can see the netbook inside (in pieces) and I can't find the battery (like it's not there)

 

no joy... I need to cry for a while in the corner... :cry:

 

You are trying to recover a laptop with a virus for a tool

 

it doesn't matter now, beside how do you know this is a virus?
I've checked and there was no virus and I managed to get a backup file from a Sony NW Series and eventually from a X Series.

Unfortunately that backup from the X Series (which was slightly different than mine) was different R1020U4 on X13 and on my X11 was R0084U4.

The tutorial from Bios Mods - The Best BIOS Update and Modification Source didn't work either so I opened the netbook to search for the battery but I couldn't find any. So now I don't have a clue what to do next. I don't want to send it to Sony and be ripped off again :/

I'm sure that with some proper tool and knowledge it can be done in minutes.
Unfortunately i'm to short for that

 

The file you linked to earlier (bios toolkit) was a virus.

MANY sony notebooks can not have their bios recovered easily. I've had to have them swap boards before.

I think you may consider contacting sony. Is the unit out of warranty?

How did you manage to flash an Acer bios to it? Is it an insyde/efi machine?

 

yeah, it's out of warranty...

I managed to do that by flashing with a program called fla
i'm not sure as everythink is on the bricked netbook

 

but how did you accidentally send it an Acer bios?

If you did that, I would google Acer bios recovery, specifically for the recovery process for the machine who's bios you've flashed to your X. Basically you are going to want to download the correct bios for your X, extract the actual BIOS image from the download, and copy it to a properly formatted usb drive, making sure to name the bios properly, and put the machine with a specific key combination and wait while the machine "hopefully" reflashes the correct bios.

This process DOES work with Acer InsydeEFI machines (I've done it). Perhaps since you've flashed an Acer bios it will allow you to recover to a different (this time correct sony) BIOS back to the machine.

Good luck.

 

I've tried that. I don't know if there is any specific key combination for sony laptops. I would be great if I could as that would give me something.
then I could try to get the proper flash, still don't know how to extract the flash from the genuine sony software. Couldn't even find the files extracted on my computer :/
I've given as much details as I could including the flash version that I need and my bios (insyde H20) current (latest) BIOS version R0084U4.

to calm your curiosity down (but please don't laugh ;]) i flashed it with the fla program because there was a password to access BIOS I didn't know the password so I thought if I flash it it will disappear. I couldn't flash it with the same version so I thought if i flash it with another version from a different make but for the same BIOS maybe won't be great but at least I can flash it again with the right one. I was so wrong. I can tell that now.

BTW - how is that possible that I couldn't find the battery on the matherboard? is it hidden or maybe there is a rechargeable battery that looks like one of those chips?

anyway the netbook is as dead as it was and my only hope before I contact Sony is to get a respond from someone who's actually done that and knows how to fix it. I'm sure there must be a way.

 

Here's how the battery of Vaio S looks like...

 

I appreciate all you guys helping that much but let's face it: That machine is an expensive paper weight now. Seriously, who thinks there will be a way to recover if you have flashed a BIOS from another Mfr!? Perhaps the other BIOS even was not for an Atom CPU/chipset.
I bet there is no way to recover it by software, now less then ever if you don't know what you are doing at all. I'm sorry for the OP but tho I can't hold it back: The lesson learned is don't fiddle with this kind of BIOS stuff if you are noob. Send it to Sony, pay the price and learn from it. I hope you even have a backup of your files.

 

This kind of thinking is everything but not helpful! If he can't recover it, there isn't much wrong he can do either! So why not try before sending it to Sony or anywhere else? Just because you want him punished?

Just a reminder - we are (or most of us) here to help or at least try to. Sending a unit for repair is the last hope, if there were never other options, there wouldn't be a forum either. Just something to think about...

People make mistakes - if you can help - do it. If not - please don't spam. It is really not helping.

One thing you are right about - one shouldn't play with the BIOS (flashing/modifying). But I am really really sure the op knows that already...

 

Gracy123 - thanks for your effort, I thought that could be the battery and that was the first thing I disconnected for the motherboard but it didn't work.
That would mean that disconnecting the battery won't help at all.
I will contact some Sony repair companies instead Sony. I don't want to pay twice for the netbook.

Unless there is some great, pure awesome geek who knows what to do now

 

I'm afraid I'm not able to help any further

How long did you keep the battery disconnected? I would try leaving it out for at least 10 min and starting the laptop without it...

If it doesn't help obviously the method won't help at all, but maybe worth another try :-/

Did you locate the BIOS chip anywhere? Is it soldered to the board? I remember it was not on my previous laptop...

 

It was disconnected for over an hour.
I couldn't actually see the BIOS chip. I couldn't find anything like it.
Everything there is so small.

I understand that there is lots of Acer or HP netbooks and not so many X Series and that's how easier is to find a solution to fix an Acer. More owners more chance to damage it and at the same time more people to find a solution.
As this is a forum about Vaio laptops (probably one of the best out there) i thought that someone here may have experienced familiar problem.

If there is anyone who can help please let me know. I will not be crying or freaking out i thought i can save a lot of money for fixing it. Apparently Sony would just change the motherboard without considering to fix it that's what puts the price sky high.

 

Gracy, of course you are right and I try also my best to help as many users I can (and I always tried in the past) but in this case, the REALLY helpful comments (i.e. ComputerCowboy's) get ignored completely. No detailed info at all from the OP, are we here to squeeze out every single piece of information? Did you even get an answer on your question what the laptop does after being switched on?

I have posted before that removing the battery simply does NOTHING at all to the flash, so you call me a spammer whereas you post tips that are nothing but a waste of time - come on, get real!

Sure I am willing to spend my time and give advice on building a breadboard SPI flasher but so far I don't think that the OP can make use of that (he already stated that he is not tech-savvy enough). You'd also don't want to teach someone solder 0603's via a forum (so ridiculous to even think about that) when he never used a soldering iron before. He should at least be able to identify the SPI flash chip, he doesn't even have a BIOS backup. Feel free to prove me wrong.

WeissTeufel, try to find an electronic pro who can reflash your laptop. This one should be able to program something like that:
Winbond - Serial Flash

Sample datasheet (of the Z's flash chip):
W25X32VSSIG datasheet(1/47 Pages) WINBOND | 16M-BIT, 32M-BIT, AND 64M-BIT SERIAL FLASH MEMORY WITH 4KB SECTORS AND DUAL OUTPUT SPI

 

You are most likely right, I agree. I just found your post a bit aggressive and not at all helpfully intended, that's all...

And again - people make mistakes, so he is not to be blamed that much - sh*t happens, he certainly learned from it.
The real question is what to do now.

 

Take a photo of both sides of the board, and I will let you know which one is BIOS chip.

 

If I know anyone who can help and or fix it... it is Anh, the man does incredible work. This guy soldered a Core2Duo into my tiny UX a couple years back. What's up Anh?