Alienware 15r2 7 beeps of death

Good day Guys

I am new to this forum. I generally do not get to involved in forums to find answers to problems but I am baffled with this issue I am having with An Alienware 15r2 6820hk m395 and it seems I have no choice but to reach out to the internet. The bios on this particular machine was flashed and after it restarted it received the 7 beeps of death. I have tried cmos reset, clrp1 bios reset power drains, you name it I have tried it. I know there has to be other users out there who have had or still have this issue at present. At this point, I am wondering if there is a way to somehow reprogram the bios on this machine as it cannot be flashed via the manual method. Should I be looking to solder a new bios chip onto the board? Any and all input is welcome and lastly the machine is not under warranty so it's all on me at this point.

 

Where do things end at currently? The beeps indicate that it's reaching POST which should be after where you can enter BIOS. Is there anything on the display? It's possible that you can blind flash but it can be a little hard to pull off.

 

Thanks for your reply Derek. Essentially the machine when powered on will power up the first time the track pad light will come on and the machine will shut off it will do this two more times without any light on the track pad. The fourth time the machine reboots it will boot the trackpad will light up and then I will receive the 7 beeps which continue indefinitely unless I shut it down. A video can be made if necessary.

 

Wouldn't hurt to get a video. I think I'm following what's going on but I'm not sure.

 

This is bad. 7 beeps equals CPU failure. You need to get a motherboard replacement, and they're not cheap.

 

hope this helps a little in between the first shut off it starts up 2 more times but no lights what so ever

 

Seems like that means it's either the CPU like mentioned or possibly the RAM. I know you mentioned trying the battery drain and resets but not sure if this is the procedure you referred to as following. If that is, you can also try cycling out the RAM in different combos, depending on how many you have installed, to see if it's a bad stick causing it.

Otherwise it does look like you're in the CPU badlands.

 

I am just finding it hard to believe it is a cpu failure when this happened after bios flash the pc was working fine until the bios flash. how does a bios flash kill a motherboard specifically a cpu?

 

It may just be the motherboard bad and a BIOS flash can definitely cause that. I haven't worked on an r2 specifically as I typically steer away from Dell but if I recall correctly it's soldered so new CPU = new Mobo and vice versa. I can definitely be wrong on it being soldered though.

 

I really appreciate your guys input may have to get another tech to do component level testing on the motherboard to determine if the cpu is dead or not.

 

No problem at all, glad to help.

 

I dont think your CPU is dead but it might be bricked because of flashing. I am not sure if there is a way to restore the bios on these models.

 

Would wager on the bios brick as well, as it'd be too coincidental for the cpu to fail right after a bad flash. It can be restored, using a programmer and soldering iron.

However, first try the bios reset procedure linked to by Derek Smith. This has a good chance to work and is quite a lot easier than tackling eeproms.

Failing that, buy a programmer + SOP8 adapter and fetch an iron and multimeter. Only need a good photo of the motherboard to show you where the bios eeprom is located. Also need to unpack the Dell bios to a format that is usable for a direct flash, but have to know the pre-failed flash version first.

 

If I told you I honest do not know what version the bios was on before it was flashed would that be a huge problem please say no lol........ Sigh,I did all the bios reset procedures already more than once so we can skip that will prob buy the programmer and adapter tonight

Ok just bought them could be useful for future problems of this caliber so I just went ahead and got them

 

Well ... the bios version has to be compatible with that of the EC, which is usually stored on a separate eeprom. If you go for the programmer-option (rather than soldering in a pre-flashed bios) then it doesn't matter in the least; flash both eeproms to whichever version you want. Should guess the v1.3.6 is fine, unless there's some specific unlocked version you want?

Either way, it looks like a standard Alienware configuration; one 8MB bios and a 1MB ec. The chips you're looking for will be labeled *25*64* and *25*80*, respectively. Here's some 4MB examples (4MB * 8 = 32Mbit):

Spoiler: 32Mbit eeproms (arrow indicates pin #1)

 

I happen to have this problem with beeps after i disassemble the laptop (for repaste) and clear CMOS. Usually for me it got fixed either by pulling out the RAM sticks then putting them back (probably not positioned properly) or unplugging/re plugging Motherboard cables (also maybe not tightened enough initially).

In your case i guess this only happened due to flashing the Bios ? or did you disassemble the laptop prior to that ?

Note: I won't advise to proceed with an unlocked Bios version (i don't think you will find one anyways) cuz the newer Alienware version have embedded protection against unsigned bios files.

 

So the true story with the laptop is I bought it from a gentleman who did a bios update to it and it bricked the laptop. He is not tech savvy in any form or fashion and seeing that it was out of warranty he just sold it cheap. I bought it cuz my wife needs a laptop.The thing is I am fairly certain it did happen after a bios update have read that a couple other users have had the same issue, but there is no information and no fixes out there for these 15r2 2015+ Laptops. I have changed thermal paste and disconnected and reconnected everything with the same Issue so. I am fairly sure it is truly a bios issue I am planning on using the 1.2.8 bios with the laptop first off to combat the issue at hand.

 

Do you remember/know which BIOS it had previously? Some BIOS versions for the 15 R2 were unstable. Saying this, I just remembered this. I don't know if it will help or not, but it's worth a try,

 

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The Winbond in the close-up is definitely an eeprom, but can't make out the markings. Doesn't matter; scribble them down and scan the board for similar ones. Remember that we're looking for two of them.

 

Ok managed to get a good photo with serials going

 

Sorry, I missed your post update; it was an edit, so didn't get it in my 'unread' list .

Anyway; tackle the 128Mbit first, it is obviously the bios eeprom. Read it out with the programmer and we'll see which version it is. It will likely see the same 8MB bios twice, considering it's twice as large as the bioses used on this system. With the proper version flashed (extracted from a Dell exe) things should proceed happily again.

Only caveat is if it wasn't the bios that was corrupted after all, but the ec or me. These will be stored on one or two of the '80' eeproms (=1MB). No problem, either, but you'll have to de-solder all three and read them out. With a hex compare against the R2 ec and an me binary it is then possible to tell which is which.

 

Hey there, that is not an issue these things happen. I am still waiting to get the equipment I ordered, but I also ordered this http://www.ebay.ca/itm/322305531856?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT This should make our life a lot easier.

 

Thanks to snail mail, then .

The clip would be nice, but haven't had much luck with ISP myself. Often the eeproms are wired incompatibly on the motherboard.

 

Ok I know an update was a long time coming I do apologize as I was moving to a province 2000km away from my last location and the project fell to the wayside. I managed to get all the ordered parts, the eeprom ch341A programmer took until the 29 of January to arrive. To my surprise, the clip works very well as I was able to use it to pull data from one bios so far. Not exactly 100% sure what my best procedure would be from this point lol.

Ok update 2 for the day I was able to pull data from 3 of the chips present on the board but not the WINDBOND 25Q80DVS1G 145 I tried the read the chip with various configurations using the clip as I did with the others but no such luck with this one. I am posting the bios information with their names attached I am also going to see if I can find a hex file comparison tool and run comparisons using the files against the currently released bioses for the laptop. Any and all help and advise much appreciated .

 

Great! And don't worry about missing one 8Mb chip, main thing is the 128Mb eeprom. Do be careful when using random chip options with a programmer; it is possible it will simply refuse to read, but there's also a chance the 'read' mode will actually write to an incompatible chip, corrupting the data. Always sail by the markings on the chip and if these do not work then desolder the chip first as it is probably write-protected then (or actually physically defective).

Please upload the data somewhere so we can check how the bios is arranged and whether or not the ME and EC are included. Once we have that information and the bios version then we can gobble together a binary that can then be flashed to the chip using the programmer. Best is to zero/wipe it first, write the binary, read it out again and make a hex compare (try HxD for a good, free hex editor). If, for whatever reason, the chip is wrongly identified or it is incompatibly wired after all then the data sets wouldn't match.

 

Both of the WINDBOND 25Q80DVS1G 1463

This is the best I can do for the WINDBOND 25Q128FVSQ 1502 file. I have broken it up into 3 parts, once all 3 files are in the same folder extract PART 1, PART 2 and PART 3 before extracting WINBOND 25Q128FVSQ 1502 once more all files must be in the same folder have attached a picture of how it should look before extraction. I can also verify the integrity of the files I am sending as I have zipped them following the outlined process and then compared the original file with the zipped one.

 

could be motherboard issue, either CPU or RAM slot issues, i had the same, BIOS 1.3.10 corrupted my TPM chip.. Yeah a Bad bios causes trouble to hardware.. try to reset CMOS clrpin method.. if not go for a motherboard exchange..

anyone here can help me with TPM 2.0 Driver failure, it shows code 10 error.. tried everything from clearing CMOS to changing motherboard, seems after flashing to BIOS 1.3.10 for 15 R2 this thing happend.. also found a document about TPM Reset time on Dell website..

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN304487/en

I just put a new CMOS battery, i have to wait for another 24hours so that it resets.. lots of problem with the new bios..

 

So for a conclusion of this thread, With may thanks to t456 who stuck here with me over this long period of work and testing, the bios was actually the problem, in this case, somehow with the bad bios flash it caused the laptop to output a cpu beep code (7 beeps of death). With the bin file pulled from the WINDBOND 25Q128FVSQ 1502 EPROM and some work on t456's end, we where able to reflash the chip and the laptop booted promptly afterward. So I can say this thread was sucessful and now we know the bios for these boards are stored on the WINDBOND 25Q128FVSQ 1502 eeprom and also if your machine had bad bios update it is possible it could exhibit similar symptoms.

 

Some findings:
- The 25Q80's do contain firmware, but these are for peripheral onboard devices.
- The 25Q128 has the ME+EC+BIOS on the same chip, appended end-to-end.

Here's the file, in case anyone else has the same issue:
M15R2_fixed_v1.3.6.bin.7z

Nice thing is that being an all-in-one design it means it doesn't matter which bios version you had previously or whether it was the bios, the ec and/or me that was corrupted; this binary will work for all bricking combinations and all bios versions. Haven't the foggiest as to whether this v1.3.6 is a good, stable build, but you could always flash to a more recent one.

 

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Just read the entire thread, you man are the best!
I have the same issue with two laptops, one 15 R2 and another 17 R3. Same thing, 7 beeps after a Bios updated (Mine was coming from a Beta Bios (0.4.8 if I remember well), IDK why, got it from second hand)

Do I need the buy the programmer + SOP8 adapter on ebay in order to apply your .zip right?

 

Yes, you do need the programmer, but perhaps the adapter isn't necessary. It is meant for desoldered chips, but turns out the M15 R2 can be programmed without first removing the chip from the motherboard (aka 'In System Programming'). A SOP8 clip is what you'd use for that; clamp over the chip and attach the other end to the programmer's socket.

This method may not work for the 17 R3, so just in case you may want to get the SOP8 adapter as well. Also need a soldering iron then, of course.

As for them bricking in the first place; with Clevos at least it is recommended to disable TPM prior to flashing. Perhaps Dells have a similar weakness?

 

Thank you for your promp reply.

I just dissambled the 15 R2 and took it to a local technician with your ZIP in a USB Key, He took apart the 25Q128 chip and flashed it, but still 7 beeps after boot =(

Maybe I skip an important step?

Edit:
I dont know which software did he used to flash it, but he said everything went fine, no errors whatsoever when flashing the chip.

 

That was fast!!!

And no, it should work right off the bat. Do make sure to read back the eeprom right after flashing it; just having the programmer say ' flashing complete' does not mean it has actually written the data 100% accurately. All that indicates is that every byte has been send to the device, but you have to verify the data afterwards since a mis-id'ed chip, write protection or a chip-set 'busy' flag can all result in no or only partially written data.

 

Hahaha I know it was fast.
You may understand my excitement.. have been with this two laptops going around over my house for the past 3 months, have tried everything everything to fix it without luck. but this thread just give new hope.

I just handled the 15 R2 and your ZIP to a new technician who seems to know more about this things than the previous tecnhician.

Will let you know any news.

 

Hi, hope you get this message and appreciate your reply.
My alienware 17 R3 recently got this 7 beeps problem, it was working just fine the other night and not could get it work. I've checked with dell support and they advised me to buy a new motherboard, which is so expensive like buying a brand new laptop. After some research I've convinced myself to do a GPU/CPU/Mother reflow as some of the vids/forums suggest until I found this thread. Hence wish to seek again your advise if this could help me make my laptop work again without doing a reflow? p.s. i didn't do any bios or flash updates, it just suddenly stop working the next day. Thanks a lot!

 

It's uncommon for a bios to corrupt itself out of the blue, but it can and does happen occasionally. Would wager the reflow as a more likely payoff. Do make sure to tackle a cmos reset first, if you haven't already.

If you want to try bios programming nonetheless then follow the steps taken by @GalactusBar earlier on in this thread. Don't have a 17 R3 binary yet, so we have to make one first.

@purple.haze ,
Did the R2 live again?

 

Thanks for the reply man! I tried to reset the via CLRP1 pins too but no luck.. been searching for sometime now but it seems that no one have tried a reflow on a 17 R3 yet.. it's just a very sad life..

 

Hello, I'm having the exact same issue. Last night I tried to update the Bios and it got stuck while flashing the EC, so I'm having the same symptoms. So, I read the whole thread but I can't find the 25Q125 chip, I can only find 25Q64f, 25Q80D and 25X20CL. Where can I find that chip?
Maybe I'm not looking enough :/

 

I have found a pic @GalactusBar sent on Google (damn photobucket). Anyway, my mobo is different.
Also, the hdr file my service tag directs is a file of 6MB, so flashing the 25Q64f might be in the right direction. The thing is, should I flash the chip with this file?

 

No, the binary is for a 128Mbit chip only. It is also a M15 R2, right? You did try a cmos reset yet?

Can make a 64+8 Mbit version, but we'd need a copy of the current data first. Could make a guess as to the arrangement, but you need the programmer and clip in order to flash the binaries anyway, so might as well make that read-out then.

 

It is AW17R2, I'll try to get the programmer this afternoon. I have a usbasp programmer, dunno if that works.
Also I've tried everything suggested in this thread, the only thing I have left is programming it with a programmer. I'll get back with the 64 dump.

 

Í have question, would master prog work?

 

Hey, thanks for asking.

Sadly no, it wasnt possible to bring it back to life, my technician tried so hard that eventually he broke/corrupted some chips.

 

Buy one from https://www.digikey.com or from http://www.newark.com/

Newark is in New Jersey <<< I am so happy I live in Northern VA So this is just to good to be true.
Digikey is in Minnesota < a heads up that digikey has a 24/7 call center so ask them before buying. These guy are really legit!

I would also recommend getting a legit programmer not a knock off like or some other known brand The original brand for the TL866A is XGECU this the original manufacture > I got mine from here from amazon http://a.co/itpnIYA

 

Hi, so I've purchased the CH314a programmer and it arrived today.
So I read all 3 eeprom's I found on the motherboard. I investigated a little about the motherboard and I found that the Bios and EC are on different eeprom's. The MoBo model is AAP20 LA-B753P REV 1.0 (A00).

After I read the chips I think I know which one is which (I'm not an expert :/):

W25Q64F: Main Bios
W25Q80: EC
W25X20: VBios

I've uploaded the dumps to google drive, I also added the A00 bios from Dell, here is the link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Lbe8BQKSvIb3NYMnFuZ1Q3WTA/view?usp=sharing

 

The vbios read is fine (and so is the data), but the ec and bios reads aren't. If you've used a clip then desolder them first; not all systems support in-system programming.

 

Nope, Í desoldered them. I'll try to read them again.

 

I've read the two eeproms again, this time with the program flashrom but the 25Q80DV seems to have the same data, 25Q64F read fine. Here is the correct dump of 25Q64F:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Lbe8BQKSvIWFVxUDAyQTRIQkk/view?usp=sharing

Also, I found in the HDD this file, dunno if it's the EC rom but it seems that the dell update exe created it:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-Lbe8BQKSvITWtHZ1RZLUNfVlE

 

Ok, that looks better. First erase the 25Q64F completely and then write this to the chip:
AW 17 R2 - AW15A00.7z

The hdd file is an Intel ME, but can't be sure which one. What version where you attempting to flash? The A06 claims v9.1.30.1008, but it's either a different version or it has been modified by Dell, which would be rather unusual.

That's too bad . Did you get a new mb then or a different laptop altogether?