Aspire 5520 BIOS flash - Which files to copy to USB?

I cannot find a section for Aspire laptops,so I'm posting this here.

I have an Aspire 5520g on Windows 7, used on a daily basis. When using it yesterday, the machine froze and I had to restart it. On restart it wanted to do a system repair, but after a while I just had a blank screen (with a bit of a backlight). I booted the machine again with a live Linux UB and copied off my data.

When I boot the laptop now, the fan and hard drive spin up, but the screen is completely dead. I have tried an external monitor with no luck.

After googling myself into a near coma it looks like a possible fix would be to flash the BIOS. I would like to try this - I have downloaded and extracted the correct files from Acer support, but I am not sure which files to copy to a USB drive to flash the machine. I would really appreciate someone helping me with this. The files that I have extracted are:

flash32.exe (I guess this is used if you want to flash the BIOS from within Windows, which I cannot do)

ic50133.BAT

ic50133.ROM

ic50133.WPH

phlash16.exe

There is a readme file that is not very helpful to me, it states the following:

Model Name: Aspire 5220, Aspire 5520, Aspire 7220, Aspire 7520

Install SOP¡G
To flash BIOS in DOS mode, please unzip IC50133.ZIP and execute the IC50133.BAT to flash BIOS.
To flash BIOS in Windows mode, please unzip IC50133.ZIP and execute the flash32.exe to flash BIOS.

Can someone assist?

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JackE

>>>I booted the machine again with a live Linux UB and copied off my data.>>>

If you booted to a screen with a Linux USB stick, your BIOS version seems fine. So I recommend NOT trying to flash the BIOS with another version. If you do a cold boot, do you see an ACER logo screen at first? Jack E/NJ

dataworx22

Thanks for your interest , JackE.

Once I had copied off my data, I exited Linux and tried a normal boot to Windows. Again I got a screen suggesting a repair installation, which I accepted. A few seconds into that, the screen went blank again and after waiting some time I shut the machine down.

When I boot the machine now, either normally or with a USB stick, the fan and hard drive start up but the screen remains dead (no backlight, no logo, nothing at all).

JackE

Your 5520 seems to have a Phoenix BIOS chip. You need to make the FAT-formatted USB drive bootable with a downloadable windows crisis executable, WinCris.exe. Google "Phoenix Bios Recovery" without the quotes and follow the directions for doing so. Run WinCris.exe in WinXP SP3 compatibility mode. You may have to download the WinCris.exe executable from an alternate site. You might have to try renaming ic50133.ROM or the ic50133.WPH to BIOS.WPH as directed to see if one or the other flashes the BIOS. Please understand that this Fn+Esc USB boot flashing process is an unreliable last resort method and often fails because the BIOS chip itself is damaged. Jack E/NJ

dataworx22

Thanks for your time, JackE - this is certainly the clearest instruction that I have seen so far.

I'm aware that this procedure is pretty much a last resort and have taken heed of your warning. I'll try this during the week when I have some time.

JackE

OK. Please let us know if it does or doesn't do the job. Thanks Jack E/NJ

dataworx22

I got some time to try this, but I think the problem is elsewhere.

I prepared the USB drive with WinCris and then copied3 files to it:

i50133.WPH

PHLASH16.EXE

MINIDOS.SYS

I insert the USB, hold Fn and Esc, and simultaneously hit the power button. The laptop fan spins up but nothing else (Ihave remaived the hard drive for testing, it still works fine) - and there is no indication that the USB stick is being read. I have tried renaming i50133.WPH to BIOS.WPH with no luck.

I assume the USB should at least indicate read/write activity, regardless of what files may be on it. The fact that it does not indicate anything leads me to suspect that the problem is elsewhere - perhaps a dead motherboard?

JackE

Did you run WinCris.exe for the FAT32 stick in WinXP SP3 compatibity mode? Did you also try the ROM file by renaming it to BIOS.wph? Jack E/NJ

dataworx22

I've followed the instructions to the letter, I have tried leaving the file the original name and I have tried renaming it. I have also tried preparing a USB stick with the Rufus tool, then copying the relevant files to it.

My concern is that there is absolutely no indication that the machine is attempting to read the USB stick, regardless of what files there may be on it. Does the Fn+Esc combination instruct the machine to boot from USB?

JackE

>>>Does the Fn+Esc combination instruct the machine to boot from USB?>>>

The key combo should activate a special boot circuit built into the BIOS chip itself to read and install firmware that's on a bootable stick.

At this point, since it's not being activated, I'm gonna make a wild optimistic guess that this circuit is still OK. But that the CMOS button cell has shorted or otherwise gone bad rather than the chip circuit itself. Unfortunately, you must remove the keyboard to check the voltage between its solder-ball connections to the mainboard. Should be ~3v or more.

If voltage seems OK, then I'd also optimistically guess the chip's firmware somehow got corrupted enough to prevent its boot circuitry from being activated. So I'd probably momentarily short the button cell's solder-balls hopefully resetting the BIOS chip to a default workable state. Then give the button cell a few minutes to recover and check its voltage is back up to ~3v.

Then put everything back together and hope for the best.

Jack E/NJ

Dreamer1

Guys anyone can help me how to find .WPH for my Acer Aspire V3 571G, Whenever i did this Holding Fn+ESC key while the USB is inserted and plugged in the power cable then I press the power the USB read and it beeps loudly for atleast three times then it restart, ill wait for about 1 hour but nothing happens still my screen no display. I already change my memory and HDD. Please anyone can help me with this. I think my problem is my files in my bootable Flash Drive is lack of .WPH because it only compose of .FD file and format to fat32 thats all. I cant seem to find the .WPH in wincrisis v.1.0.0.4. Thankyou Sir JackE/NJ.

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