Acer Travelmate 4750 BIOS Update Failed (Bricked)

DukenD

Hi to all. So uhh, here's what happened to my friend's laptop:

 

• downloaded the latest BIOS (v1.23) for this specific notebook model from Acer website.
• extracted the files inside the zip archive, then ran the Windows-based BIOS flash software (BA40HR123.exe).
• lot of stuff (i.e. command prompt windows) suddenly appeared and within 5 seconds, Windows suddenly shuts down.

 

When attempting to reboot, the following happens:

 

• blank screen.
• fan spinning at seemingly normal speeds.
• power and battery LED indicators constantly lit with battery attached
• battery LED indicator doesn't light with battery removed, which is as expected
• harddisk activity LED indicator lights only until a few seconds later
• nothing much else happens
• doesn't shutdown by itself until forced by long-pressing power button

 

So I looked for ways of flashing the BIOS while the laptop is bricked; tried this set of steps and many other variations of it found over other forums and articles, but it seems none of them works specifically for this laptop model. Here are some specifics of what I did:

 

• could only use flashdrives, one is 8Gbs, other is 16Gbs, since I had only 2 blank DVD-Rs left and no floppy drives.
• instead of the recommended FAT file system, I could only format both flashdrives to FAT32.
• found that Fn+Esc (not Win+B or other key combinations) seemingly works in letting this laptop model enter the so-called "crisis mode" since LED blinking of the flashdrives indicate they're actually being read and searched for the BIOS file(s).
• Tried copying different BIOS files to the flashdrive as well as trying different filenames on them according to suggestions I found on the different forums/articles (ex: BA40123.WPH as is, BA40123.WPH to BIOS.WPH, BA40123.WPH to BA40123.FD, BA40123.ROM as is, BA40123.ROM to BIOS.ROM, BA40123.ROM to BA40123.FD, etc.)

So with all that being said, I hope you guys could help me get this problem fixed as soon as possible. Any constructive input will be greatly appreciated. Good day.

PS: I've read that flashing the BIOS while in Windows is generally discouraged since many factors present in a running OS could interrupt/ruin the process, which does make sense, but still surprises me as I could no longer count the times I flashed the BIOS of different laptops (i.e. Asus, HP, Toshiba) while in Windows without failure.

Alan-London

I don't have the service guide for your model but there may be some commonality between them so...

 

You need to format USB as Fat or Fat16 (Fat32 won't do it).

 

Your BIOS file needs an extension of type .fd

 

This is basically the CRISIS method.

 

Some people suggest the CRISIS BIOS should not exceed 4MB but I can't confirm this.

Service guides that I have state that the .fd file should be the only file present on the USB.

It should also be in the root of course.

My guess is it failed because you formatted to FAT32. With any luck FAT16 will do the trick.

 

DukenD

Thanks a lot Alan for the response.

 

Unfortunately, the only flashdrives I have are the 8-Gb and 16-Gb ones I mentioned before, which both I cannot format to FAT. Looks like I have to look for and borrow older flashdrives with 4Gbs or less capacity for this...

 

Another thing is none of the files inside the DOS folder of the extracted zipped BIOS Update is of file type .fd. These are what's inside the folder:

 

• ACERACDC.exe
• BA40123.ROM
• BA40123.WPH
• Efildr16 (no extension)
• Flash.bat
• KBC.exe
• Pflash.exe

I reckon the most likely candidate BIOS ROM files are either BA40123.ROM or BA40123.WPH, which are 4096kb and 2560kb large respectively. So perhaps I need to rename them into "something.fd" or something like that? Or perhaps this model doesn't need a .fd file?

 

I've also extracted the Windows-based BIOS flash software (BA40HR123.exe) in the Windows folder of the extracted zipped BIOS Update and also haven't found a .fd file.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

PS: I've edited the previous post to put a hyperlink I forgot to include. It's on the word "this" in the phrase "tried this set of steps". It now points to a post on a thread at another forum about the steps to perform "crisis method". I apologize if that part confused you guys the first time.

Alan-London

It appears there is no commonality between our models! My suggestions are based on the Insyde BIOS. Having had a look 1.23 I see that it is a Phoenix BIOS.

 

I have looked again for your service guide but haven't yet found it.

 

I have had a look at two Travelmate service guides and neither mentions any method of CRISIS recovery at all.

 

I've also checked your link and that too appears to be only for the Insyde BIOS so is unlikely to help you.

 

However, I did find this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/326954-case-you-kill-your-phoenix-bios-bios-recovery-methods.html

It's an old post and the included links appear to be dead but it has some info that may be pertinent (BIOS file name for example).

 

If you intend to 'fiddle' further, I would suggest you do so with version 1.10 as this BIOS does not appear to have the KBC element which may be adding further complications (If you manage to get a working 1.10 installed you can then go for the latest).

 

I'm sorry I can't help further but I don't want to suggest ill informed solutions when I honestly don't know.

 

DukenD

Oh there's no need to apologize! You have been doing great as help; you even took the effort looking for the stuff I might need.

 

Thanks to you, I now have information on what I'm supposed to look for:

 

• the service guide for this laptop model
• a guide for flashing Phoenix BIOS
• the relevant files/tools I'll be needing

 

I've read somewhere else beforehand about flashing bricked Phoenix BIOS and kinda had a hunch this model might have it instead of an Insyde BIOS. It seems a bit more complicated and favors using floppy drives instead of flashdrives, though I guess that's because I've been finding pretty old guides of it so far. With both the .rom and .wph file sizes both exceeding 1.4mb, I figure I won't be having to look for and use those nearly-defunct floppies, thank goodness.

 

So yeah, I'll be doing further research and come back every now and then to check for further replies or notify you guys if I do manage to find a solution myself. Until then, I welcome further input into this and offer my big thanks to Alan.