BIOS update fails on Aspire R7-371T

Updating Insyde version 1.09 to 1.12 for compatibility with Windows 10 and Linux changes that cause battery to not charge.

ZS8_112.exe update program runs up until it flashes "Erasing and Writing" message for less than 1 second and then program exits having done nothing. BIOS still says 1.09

I suspect battery problem is because OS support for EC version less than EC 3.00 has been omitted from OSes. BIOS version 1.12 provides BIOS support for EC3.00.

The battery is working, it reports charge level, voltage and status. AC adapter is providnig 19 volts and laptop will run on the adapter.

The problem: Battery runs down and never charges.

Accepted answers

FRANKGE

FINAL REPORT

I was wrong. My suspicion that my battery charging failure was due to the need for a BIOS update turns out to be incorrect. I did finally achieve a Insyde BIOS update to version 1.12, which is the latest version provided on the Acer support site for my Aspire R7. It didn’t fix the battery issue. So, the fact that the old battery and a new battery both fail to charge appears to be caused by a hardware failure. If I have any questions about that I will start a new thread. Thanks for the help I received from the community.

All comments

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/670583/bios-update-fails-on-aspire-r7-371t

Try to remove the main battery and the RTC/bios batteries (unfortunately you need to remove the motherboard to unplug the RTC battery) and then leave both of these batteries disconnected (imo its best to replace the bios battery with a new one) for a few minutes, then reconnect and try the version 1.12 bios flash update again, as this bios update titled "1. Support Fn+F5 display switch to generate Win+P scancode for Win10. / 2. Support new battery "AC14B3K". / 3. Update EC to v3.00" will defiantly solve some of the battery problems especially with type AC14B3K battery or the OEM battery that you have. Another issue that a battery could fix is that it could be that the laptops Super IO and bios chip might need resetting as and remember that your laptop is a 7 years old laptop and its components are due for a reset before, upgrade of its components.

Also, and be careful and aware that older laptops bios and super IO chips are both a programed chip and that could be a factor also and if you persist with a bios flash when you get symptoms like you are of an unsuccessful flash doing a bios flash, this could corrupt the bios chip even further and brick your laptop. You are very lucky that the ZS8_112.exe update program flash just disconnected and did nothing to your laptop.

FRANKGE

Thank you for the quick response, Steven. Whether it solves my problem or not, it does supply me with a new item to address in hope of a fix.

I had not found any mention of a battery on the motherboard after days of other posts about my symptoms. I guess I always knew there would be one and I would have known it if it had been visible when I opened the back cover.

Some intermittent behaviors I thought I saw could easily be due to a CMOS battery near its life end.

I will post further results after I have time to dig in and replace this battery later this week.

Commodore_1995#

What version of the operating system is installed? Did you run the program as an administrator?

FRANKGE

Update

After changing the motherboard battery the behavior remains the same.

Old battery 3.2 volts, new battery 3.3 volts. This does not seem to have been the issue causing the bios update to fail. After changing this battery the RTC needed to be set as expected, but I didn't see any changes to the bios settings.

Also, I am now using 'Run As Administrator' when launching the bios updater. That doesn't change the behavior either.

I am running the updater with Operating System booted from a USB drive: Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise (x64) Build 19041.1 (2004/May 2020 Update)

I tried it with and without an ethernet connection to the internet in case the updater was trying to access something.

egydiocoelho, if you have some information about a requirement for a specific operating system version, please explicate. Where did you see information suggesting that the updater needed to be run as administrator?

Commodore_1995#

Did your model come with windows 10 or 8.1? You may have to update the bios using windows 8.1.

FRANKGE

Hi Antonio

Your question is insightful. I purchased my Aspire laptop in 2015 just after Windows 10 was released and it arrived running Windows 10. However, a colleague of mine pointed out that the hardware was probably built to support Windows 8 and then the factory either installed Windows 8 and then upgraded it to Windows 10 or installed Windows 10 directly.

Can you tell me how to determine if the BIOS updater requires Windows 8.1?

If it does, how can I run the updater with Windows 8.1 without clobbering the current OS?

Do you know where I can get a bare Windows 8 ISO that could run the update?

P.S. When I tried to acquire produkey-x64.zip, it failed saying a virus was detected.

Regards, Frank

Commodore_1995#

I can't say. But as this version of the bios was released a little after the release of windows 10, it is very likely that this update will have to be done using windows 8.1. You can create a new partition on the hard drive and install windows 8.1. Try downloading windows 8.1 here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO

FRANKGE

FINAL REPORT

I was wrong. My suspicion that my battery charging failure was due to the need for a BIOS update turns out to be incorrect. I did finally achieve a Insyde BIOS update to version 1.12, which is the latest version provided on the Acer support site for my Aspire R7. It didn’t fix the battery issue. So, the fact that the old battery and a new battery both fail to charge appears to be caused by a hardware failure. If I have any questions about that I will start a new thread. Thanks for the help I received from the community.