M17 brick - Crisis Recovery?

I recently spent about a week and a half researching a way to fix my m17. I have dual 3870 x2's, a Core2Duo 2.0 Q9000, and 4g of ram. I bought the computer from Alienware over a year ago with the standard warranty, and it is out of warranty.

After a long amount of research, I decided the flash the BIOS with the zfactor .29 BIOS to see if it would reduce the stuttering I was having. I followed every instruction to a T, and the bios flash was a success (According to the flash tool). Press any key to restart... Now it is just a blank screen. The power and plugged in led's light up, as well as the one that looks like the touchpad. I have tried all sorts of recovery methods, but nothing seems to work. A USB stick will only light up for a second upon boot, but I can't seem to get it to read anything. The DVD tray will spin up a cd/dvd to full speed then back down, but it doesn't flicker the light to indicate that it is reading anything.

I tried calling Alienware tech support, but after 45 minute on the phone, the lady just said that my motherboard was fried.

I refuse to believe that Alienware would sell a product like this, especially when the technology exists, that isn't capable of recovery. I don't have the money for a new 500$ mobo.

If anyone has any info that can help me, that would be wonderful. I have tried pulling the CMOS battery jumper for a period of time, but that didn't seem to do anything.

Thanks,
~Zac

 

Did you disconnect both battery & AC adapter? Did you build CRISIS disk using WINCRIS.EXE & put original BIOS (renamed to BIOS.WPH) in the CRISIS disk? Did you press "End" button while plugging in the AC adapter when you tried the CRISIS disk?

 

If Kizwan's suggestions don't work.. there may simply not be a recovery option for this motherboard. Even is there isn't a recovery option.. you still don't have to pay $500 for a replacement board as there are 3rd party BIOS recovery facilities out there like AQSTech.com to do the recovery for about $100 + shipping.

 

the recovery function half works even worst the laptop keeps 2 copies of the bios with a shadowed copie but there is no documented ways to roll back


here is a guide on how to build a recovery disc for the procedure note that not all usb key will work my kingston don't while my trancend does why i don't know it's just like that

in my personal case the win crisis failed i had to use the mini dos one

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-your-phoenix-bios-bios-recovery-methods.html



The closer i came was by unplugging the laptop pulling the batterie then pulling the csmos

When you replug the laptop it roll back to a factory state where the shadowed copie wait for the branded bios (alienware, ocz or msi) to be loaded

You have to press a combination of Fn+ f2, esc, del or maybe ctrl+f2 or w/e (i don't recal wich i had to try 25 combination to get it right) then press the power button while holding the combinason if you are lucky you will ger more then just a little blinking and the flash process should begin

 

I feel so relieved that it seems like there is an answer, but I also feel like an idiot because I have questions to ask about this.

I'll take the "being a noob" route and ask anyway.

FIRST: I can't seem to find the actual .rom or .wph bios file from Alienware... ANYWHERE. All I have is the .iso that alienware gives you, and there aren't any real files in there. Maybe I am just completely clueless, or I have to go to the storage unit and dig up my notebook thing so I can make a myHive account and download the bios file? I hope this makes sense... Should/could the .29 .rom file from zfactor work with the Crisis disk?

SECOND: I did fully unplug/remove the battery when I did the CMOS reset. When I did that at first, my computer seems to start up on it's own as soon as I plug it in. ("starts up" meaning the LED's come on). Should I be trying to hold down the key combo before/while I am plugging it in, THEN hitting the power again? Or should I just plug it in and wait. FYI, when I plug it in is when the USB flashes the one time, not when I hold down the power button and it seems to reset.

THIRD: Should I be doing a "full" reset each time? Like, by pulling the CMOS each time I try a new key combo? Should I be leaving the CMOS unplugged when I try this?

I am looking around for some different USB drives because it is possible that my SanDisk drive won't work as a crisis boot disk.

Thank you all so much for responding, I had left myself to despair and was considering just selling the bricked thing on eBay, but these posts have given me real hope that I might not be completely screwed!

 

The original BIOS file is located in the CD or ISO (the .iso alienware gave you) boot sector. It is hidden, you'll need to extract it using two tools; I use UltraISO & WinImage. This how I do it:-
1) Open .iso file with UltraISO
2) Go to Bootable \ Save Boot File... - save to any name.
3) Open the .bif with WinImage - extract the content.

Is this pure Alienware or Dell Alienware? Sorry, I don't know much about Alienware history. The BIOS recovery is doable on the Alienware, only need to figure out what is the combination key to trigger the BIOS recovery.

@granyte, when you said "2 copies of the bios", does you means that it have dual-BIOS? I was wondering did you tried the modified BIOS?

 

Thanks. I was able to extract the BIOS file. The computer is a "pure" alienware, I believe. It is confusing for me, because I ordered it the very week they were switching over, so I have the old Alienware support, even though I purchased it through the DELL store. (I have an account on myHive, and no support through Dell).

I've been trying all kinds of combinations of keys, using Fn, ctrl, win + esc, del, end, a, f, b, x, r, n. I am not sure what else to try, but I am about to just go through with each and every one.

I was wondering what sort of thing I should be experiencing on my end? After doing many searches, I came up with people having very different experiences when dealing with a blind flash/recovery. The USB drive I am using right now SHOULD be flashing the led when it is being accessed. It doesn't ever flash, it just turns on. I am also not hearing any system beeps at all.

Thanks,
~Zac

 

Not all notebook produced beeps in BIOS recovery mode. Also some USB flash drive, the LED doesn't flash at all (flashed but not noticeable) - similar with what I experienced on my Dell with kingston DataTraveler USB flash drive. On my Acer Aspire 9420, except when accessing/reading the BIOS file from the floppy disk, there is no visible activity at all but BIOS recovered successfully. What I can confirmed is that the BIOS recovery take time around 10 to 15 minutes - depend on the CRISIS disk media, & when it finished/successful, notebook will automatically restart.

Sometime, when you created CRISIS disk using WINCRIS.EXE in Windows 7 64-bit, WINCRIS.EXE failed to copy the necessary files to CRISIS disk. Make sure these files is exist in CRISIS disk, if not copy it manually:-
- MINIDOS.SYS
- PHLASH16.EXE
- BIOS.WPH (this is your BIOS file)

Make sure both the battery & AC adapter is plugged in.

Maybe it require floppy disk. Try using floppy disk with USB floppy drive. Try these combination of keys:-
Fn+F2, Fn+esc, Fn+del, ctrl+f2, ctrl+w, ctrl+e, End, Fn+B, Win+B, Fn+R, Win+R

 

It has those files in it. Is it a problem if it also has an autoexec.bat file that runs 'phlash16.exe /x /s bios.WPH' ?

I understand that it can take 10 - 15 minutes, and I am ok with that. Up until now I was just assuming it would flash the LED on the USB drive. It DOES flash in a regular computer when data is being copied to it, but I am not so sure about when it is being read from it.

I will be trying each key combo AND waiting 15 minutes for each.

 

I am gonna try to sleep now, but I wanted to note that I do not have access to a USB FDD right now. From the sound of it, Granyte did a successful restore with a USB stick? I am going to go out and look for a small kingston drive tomorrow, because that brand seems to have the best luck with this.

 

1 yes you should bull the csmos each time or keep it pulled all the way along
2 you need to keep the combo pressed from befor you plug the power in yes i forgot the laptop was booting when ever it gets power

@kizwan no i did no flash to your bios i in fact reverted back to B14 cause after a long term usage of z.29 i found out it was damaging the batterie pack


yes it has dual bios the bios summary screen of the laptop tells about it and several other nice feature we don't have any kind of acces to

also yess this laptop beep when flashing not only that it has video suport

 

Just to be positive, the CMOS battery is the coin-like battery wrapped in black, between the GPUS, right?

I searched everywhere, and I am fairly certain that this is it, but I just want to make sure.

 

yes that's the one

 

Tried just about every key combination I can think of, and nothing seems to work at all. I'm gonna have to throw in the towel soon unless anyone has any other ideas.

 

do you have an other usb key ?

as i told not all usb key work fine

and what version are you using the win crisis or the mini dos ?

 

I have a 4GB Cruzer Micro, and a 128 MB Cruzer Micro. After reading up on some stuff, and not being able to get anything to even read the 4gb stick, I believe I would have had the best success with the 128 stick. Here is a recount of the last x amount of trials I did.

128mb CRUZER Wincris
CTRL esc - X
CTRL f2 - X
CTRL B - X
Fn B - X
Fn f2 - X
Fn esc - X

END(1) - X
END(Arw) - X

Delete - X

Other known working key combinations

Fn+N - X
Fn+F - X
Fn+R - X
CTRL+R - X
CTRL+F - X
CTRL+N - X

WIN+ESC - X
WIN+f2 - X
WIN+B - X
WIN+N - X
WIN+F - X
WIN+R - X


If you can recommend a particular drive that I could find locally, I would be very willing to try it. I can stand going through all these hoops when there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It just gets discouraging when nothing seems to have any effect at all.

As far as the versions of WinCrisis etc... Lets see.. It is WINCRIS version 1.0.0.4 I also tried using the HP USB format tool on the other link you gave me. I used the first one (Metod 1).

 

i honestly don't know i'll look if i can reproduce the event in my case i was using a trancend 4gb the only time it worked


that's a quote from zfactor when i contacted him about the process

i'll dig throug my post history to see if i posted the sucessfull combo


EDIT: no i didn't http://forum.notebookreview.com/ace...nix-bios-bios-mod-request-73.html#post6764004

 

I just want to update that I've still made no progress on this. Still working on it. It is looking like this computer may not be recoverable though.

 

There are another options. There are several company who provide service for BIOS recovery. You'll need to send your notebook to them though.

OR

You can order pre-programmed BIOS chip. You can ask them to flashed it with M17's BIOS.

 

i don't think he can order a preprogrammed bios chip

when i dismanteled the laptop i didn't find any removable chip if i id i would just have had no trouble flashing the laptop to W/e since i know and i'm equiped to write data to an eeprom chip
i may just have looked and not seen it but i honestly doubt
so his best bet is a BIOS recovery service like BIOSMAN


EDIT: as of 1/20/2011 biosman website seem infected by a trojan avoid navigating to it unless you ahve a good virus protection

 

Actually it is possible because someone already done it (different notebook - BIOS chip also not detachable). However, it is a bit difficult because he need to have good skill in soldering & de-soldering computer chips.

Yeah, I prefer BIOS recovery service like BIOSMAN too but I just gave him two choices in case he prefer pre-programmed BIOS chip.

 

scaning through the my digital life forum i found something

Phoenix bios SLIC mod requests (*.WPH or *.ROM files).

there is a HP file with a longer methode on how to perform your recovery inside of it you would how eve need to replace the bios and etc

there might be a need for an aditional autorun file with the specific instruction for plash16 on the m17 though

 

I've been working with someone locally who has contacts with various companies (like DELL) who's been giving me some help and trying things with me. I am flying back to New York (was my home before college) and I'm only about an hour away from the site mentioned a few pages back. If I can't fix it I'll try there. It is a BIOS reprogramming facility afaik.

 

One quick question. For different key methods for restarting, I come across using the "end" key very often. WHICH end key is this referring to? There is one on the numpad and one on the dpad.

 

on the m17 that would refere to fn+right arrow

 

Ok, the rescue method for the m17 "should" be.

USB drive in the eSATA port, with the battery and power cord unplugged. Holding the END key, plug in the USB drive, then plug in the power. This should boot to recovery mode.

I can't seem to get this to work though.

 

I believe you already tried both END key right? Did you noticed any "out of ordinary" behavior from the notebook LED indicator? Like keyboard backlight flashing? (Behavior which is not the same when you powered ON without pressing any key)

 

the keyboard leds and alienhead led's have never been lit up (since this bad bios flash that is). The only LED lights that will come on are...

The power and battery LEDS will come on (on the back panel) when either are plugged in. When I plug JUST the battery in, the battery light on the back of the case will blink orange. The power button will also blink orange. The LED which looks like the touchpad will turn on as BLUE. Nothing else comes on or changes.

With JUST the power cable in, the power LED on the back of the case will turn on (blue). The power button on the laptop will also turn on and be blue. The power and touchpad leds will also come on and stay on(both blue).

With both the power AND the battery plugged in, the battery light will be on, but be a consistent orange (until it is charged back up, then it changes to the power light being blue). The power button acts the same way. (It is orange, until the battery is fully charged, then blue. it doesn't blink). The power and touchpad leds on the center panel are also on and just blue.

No combination of keys I have ever pressed seemed to change anything with the leds turning on/off, or which leds lit up. I'm going to try again with a few to see if they will blink or w/e. I do want to say again, that the alienhead leds have not turned on, neither has the keyboard backlight (which I believe needed the BIOS running to work). Neither has the capslock, numlock, wireless, or the cylinder LED's ever turned on.

 

Also, put Alienware's (original) BIOS CD in DVD drive. Just in case it also work as CRISIS disk.

 

the keyboard should turn red or turn red then go back to black in any case there is video suport in crysis process on the m17

 

Darn. Well I think I must have somehow completely screwed it. I've not been able to get ANY video support whatsoever (or system beeps).

I did try the CD drive as a possible form of recovery, but I don't think that will work either. The drive will spin up (the light actually stays on for about 10 seconds) but then the light goes off and it will spin down and not read anything.

Any other thoughts or possibilities will be accepted. I can't think of would be the problem. Is there a way to fix the "It turns on automatically once it gets power" thing?

This problem arose when I flashed the bios, which went off without a hitch, and even said it was successful. Any ideas on other things which could possibly be causing this? One of my USB ports was broken from wife/children pulling on the cords (the plastic insert came out). I don't think that this could have anything to do with it, but I'm pulling at strings here. I'm half afraid getting the BIOS reprogrammed at a place like aqstech won't even work, but that is probably just fear.

 

Not all notebook will behave the same.

I believe it will work. They have the required equipment.

 

Shipping the laptop out today. Wish me luck on the repair. I'll let you know if all goes well (or otherwise).

 

ok good luck any chance they could fin the real procedure once they have the laptop in hands?

 

So I got it back in the mail today, everything is working fine. Thanks for all of the help and suggestions. I'm glad that the first website which was suggested to me (AQStech.com) was close to where I'd be, and worked like a charm.

I also want to thank everyone who wasn't on the forums who helped me. There isn't much documentation for this recovery process, but it SHOULD be like this:

Create a Crisis disk using WinCris.exe (Replase BIOS.ROM)
The instructions I received stated that it was specific to use .rom, not .wph.
Remove battery.
Remove AC power plug.
Insert key in the USB/SATA combo port.
Hold down the END key.
Plug in AC power.
Wait for the beeps, then release the END key.
The system will probably continue to beep during the entire process. Don’t interrupt it.

This is the only documentation that a contact with dell could find for the M17 recovery mode.


IF anyone else happens to have this problem in the future, try anything you can, but I'd say first and fore-most: "Don't flash your BIOS, suck it up and live with the stuttering." I lived with it for so long because I stumbled upon the flashing the bios possibility to fix my issues, and it ended up putting my computer out of commission for a month. (It'd be faster if you just sent it in instantly, but I was trying to fix it myself for so long.)



On one last note, can someone point me to how I might turn off my Hard Drive's auto-stop feature. I don't recall what it is called, but it is when a laptop hard drive will stop spinning instantly if it is jostled at all. I'd have to say that maybe mine is broken. It's the only thing I can think of for some of the random system freezes I experience (and there is a definitive clicking when this occurs.)

 

the free fall sensor

you have to go into the device manager right click on the hdd and seach the tabs for the option

if you are talking about the power saving feature go into the advanced power option

 

Cruzac, although you may not know this but you didn't really have much of a choice as BIOSMAN don't do surface Mount soldered type BIOS chips sales..

....and I don't think they've ever done any Surface Mount laptop motherboard repair.. as I don't see any of that service advertised on their website.. Appears to be only older PLCC and DIP type programming thats found on older style desktop boards.

PS.. don't go to BIOSMAN's website.. just got a virus from it.. spent the last hour scanning and getting rid of it..

 

ny av software just gone crazy when i got to thier page it seem they got infected recently i'll add a warning to my post

 

BUMPING for the sake of finding AQStech.com back nad for all the information contained in this thread

(hell going from a 4 cores dualgfx 17" beast to a 10.1" single core netbook is a hard transition and searching the forum through it seem even harder then on my touch)

looks like i will be the second custome to deal with aqstech for recovery of his m17

 

I have similar problem just now - have tried to update bios to 029 z's and bricked the laptop - it wasn't starting up at all as you would expect. After pushing the reset button it just stays on permanently - pushing the power button just turns restarts it.

I have tried holding the end key on my M17 R1 but it doesn't work (to start with there is no end key so had to hold Fn+right arrow). Maybe I should try a different combination?

Any ideas on how could I fix it?

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

get in touch with them reset fix bios laptop repair HP Acer Dell Lenovo IBM Toshiba Sony - AQSTECH

if you bricked the laptop they are the only ones that can fix it they saved mine