Insyde BIOS recovery (Fn+Esc)

Muntaqim_313
Muntaqim_313 Member Posts: 1 New User

I'll get straight to the point. I have an Acer Aspire V3 551G-X419. When my laptop's LCD screen went white after a GPU update, I decided to upgrade my laptop's BIOS. But after restarting, my laptop's LCD and the monitor I had connected to the VGA port (which worked up until this restart) had no signal. So I restarted. And then...

 

...my laptop would turn on for a few seconds, and shut off. The screen wouldn't even turn on. I did some diagnostics, and took out both RAM's. Normally the laptop would go haywire on startup, if it didn't detect any RAM, but it did nothing this time. No beeps, no reaction, nothing.

 

After a bit of research, I discovered that many people have had the same problem, and have recovered from it using a simple recovery method.

 

There are some files that I need to copy onto a flash drive, and plug it into my laptop. Take out the battery and unplug the power cord. Then hold Fn+Esc, plug in the cord, power up, and let go of the buttons when the CPU fan starts.

 

This time, it doesn't shut off. But I see no activity on the flashdrive either. Waited 30 minutes at this state, still nothing. So I need some help:

 

1. What format should the flashdrive be? i.e. FAT, FAT 16 or FAT 32?

2. What file(s) do I need to have on the flash drive, and do they have to have a specific name? Please provide download links, if possible.

3. Will the laptop signal, or in any way acknowledge the validity of the BIOS recovery files, and that the recovery process has initiated?

4. How long will the BIOS recovery take?

 

Any help on this would be appreciated.

 

-Muntaqim_313

Answers

  • magilla
    magilla Member Posts: 8 New User

    I am having a similar problem with my Aspire. I believe I need to flash the BIOS. From what I've read, you need to find your model on the Acer support website, and download the BIOS onto a freshly formatted pen drive of 2 GB or less. Use FAT to format the pen drive.

     

    Unzip the BIOS package, go into the DOS directory and copy the BIOS (should have an extension of .fd) and FLASH IT.EXE (that's one word but it gets edited) to the root directory of the pen drive. You also need to rename the .fd file- I don't recall the name but Google around and you will find it. I believe it's something like "Z51?????" but it might be different for your model. Make sure your laptop is powered down and plugged in. While holding the Fn and ESC keys, press and hold the power button until it starts to flash, then release all 3 keys. Everything I've read says that if you've done it correctly, it should take 1-7 minutes for the machine to boot. If you have not done everything correctly, you run the risk of permanently trashing your machine.

     

    All that being said, the latest versions of BIOS that I need do not seem to unzip into a .fd file and the FLASH IT.EXE application. I get an executable file and a README that says "Click on the (executable) to update the BIOS." Well, I cannot do that because my machine won't start. When I look at an earlier version of the BIOS (1.06 I believe, instead of 1.08) I get TWO .fd files, with no indication of which is the right one for my machine. I have an Aspire One A0756 series, model Q1V2C.

     

    If anyone can give me some advice, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

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