Have I turned my Laptop into a doorstop since updating my BIOS? HELP? Aspire E1-522

lkjlkj
lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

Tinkerer
edited April 2022 in Aspire Laptops
Posted this query in the wrong section...

I have a fairly old Acer Aspire E1-522 running Windows 10. It was having battery charging problems (battery indicator was on, battery identified but NOT charging) I ran a number of different checks on the battery, measured the voltage coming from the laptop to the battery with my voltmeter, bought a new battery and a new power cable - all to no avail, the batteries refused to charge. Keeping an eye on other Acer forums I noted some posts that said it may be a BIOS problem, check the Acer site for updates. I found an update today and installed it successfully.

On reboot I received the Default boot device missing error message. When clicking on the OK button I was presented with the Boot manager window with NO devices listed. I have been attempting to access the updated BIOS with no success using the posts on this forum as instruction. I have tried unplugging/replugging in the HDD (an SSD), removing the battery, unplugging the power supply, rebooting and trying EVERY F key to access BIOS, tried the ESC and DEL keys to access BIOS. NOTHING is allowing me to access the updated BIOS. I have also tried using a bootable USB device with a version of Windows 8 on it in each of the USB ports on the laptop. None of them recognise the drive although the USB light flickers on and off so it appears as if the BIOS is querying the port.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to access the BIOS? If not does anyone have any thoughts on how I could possible downgrade the BIOS to the older one that was working OR have I turned this laptop into a door stop?

Thanks in advance for any/all constructive comments...

UPDATE SINCE POSTED

Found this possible solution and have tried the following:

1: Downloaded the BIOS update from Acer support site and extracted the InsydeFlashx64.exe and v207s.fd files from the archive
2: Formatted a USB drive as FAT32
3: Copied the files from Step 1 to the USB drive and plugged that drive into the laptop
4: On the Acer laptop, held down the FN + ESC keys and powered on
5: Waited....

I'm still waiting :=] I released all keys after approx 30 secs and haven't seen any action on the USB drive that would indicate it is being read. The screen however is/has remained black, it hasn't presented the error message OR presented me with the boot manager screen. This is increasingly looking like I may need to get a replacement BIOS chip - does that sound feasible?

Thanks again

(Thread was edited to add model name to the title)


Best Answer

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 45,186 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓
    Since F2, FN+F2 & palming didn't produce any BIOS response,  it does seem like a CH341a eeprom programmer is the only way to salvage this old chip.  So you seem to have 3 choices. (1) Spend about $15 on a CH341A programmer and try to learn how to use it. (2) Spend about $15 on a pre-programmed chip and replace the old surface-mount chip with a pencil tip soldering tool. (3) Spend about $55 on a new mainboard part no. NB.Y2Z11.002 from Aliexpress with free US shipping..

    If it was mine --- and if I had a lotta spare  time --- and if I wasn't totally reliant on this laptop ever working again, I'd prolly try to learn how to use a CH341A. Otherwise, I'd just bite the bullet, spend $55 on the mainboard, and get it back up and running in about 2 weeks 



    Jack E/NJ

«1

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 45,186 Trailblazer
    If you still can see error messages on the screen, it's probably salvageable. Try this. Press and hold the power button till the laptop completely shuts off. Press and hold the F2 key. While still holding the F2 key, turn the machine on. Don't let go of the F2 key till you see a BIOS menu. If you get inside the BIOS, please post phone photos of the BIOS Information, Main & Boot tabs.

    Jack E/NJ

  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    Hey Jack, thanks for the answer, I probably wasn't clear enough with my post :( . I have tried EVERY F key, plus the DEL and ESC keys on boot. When I said that in my post I meant that I had followed what you outlined, power off, hold the F key down (and/or other key/key combos), power on. The result from the power off/F2 key/power on process is the Acer splash screen and then the error message - Default Boot Device missing or Boot failed etc etc. When I click on the OK button, it opens the Boot Manager window with no drives listed...
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 13,931 Trailblazer

    lkjlkj the simplest solution for you is to buy a new bios chip look here "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" its only US $18,00 and get an experienced tech to swap the bios chip[ in your Aspire E1-522, as this chip also comes with the last bios flash and should fix your bios issues if there is nothing else wrong with your laptop?   

  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    StevenGen said:

    lkjlkj the simplest solution for you is to buy a new bios chip look here "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" its only US $18,00 and get an experienced tech to swap the bios chip[ in your Aspire E1-522, as this chip also comes with the last bios flash and should fix your bios issues if there is nothing else wrong with your laptop?   


    Thanks for the link and taking the time to post your reply Steven... nothing else wrong with the laptop (except the battery charging problem I thought the flashed BIOS would fix :'() Will wait for a while to see if anyone else has a solution to try before going this route, cheers
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 13,931 Trailblazer
    edited April 2022
    lkjlkj said:
    StevenGen said:

    lkjlkj the simplest solution for you is to buy a new bios chip look here "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" its only US $18,00 and get an experienced tech to swap the bios chip[ in your Aspire E1-522, as this chip also comes with the last bios flash and should fix your bios issues if there is nothing else wrong with your laptop?   


    Thanks for the link and taking the time to post your reply Steven... nothing else wrong with the laptop (except the battery charging problem I thought the flashed BIOS would fix :'() Will wait for a while to see if anyone else has a solution to try before going this route, cheers

    Look lkjlkj and yes I know, as the battery charging problem could be from many sources and it could be from the actual battery, check that first. As allot of times its mainly a faulty internal circuitries source that relate to the charging circuitries. All this needs a specialist and an experienced tech and tools to diagnose/fix these problems. See this YouTube clip from Sarin who is an excellent and experienced tech and he has allot of videos on these sorts of charging problems, here is his “Plugged in, not charging - my way to fix this :D” or this "Acer 5000 series, not charging or powering on, let's fix it" as this is a battery problem that could be your problem?


  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    StevenGen said:
    lkjlkj said:
    StevenGen said:

    lkjlkj the simplest solution for you is to buy a new bios chip look here "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" its only US $18,00 and get an experienced tech to swap the bios chip[ in your Aspire E1-522, as this chip also comes with the last bios flash and should fix your bios issues if there is nothing else wrong with your laptop?   


    Thanks for the link and taking the time to post your reply Steven... nothing else wrong with the laptop (except the battery charging problem I thought the flashed BIOS would fix :'() Will wait for a while to see if anyone else has a solution to try before going this route, cheers

    Look lkjlkj and yes I know, as the battery charging problem could be from many sources its mainly a faulty internal circuitries source that relate to the charging circuitries. All this needs a specialist and an experienced tech and tools to diagnose/fix these problems. See this YouTube clip from Sarin who is an excellent and experienced tech and he has allot of videos on these sorts of charging problems, here is his “Plugged in, not charging - my way to fix this :D” as that could be your problem?



    Thanks again, as I mentioned in my post I tried a number of fault finding steps, the laptop is actually sending the correct voltage from it's battery connectors - I'll have a look at your link and try it out if it looks feasible - when/if I have the laptop working again :)
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 45,186 Trailblazer
    (1) Have you tried pressing and holding both FN+F2 keys, then turn the laptop on while still pressing and hold both keys?

    (2) In the past, have you ever tried to install Linux alongside Windows on this machine?

    Jack E/NJ

  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    (1) Have you tried pressing and holding both FN+F2 keys, then turn the laptop on while still pressing and hold both keys?

    (2) In the past, have you ever tried to install Linux alongside Windows on this machine?
    Hey Jack, no I haven't tried the FN+F2 until you mentioned it. Tried it now and same result, no boot device and then Boot Manager with no devices listed. The laptop has a single SSD drive with Windows 10 installed on it, there has never been a dual boot setup, only the Windows installation although that has on occasion been different versions of Windows BUT never on different/separate partitions and NEVER in a dual boot scenario.

    At the end of the day, if I can't access the BIOS to change the settings (boot drive/UEFI/legacy mode) then it ain't going to boot so any solutions here would, probably, have to do with that - access to the BIOS. If there is no solution to that problem then I'm left with the only other solution, replacing the BIOS chip, unless someone has another option, re-writing the existing BIOS chip without using the laptop based boot/BIOS access

    Thanks for taking the time to think about the problem I'm having and how to resolve it, cheers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 45,186 Trailblazer
    With the laptop turn off, palm a bunch of random keys. Then while sitll palming the keys, turn the laptop on. Do you hear any BIOS keyboard beep errors codes?

    Jack E/NJ

  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 98,293 Trailblazer
    Can you access the bios by pressing fn+f2?

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
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  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    With the laptop turn off, palm a bunch of random keys. Then while sitll palming the keys, turn the laptop on. Do you hear any BIOS keyboard beep errors codes?
    Good question that one :) but, nope - not an error code to be heard...

  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    StevenGen said:
    lkjlkj said:
    StevenGen said:

    lkjlkj the simplest solution for you is to buy a new bios chip look here "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" its only US $18,00 and get an experienced tech to swap the bios chip[ in your Aspire E1-522, as this chip also comes with the last bios flash and should fix your bios issues if there is nothing else wrong with your laptop?   


    Thanks for the link and taking the time to post your reply Steven... nothing else wrong with the laptop (except the battery charging problem I thought the flashed BIOS would fix :'() Will wait for a while to see if anyone else has a solution to try before going this route, cheers

    Look lkjlkj and yes I know, as the battery charging problem could be from many sources and it could be from the actual battery, check that first. As allot of times its mainly a faulty internal circuitries source that relate to the charging circuitries. All this needs a specialist and an experienced tech and tools to diagnose/fix these problems. See this YouTube clip from Sarin who is an excellent and experienced tech and he has allot of videos on these sorts of charging problems, here is his “Plugged in, not charging - my way to fix this :D” or this "Acer 5000 series, not charging or powering on, let's fix it" as this is a battery problem that could be your problem?



    Thanks Steven - I ran all the tests I could think of with my existing battery (voltmeter etc), then purchased a 'new' battery AND power adapter. I suppose I could have got a dud new battery... I read somewhere that this model Acer and Windows 10 have battery probs, drivers/BIOS problems, hence the route I took. Thanks for the link to Sarin's videos, looks like a very helpful resource
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 45,186 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓
    Since F2, FN+F2 & palming didn't produce any BIOS response,  it does seem like a CH341a eeprom programmer is the only way to salvage this old chip.  So you seem to have 3 choices. (1) Spend about $15 on a CH341A programmer and try to learn how to use it. (2) Spend about $15 on a pre-programmed chip and replace the old surface-mount chip with a pencil tip soldering tool. (3) Spend about $55 on a new mainboard part no. NB.Y2Z11.002 from Aliexpress with free US shipping..

    If it was mine --- and if I had a lotta spare  time --- and if I wasn't totally reliant on this laptop ever working again, I'd prolly try to learn how to use a CH341A. Otherwise, I'd just bite the bullet, spend $55 on the mainboard, and get it back up and running in about 2 weeks 



    Jack E/NJ

  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    Since F2, FN+F2 & palming didn't produce any BIOS response,  it does seem like a CH341a eeprom programmer is the only way to salvage this old chip.  So you seem to have 3 choices. (1) Spend about $15 on a CH341A programmer and try to learn how to use it. (2) Spend about $15 on a pre-programmed chip and replace the old surface-mount chip with a pencil tip soldering tool. (3) Spend about $55 on a new mainboard part no. NB.Y2Z11.002 from Aliexpress with free US shipping..

    If it was mine --- and if I had a lotta spare  time --- and if I wasn't totally reliant on this laptop ever working again, I'd prolly try to learn how to use a CH341A. Otherwise, I'd just bite the bullet, spend $55 on the mainboard, and get it back up and running in about 2 weeks 




    Thanks Jack, think I'll end up trying the pre-programmed chip and solder/replace the existing one, once again, thanks for taking the time to post your replies
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 13,931 Trailblazer
    lkjlkj said:
    JackE said:
    Since F2, FN+F2 & palming didn't produce any BIOS response,  it does seem like a CH341a eeprom programmer is the only way to salvage this old chip.  So you seem to have 3 choices. (1) Spend about $15 on a CH341A programmer and try to learn how to use it. (2) Spend about $15 on a pre-programmed chip and replace the old surface-mount chip with a pencil tip soldering tool. (3) Spend about $55 on a new mainboard part no. NB.Y2Z11.002 from Aliexpress with free US shipping..

    If it was mine --- and if I had a lotta spare  time --- and if I wasn't totally reliant on this laptop ever working again, I'd prolly try to learn how to use a CH341A. Otherwise, I'd just bite the bullet, spend $55 on the mainboard, and get it back up and running in about 2 weeks 




    Thanks Jack, think I'll end up trying the pre-programmed chip and solder/replace the existing one, once again, thanks for taking the time to post your replies

    As I've advised you go for the pre programmed bios chip here is the one you can buy "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" and either replace it yourself(if you have the proper tools?) as btw you can see Sorin as he has a clip on a bios chip replacement also. Good luck hope things work out for you.


  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    StevenGen said:

    lkjlkj the simplest solution for you is to buy a new bios chip look here "BIOS CHIP Acer Aspire E1-522 E1-570 E5-411G E5-572G ES1-512 ES1-131 R3-131T" its only US $18,00 and get an experienced tech to swap the bios chip[ in your Aspire E1-522, as this chip also comes with the last bios flash and should fix your bios issues if there is nothing else wrong with your laptop?   


    Thanks for the link and taking the time to post your reply Steven... nothing else wrong with the laptop (except the battery charging problem I thought the flashed BIOS would fix :'() Will wait for a while to see if anyone else has a solution to try before going this route, cheers
  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 98,293 Trailblazer
    Have you also tried resetting the battery?

    Turn off the computer, disconnect the power adapter and battery, and then press the power button for sixty seconds.

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
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    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
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  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    egydiocoelho said:
    Have you also tried resetting the battery?

    Turn off the computer, disconnect the power adapter and battery, and then press the power button for sixty seconds.


    When I was trying to deal with the battery problem, yes I did try and reset it... however that problem is slightly redundant now as I can't boot the laptop into the BIOS and/or the OS. 'Fixing' the battery problem now is slightly redundant, but thanks for the reply
  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 98,293 Trailblazer
    Can you send a picture of the message that appears when turning on the laptop?

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
    For users of the English, Spanish, French and German community, I will be using google translator! :) 
  • lkjlkj
    lkjlkj Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    FINAL OUTCOME

    Firstly, thanks for all the feedback/suggestions from everyone. I have just disassembled the laptop, and took the motherboard and BIOS chip (sourced from the link in suggestions) to a local repair shop. 15 minutes later the new BIOS chip was installed. The programmer that I sourced the chip from said he ONLY used new BIOS code - so, the same code that possibly caused the problem. Took the MOBO home, reassembled, rebooted. SAME problem, boot manager screen. I used Rufus to create a bootable, Windows 10 install USB stick and inserted into the laptop, rebooted. The USB was detected (previous BIOS did NOT detect/boot from USB) and booted into the Windows installation routine. I walked through a couple of steps until I found the Repair my PC option. One of those options was to update my UEFI settings which I selected. I reset to Legacy mode and changed the boot order. Rebooted and hey/presto, the laptop has returned from doorstop hell.

    Only downside? Battery is STILL not charging, in fact it's not even detected now HOWEVER the repair guy said that it may be so low on charge that it's effectively useless BUT I'm sure one of the links you helpful people left me was to a video of a repairman overcoming that problem

    Once again, thanks for all your feedback and efforts

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