TITLE: [HELP] BIOS RECOVERY filename request for Acer Nitro 5 AN515-51 ==BLACK SCREEN==

setiblaj
setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
edited November 2023 in 2020 Archives
Hello all,

I would really appreciate it if you be kind and help me. I just got my new Acer Nitro 5 this past Sunday. I did the initial battery charging cycle three times while the standard heavy Windows Update was working in the background. For the first couple of days it worked nice and I could do some urgent work in Excel and had no time for installing many other programs or games.

On Wednesday I decided to plug a mouse to better work on my spreadsheet but found it didn't work on any of the three USB ports (very dim and blinking "laser" sensor). I uninstalled and reinstalled the standard USB mouse driver but couldn't get my mouse to work. So, I thought I would take a look at the BIOS setup to see if I could see anything wrong in my USB ports settings (I am no expert but I just wanted to check) so I went to Settings -> Update&Security -> Recovery -> RestartNow -> Troubleshoot -> AdvancedOptions -> UEFIFirmwareSettings -> Restart.

It actually took like 5 minutes for the BIOS menu to show and I did notice immediately that the BIOS menu navigation was very sluggish. I didn't see anything out of the usual (even though this UEFI thing is new to me) and decided to exit without saving. And BOOM I got the BLACK SCREEN! (keyboard lights on). I turned the laptop off and on and always got stuck in the black screen and no Acer logo pops up. The keyboard lights are always on.

And I have been stuck like that for three days. I have read literally hundreds of forum messages trying to solve this issue. What I have done so far:
1. No pinhole battery reset does anything: pressing the battery reset button for 4,10, 40 seconds, waiting for 5 minutes, plugging it, powering it up again I get the black screen all the time,
2. I have taken the RAM stick out and replaced, even carefully scrubbing the pins with a pencil eraser,
3. I have downloaded the latest BIOS files from Acer (https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7312?b=1&pn=NH.Q2QAA.016),
3.1. I have after much research found the isflash.bin file hidden in the temp directory (for both BIOS v1.15 and v1.19),
3.2. I have used the Phoenix tool to try to find the appropriate name to rename the isflash.bin, but that goes beyond my skills,
3.3. I have renamed the isflash.bin (both the v1.15 and v1.19) in numerous alternatives: C5PRHx64.fd, AA.bin, AAHW.bin, BB.bin, BBHW.bin, C5PRHx64.bin, isflash.bin, AA.fd, AAHW.fd, BB.fd, BBHW.fd, BIOS.fd, BIOS.bin (main file extracted from downloaded .zip from Acer's webpage: C5PRH119.exe and C5PRH115.exe),
3.4. I have used 8GB, 2GB and microSD drives to initiate the Fn+Esc procedure: formated FAT32, laptop unplugged, USB in, <Fn> + <Esc>, laptop plug, power button pressed. Fan spins up and the laptop reboots but gets stuck.

===> RESULTS: Nothing, I can’t get past the BLACK SCREEN + keyboard lights on.

I bought my laptop through Amazon but I got sent it to South America where I live (sorry for my English); service centers down here tend to do a lousy job so I am avoiding them at all costs; besides the warranty does not apply down here...

====> What I need: the appropriate name for the isflash.bin BIOS recovery file for my Acer AN515-51 <==== or any other help you could provide me.

Thank you very much in advance.

Best Answer

  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 97,695 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓
    Glad that your problem was resolved in the warranty! Accept my answer and put the topic as solved!
    A merry christmas and a prosperous new year for you and your family  =)!
    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! :) 
«1

Answers

  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 97,695 Trailblazer
    edited October 2018
    Did you check if the image appears on an external monitor? You can send a private message to @Acer-Manny to know how to use the international Warranty!
    About the crisis recovery process you need a .fd that only Acer service center has! However I do not think this is a problem in bios!
    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! :) 
  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    Did you check if the image appears on an external monitor? You can send a private message to @Acer-Manny to know how to use the international guarantee!
    About the crisis recovery process you need a .fd that only Acer service center has! However I do not think this is a problem in bios!
    Thanks for your relpy @egydiocoelho, I will do as directed  =)
  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    In the meantime, does anybody know or could anyone point me to (detaile for dummies) instructions on how to use the Phoenix tool to get the correct name for the BIOS file in order to do the USB stick flashing procedure? Thank you.
  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 97,695 Trailblazer
    edited October 2018
    I saw your message and I will continue to help you here, because that way I can see that I received a notification!
    You informed me that the notebook still has a black screen, correct? However, have you checked if the picture appears when you connect the notebook to an external television or other monitor? Could you make the video by turning on the notebook? Does any blinking led appear on amber? Do you speak Portuguese? Because that way it would facilitate our communication!
    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! :) 
  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    I saw your message and I will continue to help you here, because that way I can see that I received a notification!
    You informed me that the notebook still has a black screen, correct? However, have you checked if the picture appears when you connect the notebook to an external television or other monitor? Could you make the video by turning on the notebook? Does any blinking led appear on amber? Do you speak Portuguese? Because that way it would facilitate our communication!
    Thanks for your help!

    My laptop is still unresponsive yes. After pressing the power button it stays with the keyboard lights on and the screen on but black. It does nothing else.

    I connected my Nitro to my TV and before turning it on I get a "Check signal cable" from it and after pressing power on my laptop I get this message on my TV: "No Signal. Check connected device's power, cable connection, and source selection." Pressing Fn+F5 does nothing.

    I will make a video turning on my laptop later on today.

    I don't speak Portuguese sorry. Spanish and English (kind of  :))

    Best regards.
  • What I find strange is that a bios is not corrupted by clicking leave without saving! If it slowly entered the bios, then it is likely that some hardware is in trouble!
    If there is no warranty seal on the screws, I would rather try removing the rams memories and swapping it out of the slot!

    Then I would try to remove the hd and turn on the notebook with it disconnected to see if the image appears!

    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! :) 
  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    setiblaj said:
    I saw your message and I will continue to help you here, because that way I can see that I received a notification!
    You informed me that the notebook still has a black screen, correct? However, have you checked if the picture appears when you connect the notebook to an external television or other monitor? Could you make the video by turning on the notebook? Does any blinking led appear on amber? Do you speak Portuguese? Because that way it would facilitate our communication!
    Thanks for your help!

    My laptop is still unresponsive yes. After pressing the power button it stays with the keyboard lights on and the screen on but black. It does nothing else.

    I connected my Nitro to my TV and before turning it on I get a "Check signal cable" from it and after pressing power on my laptop I get this message on my TV: "No Signal. Check connected device's power, cable connection, and source selection." Pressing Fn+F5 does nothing.

    I will make a video turning on my laptop later on today.

    I don't speak Portuguese sorry. Spanish and English (kind of  :))

    Best regards.


    Link to the video:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChQcfHHjvvM

    It just doesn't do anything even after pressing the battery reset button for 4, 10, 40 seconds and letting it sit for half an hour. Brand new.

  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    What I find strange is that a bios is not corrupted by clicking leave without saving! If it slowly entered the bios, then it is likely that some hardware is in trouble!
    If there is no warranty seal on the screws, I would rather try removing the rams memories and swapping it out of the slot!

    Then I would try to remove the hd and turn on the notebook with it disconnected to see if the image appears!



    I will try turning it on without the only 8GB RAM stick it has.

    The notebook does not have an HDD but an internal M.2 SSD so I cannot easily disconnect it. It would require disassembling the bottom case but does anyone know whether doing that voids the warranty?

    Regards.
  • On the boot being slow in bios, indicates that some hardware presented some problem! I invited some colleagues ACE to try to help!
    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! :) 
  • En algún momento usted ha intentado actualizar el bios antes de presentar el problema?
    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! :) 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    @setiblaj >>>I just got my new Acer Nitro 5 this past Sunday. >>>

    From your description, the BIOS either seems to be struggling with initializing one or more pieces of I/O hardware or an unsuccessful flash attempt has resulted in partial firmware corruption. In either case, I suggest that you try to return the system to the vendor ASAP for a refund or exchange if within the vendor's return period policy, usually 2 weeks or a month. ACER warranty repair would take a lot longer. Jack E/NJ  

    Jack E/NJ

  • The problem is that he imported from Amazon! However from what I've seen, Amazon usually solves this problem quite efficiently and does not usually put obstacles in the way of exchanging the product as a guarantee!

    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! :) 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Yes, Amazon's pretty good at returns. But it'll take time. Apparent firmware issues like this are rarely resolved by the user via crisis recovery if a simple BIOS default reset (removing the RTC battery or a mainboard jumper reset) doesn't resolve the problem. Jack E/NJ  

    Jack E/NJ

  • brummyfan2
    brummyfan2 ACE Posts: 28,077 Trailblazer
    setiblaj said:
    In the meantime, does anybody know or could anyone point me to (detaile for dummies) instructions on how to use the Phoenix tool to get the correct name for the BIOS file in order to do the USB stick flashing procedure? Thank you.
    Hi,
    You could try getting C5PRHx64.fd file using the method in this video, when you open the BIOS you will be presented with a warning, don't click OK, make a note of the path to Temp file where it will be stored(in the video), copy that file to Desktop, don't carry on with BIOS update as it's not for the particular PC you are working on, then copy the file to a formatted USB stick and try the recovery.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwgIBjsqBIM
  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 97,695 Trailblazer
    edited October 2018
    However in the temp folder only the .bin file is found! He renamed the file to C5PRHx64.fd and did not work! I think he should try resetting the bios by unplugging the rtc battery! But for this, he has to open the notebook which I think would violate the warranty!

    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! :) 
  • Also, it looks like the usb ports are not working! It may just be that they are not connected to the motherboard!
    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! :) 
  • I think the best option is for him to get in touch with the support of Acer or Amazon to know how to proceed with the exchange of the product!
    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! :) 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    edited October 2018
    Yep. I'd try Amazon first as it may be the fastest way. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    En algún momento usted ha intentado actualizar el bios antes de presentar el problema?
    I had my laptop operative for about two days. In that time I did the initial battery charging cycle three times while the standard heavy Windows Update was working in the background. I worked on a spreadsheet for urgent job delivery and downloaded some videos because I wanted to test the video qualities. If there were changes in the BIOS I would presume it was WU that made them.

    Tuve mi laptop operativa por sólo dos días. En ese tiempo hice los tres ciclos para la carga inicial de la batería mientras el Windows Update trabajaba haciendo unas pesadas actualizaciones. Trabajé con Excel en una entrega urgente de trabajo y bajé unas películas para probar la calidad del video. Si hubo cambios en el BIOS presumiría que fue el Windows Update quien los hizo.

    Muchas gracias.
  • setiblaj
    setiblaj Member Posts: 18 Troubleshooter
    On the boot being slow in bios, indicates that some hardware presented some problem! I invited some colleagues ACE to try to help!

    Thanks for bringing the help on ;)