cant enter uefi/bios but laptop boots windows

Hi,

I have an approx. 3 years old MSI GE70 2pc laptop. DIdnt touch any settings since about 1.5 - 2 years, working like a charm. Last week I tried checking the ram settings and frequencies and was shocked that i couldnt enter the bios. Initially i thought i forgot how to enter, if it was somethign other than the del button.
It freezes with a non blinking cursor in the mid-left. Only way to escape is a power button off.

Spoiler: system details

------------------
System Information
------------------
Serial Number: 9S7175912289ZE5000029
Product Name: GE70 2PC
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Ver.1709(OS build 16299.15.amd64fre.rs3_release.170928-1534)
Windows Product Key: 3V66T
HDI Build: non-OEM
BIOS Version: E1759IMS.616
BIOS Release Date: 2014/04/16
EC Version: 1759EMS1 Ver5.09, 12/01/2014
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4710HQ CPU @ 2.50GHz

Very similar problem to the below:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...nto-bios-or-stuck-at-msi-screen.789775/page-3

However the solution listed there was somehow they found a bin flash file which is not available or at least i couldnt find for my laptop.
How can i find what motherboard version i have?
How can the laptop boot if the uefi/bios is not working?
I noticed my bios version is not the latest, E1759IMS.62D how can i flash it hoping for a solution if i cant get into legacy bios?

Thanks so much for any help guys, i cant afford a mobo replacement so i hope theres still some hope here.

 

Download BIOS from here

You can enter boot menu with F11 and boot from your USB drive.

 

Is the GT70 mobo the same as my GE70?
The F11 menu doesn't work in my case, I get the same non blinking cursor in the mid left freeze as in the linked thread.
I was thinking about resetting my entire windows 10 in hope it does something to the UEFI (or the uefi partition?) so i made a win 10 boot usb and sometimes (not always) i can get under the troubleshooting restart modes a boot option to use the USB after which it will use the usb win10 install boot. Should i try restarting to that with nothing else on the USB stick than a GE70 bios?

 

Fixed the link for ya, my bad.

If it boots from your USB stick then all is fine, no need to F11 then, just boot from your USB stick, flash new BIOS. Also do an EC reset after flashing BIOS + EC, just in case.

How to EC reset

In case you're unsure how to make a bootable flash drive:
How to make a bootable flashdrive

 

1) Read this guide: How to update MSI Laptop BIOS

2) Secondly, you need to boot into the BIOS to access the UEFI update. Firstly, make sure your DEL key is actually working by trying to delete something when typing, if it is working, then you may need to reset your BIOS as something's just not right if you can't enter the BIOS by hitting the DEL key.

Turn the laptop on its back and look if you see a small hole where you can enter a sharp object there should be a reset button there. that's how it is on my GT73VR Titan pro, if you can't find such a button / hole, then try this.

Turn off the laptop, now press and hold the power button for 30 seconds, do not release it even if you see the laptop boot cycling, that should reset the BIOS to defaults then try hitting the DEL key the moment it starts, keep spamming the DEL key quickly

If all fails, then disconnect the power cable, open the back panel on the laptop then see if you can locate the CMOS battery and remove it then wait for 30 seconds, then put it back again

Once you are able to enter BIOS, go the UEFI BIOS update and update your BIOS as per the guide in step 1 above

 

deleted

 

Hi,

thank you so much for these replies!
Well the entire problem is that i cant enter the uefi bios. The del button works for sure, that i can confirm in windows. F11 doesnt work either, gives the same freeze.
On the GE70 there is no such button at least i couldnt find it yet.

I already tried the cmos reset method although with disconnected AC and battery that was the method I found. Should i try it connected / keep pressing while it boots?
The cmos battery i cant disconnect its not accessible its under the non removable cover.
Do you think i should try taking apart the entire laptop and try to disconnect the cmos battery before trying to flash the newer bios with Danishblunt's method?

 

OP clearly stated he can't access his BIOS, so this method won't work. His EC/BIOS is likely damaged or he updated EC only/ BIOS only and needs to be reflashed.

 

no that's too much trouble to reset a BIOS, taking it apart is very difficult. Try the DOS Flash method although I've never tried it myself

 

I read what the OP said ok? Didn't you read the methods I suggested of how to reset the BIOS? that's because I saw that he can't get into his BIOS!

@JulesWinnfield

Did you try tuning off the laptop, then while it's connected to the AC Power, hold the power button for 30 seconds straight and see if it resets your BIOS?

 

I had a similar issue with a machine recently.
Power off the machine. Remove AC adapter and remove battery(not CMOS).
Press Power button/ hold for 10 secs.
Re-insert battery and AC adapter and attempt normal BIOS access; ie: 'del' key.
(success-you're in) (no success-continue below)

Hold the 'SHIFT' key down when starting the computer.
Windows 10 should start with a 'Repair Options' screen.
It will show Advanced options, Command line options, Troubleshooting options,
Safe mode, etc. Click each box to find the best option...
One of the options will be accessing 'Setup' or BIOS and entering UEFI settings.
Give it a try...

Hope this helps-

 

Thank you.

I already tried all of these options, no success. The restart into uefi settings from win 10 results in the same freeze. The cmos reset i even tried with holding it for 1 minute and didnt reset. There is an option there to boot into USB that worked though, which i dont understand how could it be possible without a working bios.

The only method i didnt try was AC plugged in and holding the power button for 30 seconds. If that doesn't work I guess i'll have to try to restart onto USB somehow and use the previously described bios flashing with the MSIHQ tool.

 

Ok tried the plugged in CMOS reset. It doesn't work either unfortunately

 

Isnt there an option in windows for fast boot? If so, try to disable that and see if you can get in.

If that doesn't work you can try this; if the hdd that has Windows on it is easy to get to, try unplugging the hdd, then start it up pressing the delete key. My msi desktop (signature) did this once and I couldn't get in the bios no matter what until I tried this. If this works and you're able to get in the bios, try plugging the hdd back in, reboot and see if you can get back in.

I'm no pro like the guys that have replied. You can try what I've suggested but sounds like your problem might go above my help level.

 

Suggestion: When posting something you have tried- Please post each and every step along the way so we can get a complete understanding of the exact steps you took. A two sentence reply is not informative enough to understand what you did.

I would like to suggest that you should take your time with this issue. Trying to update the BIOS unless you are 100% sure of: the correct installation methods, correct flash file, etc.- can lead to very bad results. I don't suggest doing anything that you cannot take back...until it is absolutely the last option. That is why the manufacturer will not take responsibility for problems while flashing the BIOS. Just saying...

If you take your time you usually will have better results.

Can you post your level of computer experiences, so that we may convey any options in a more concise way? We will be able to understand each other better that way.
If you don't understand something, ask again, 'before just doing it'.
What Operating system did this machine originally ship with...Win 7- Win 8 - Win 10?
Or- did you Upgrade to Win 10 from an earlier OS.?

This MSI page is a good read----> https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=116721.0

 

There is indeed a fast startup option under the power settings which is ticked on for me. I am hesitant disabling it because if my bios is indeed fubar it may happen that the only reason my windows has been able to boot is cause it was only in a sort of S4 state or higher and never needed bios for a full restart. And the only way until now I've been able to boot to USB is by using the win 10 special startup troubleshooting features (that is near the restart into UEFI settings mentioned above that does not work).
Win 10 is on an m.2 SSD , I tried booting without all the drives plugged in already, it also results in the mentioned freze

 

Thanks for the comments. Until now there are 2 methods of CMOS reset I've seen. First and the one i see everywhere is unplug battery and AC power and hold power button for 10-30-60 seconds depending on where this info is found. Phoenix above suggested another way (first time ive seen it), trying to hold power while plugged into AC and battery to see if it resets the CMOS. It resulted in laptop turning on then doing a hard turn off i guess when it recognized power button on for many seconds, then it stayed off, i released the button around 32 seconds. The plugged in cmos reset comment was about this, it was midnight after a 6 hour long arma 2 session, i was tired and thought i'll mention it here before going to sleep, thus the short description.

I am taking my time with the issue, it's been 2 weeks since i noticed it and all i've been doing is research and the cmos reset and finding sources for help. Thank you for the link as suggested read about the MSI HQ tool i've already went through it and until now i've reset my usb stick for fat32 and am about to put the bios onto it using the tool. I am hesitating doing a bios flash because i know its the most risky thus i'm waiting for any other ideas and going through them first. Unfortunately i'm already past warranty bought the laptop a little more than 3 years ago.
The bios update method with MSIHQ i will for sure do only according to the link you and Danishblunt posted before, but i'm considering it as a last option. The bios file i got from MSI's support site for the laptop which ive known for a long time but I believe was also posted by Danishblunt.

Regarding my computer experience i dont know what to say, i've grown up with computers this is the first time I'm not able to solve a pc/laptop problem myself in 30 years and until about 1-2 years ago a clear windows install including repartitioning was a regular yearly process for me but i got dragged up in work and the laptop was working so perfectly it just wasnt necessary at all. Of course if i dont dive into similar issues my knowledge starts to fade and i nowhere know everything, so i'm askign for help and will ask if i dont understand something in a manual, although i tend to google up on any step before i do it.

this laptop originally shipped with win 8 i believe, that i turned to 8.1 and if i remember correctly there was a free win 10 update that i used. It was an upgrade but afterwards I am fairly sure i did a win 10 reset and also as i mention since i have the thing for clean installs a win 10 repartiotioning and fresh install from USB. But i cant tell exactly its been so long as i had no problems and the laptop was working like a charm. Still is working perfectly except the bios problem which is quite bad.

Let me thank you all for the help and ideas you posted here, and let me know if there's any other question i could provide more details.

 

The MSIHQ tool does not give an option with laptops to use a bios file, option 2 in this case is to request bios from Svet directly, which I did now. I am still hesitating reflashing my bios hopefully someone comes up with some other steps i could try.

Edit:

I made some other tests, removing the RAM causes black screen and no boot at all and requires long press of power button to turn off, removing the OS ssd results in the previously mentioned non blinking cursor freeze from which a short press turns off instantly..

 

Have you tried just a single stick of RAM at a time?

 

Thanks for the reply, I feel like I know who I'm talking to now...

Read thru this a time or two and look at all the links to get comfortable with the procedures. It seems pretty straight forward after reading it over a few times...but, understanding it and trying to put it into words that can be understood, is something different...
Hope some it makes sense...

As mentioned by KY_Bullet earlier, I seen an MSI reference to, '...uncheck the 'Fast boot option' before the update. If you want to use Fast boot, recheck the box AFTER the BIOS update". and make sure to use the AC adapter and to set the 'hibernation / sleep mode' to 'Never'...until after the update.
---

1.
**Svet had this to say about the questions posted from an different user...his answers lead me to what I have posted here...
(I have roughly copied the post below, but the link is here to read)
Topic: What BIOS update to use? ( see link below)
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=183809.0
-Question...
*OP-How can I update GE70 BIOS for Wındows 7 ?
-I downloaded BIOS for Windows 7x64 E1759IMS.620.
-I formatted USB as FAT32 FS and copied BIOS files.
-What do I do after now? Win7 is not supported UEFI update, Do I update DOS ?
Svet- What is your current BIOS version?
OP-Current bios is E1759IMS.616 now.
Svet- Ok, then follow MSI's flash guide included in .txt file in archive file.
OS used has no matter.

My take on that is; the correct BIOS file is not determined by the operating system, but, by the numbering system.
In your case; just as above, the current BIOS is E1759IMS.616 (examples shown in PDF say: if your current file is this E1759IMS. 600,
then the correct download would be this E1759IMS. 6xx or more precisely, this E1759IMS.62D.
---

2.
**Find your machine listing -GE70 2PC Apache ( see link below)-
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GE70-2PC-Apache
Under the BIOS heading there, you will find the BIOS file...[E1759IMS .62D w/Release date of 2015-05-06]???
To me, it seems logical that your current BIOS version ('spoiler button')--> E1759IMS .616 w/Release date of 2014/04/16<--would logically be followed by [ E1759IMS.62D ]???
---

3.
**How to update BIOS? ( see link below)
http://www.msi.com/files/pdf/How_to_update_bios_en.pdf
---

4.
**-After you download the BIOS files and extract them, you will find the 'BIOS bin file' and 'text files' and you will be using the SOP(Standard Operating Procedure) below to create the update with EFI BIOS Utility.( see instruction link below)-
(Zoom-in on that PDF so you can see the images better, and identify the files you have extracted to the file examples shown in the instruction)
http://www.msi.com/files/pdf/Flash_BIOS_by_UEFI_BIOS_Setup_Utility_en.pdf
*Under the Methods of update (in the link above)- you will be using #1. EFI BIOS Utility-
When you are ready, you can, Set up your USB stick and have it ready.


There was also mention of the correct procedure to reset CMOS, according to an MSI support moderator and mentioned in an earlier reply...
The procedure was to power down the machine, by holding the power button for 1 minute until all lights are out making sure the machine is off and not in hibernation or sleep mode.
Next, unplug the AC adapter and remove the long battery in the back; if it is removable. If the battery is not removable, look for a small hole in the rear(it might say 'reset') and use a straightened paper clip to press into the hole. Once that has been done, press and hold power button once again for 30 secs to 1 min. to drain all residual voltage from the board components and wait 10 minutes. After that; it was said, the CMOS should be reset and you can insert the battery and the adapter and give it a go...
You might give it one more try step-by-step to see if that works for you.

Some of this may be obvious, but, having done desktop/laptop repairs for quite a long time, I think this should get it done...
But, verify everything until you feel good about what you are doing...
Everything as it is now looks normal to me as far as the current files, the update file, etc. so besides the small glitch of getting into the BIOS setup (which I think will happen)

One more thing- when attempting to boot into BIOS setup, using the 'DEL' key, make sure there is not a USB plugged into the machine or a CD/DVD.

Sorry this is so long, but, it's a BIOS update operation and I thought it should be thorough enough to understand.

Hope this helps-

 

My RAM is a single 8gb stick kingston.

Thank you again for the comprehensive list, the longer the better I may miss something or do something differently, there are quite many info on forums to gather. Thanks again I feel quite comfortable with the MSI instructions on how to update the bios, that is where I started, I have the official EFI bios downloaded (at the moment the only one i found for this laptop). But i cant use that, because it needs me to boot into bios... Which is the initial problem. I have just noticed however an error in my MSIHQ process, the 62D version bios is in a zip file as well... but still couldnt solve it, when I try to link to that ZIP file it stops with an error and asks me to point directly to it, which does not work with laptops.

I am all in for turning off the fast startup (would like to point out the difference between "fast startup" win 10 option and "fast boot" bios option, what is the link between the two?) but I'm afraid it will break my currently working win 10 install. Do I understand that you mean turning off the fast startup option can bring up my bios?
"besides the small glitch of getting into the BIOS setup (which I think will happen)" That is the question, how can we make that happen?

Until now it did not matter which drive / usb was in the computer all combinations resulted in the freeze when trying to enter bios.

At this point i'm more or less stuck because unless I can get into bios somehow (the source problem) I can't use the official bios update method, and svet's MSIHQ does not recognize the downloaded official EFI bios zip file.
I will try your CMOS reset process as well, step by step and I'll turn off the fast startup win 10 setting before it. As I understand this is the last remaining idea I didnt try exactly as written here and there isnt another step we could do at this point, hoping I can reset my CMOS this way, but it could solve the entire problem without the bios reflash if it works.
Right?

 

You have to unzip the zip file so the BIOS is visible to the BIOS updater. What's your current version of BIOS & EC now? You can look for BIOS info using msinfo32 if you can't find it in the BIOS.

 

MSI fast boot is a software utility that reboots your computer from the desktop and takes you straight to the bios. If you have this installed, try using it to get in the bios because this is the only purpose of. This utility. There is an option in my bios that enables MSI fast boot but, if you download it and use it once, it automatically enables it in the bios, well in mine anyway.

Im not exactly sure how Fast start up works in Windows, but im pretty sure it just saves your current start up configuration in memory which allows for faster reboots.

But yeah it shouldn't hurt to try using MSI fast boot to see if it can allow you to get in.

Hope you get this figured out. I know your pain buddy.

Charlie

 

Hi,
which BIOS updater?

According to MSI help desk app the current versions are:
BIOS Version: E1759IMS.616
BIOS Release Date: 2014/04/16
EC Version: 1759EMS1 Ver5.09, 12/01/2014

I don't have any application called MSI fast boot or anything fast boot installed. Also there is nothing like this (at least for my laptop) in the official apps here:
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GE70-2PC-Apache#down-utility

 

BIOS:
http://download.msi.com/bos_exe/nb/E1759IMS.62D.zip

EC is up-to-date.

 

That is correct. That is the new EFI bios bin file. I can't install it at the moment, MSIHQ does not recognize it and I can't use the official bios update process cause i can't access my bios because of the freeze. This is the source problem in the op.

 

Is it possible that you may need to flash to an interim version of BIOS before you can flash to the latest?

 

So... I would like to point out, the question is not and never was which bios version i need to flash. There is only one version on the official site that should work fine, but I am happy to flash any other previous version if deemed necessary.

The question is how? My original problem is that I can't access the current bios. I thought flashing the newer version could solve it.

 

Well I turned off fast start-up. And I also tried the above described CMOS reset, step by step, still cant access bios, results in the same freeze with non blinking cursor.

Any ideas I could try maybe?
I guess the only way left is by trying to flash a bios for GE70 2PC that can be done without accessing bios. Please help

 

Might be able to ask Prema. Even though it's not Clevo, he still might be able to give you some help of what you could try. Might be worth a try at this point.

 

Sorry, whos Prema?

As some slight update, I managed to get a bios to flash on a usb key for my laptop, however I cannot use it for booting. Below is what shows in the menu under troubleshooting restarts, where I was able to use my win10 install key to boot. Doesn't work with the MSIHQ flash USB key, when I try to boot onto it, it just restarts into win 10.
https://pasteboard.co/H36l5dG.png

 

Prema is a genius when it comes to bios modding, troubleshooting etc etc...When he is on here, he posts in the Clevo/Sager forum. He is always helping people out, great dude!

Even though yours is MSI, he still may be able to help you out.

Hope this helps you out.

Charlie

 

Try 625, see if you can get to this at least.
http://download.msi.com/bos_exe/nb/E1759IMS.625.zip

 

Hello Everyone,

I would like to thank you for every little help and idea provided.
The case was solved with help of the MSIHQ author, a bios reflash to the most updated version has worked and brought took me into bios.
If anyone finds this and needs a solution, I could not boot using the USB created with MSIHQ although I was able to boot to the win 10 install created for USB.
The solution was to flash the bios from windows.

Thanks again everyone and kudos to this great community and for MSI for creating awesome laptops!

(Honestly after having alienware and asus rog series, I love MSI more than any of those)

 

Funny that flashing from Windows worked for you. MSI desktops have an app called "Live update 6" (MSI notebooks may have it too?), it automatically downloads new drivers and installs them for you and it also has the capability of flashing a new bios if one is available.

It has been proven time and time again that flashing the bios from Windows with Live update bricks the PC just about every time. Even the moderators on the MSI forum suggest not to use it for bios flashing lol!

I'm glad you got it figured out.

 

I did not use live update 6, I tried but it's not supported for this laptop and just exits.

 

LiveUpdate is not made for notebooks but desktop motherboards.
Good to see that Svet's tool was able to resolve the issue for you.

 

Great news JulesWinnfield - glad to know you are back in business. It's always nice to hear about an issue being resolved...