Acer Aspire XC-605 BIOS Help.

Chucko · February 2019

Hi there everyone, so I have a Acer Aspire XC-605 and im wishing to update the BIOS as I believe my new RAM is not working because of this issue. the RAM is compatable with this board has been checked. My current bios is version P11-A1. Now when I look BIOs Firmware on acer site there are a few different options the most recent P11-B4L or there is also P21.A4 but is slightly older normally i would just do the newest one but have read that P21.A4 could be better. bit confused. i have downloaded both and read the read me files however the english in them is very poor, english is not my first language but i still struggled to understand them.

any help would be great thanks.

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/4945?b=1
BIOS page

JordanB · February 2019

Hello Chucko,

I'll give you instructions for updating the BIOS to the latest P11.B4.

I think you should check your existing memory and see if it is DDR3L 1.35 V or DDR3 1.5 V. It will be written on the label on your memory.

If your existing memory is 1.5 V, I would recommend the Kingston memory below. Try to match the same 1.35 or 1.5...whichever you have.

https://www.kingston.com/us/memory/search?DeviceType=2&Mfr=ACE&Line=Aspire&Model=89520

In theory, it shouldn't matter mixing DDR3 and DDR3L on your xc-605 desktop mainboard, but I remember someone else had a problem mixing for some unknown reason when using DDR3L Crucial memory on their XC-605. If you're in doubt, I would recommend the Kingston memory.

Here's instructions for updating your BIOS, but I don't think that's really your problem.

The standard operating procedure (SOP):

1. Download P11.B4

2. Extract

3. Copy the Win and ROM folders to a USB flash drive.

4. Open an admin command prompt

5. If your USB flash drive has a drive letter of F, then you would type

F:

cd win

flash

6. After the processing completes, restart your computer

7. When it prompts you to enter the BIOS, press the "delete" key on your keyboard to enter the BIOS settings

8. Load the BIOS defaults (F9) and then save/exit (F10).

Chucko · February 2019

your right they are different voltages my new ram is 1.5 and the ram in my pc is 1.35. take it this board cant take 1.5. damm

JordanB · February 2019

@Chucko

Your mainboard should work at either 1.35V or 1.5V. But for whatever reason, it doesn't like mixed ram. If you install two 1.35V DDR3L modules, it will work fine. If you install two DDR3 1.5V modules it will work fine. DDR3L is supposed to run at 1.35 or 1.5, but for whatever reason, your mainboard/UEFI doesn't like mixing DDR3 and DDR3L.

My mainboard is running 1.5V DDR3. (I have TC-605 which uses the same mainboard as XC-605)

Chucko · February 2019

hmmmm i dont know then as ive tried the 1.5v ram on its own and does not work either, fans go into turbo mode and just black screen. which is why i thought it could be the old bios.

JordanB · February 2019

It could be just a matter of pulling out the CMOS battery for a couple hours and resetting BIOS. But I don't want to waste your time with guesses. If your computer came with 1.35V, it's probably best to just return the 1.5V and get some 1.35.

JordanB · February 2019

If I remember correctly, if you install a single stick of ram, you must put in the slot closest to the CPU

Chucko · February 2019

wont be able to return now i dont think it was brought as a gift before christmas on amazon i think. could try the battery and bios, when you say reset BIOs do you mean update to P11.b4

JordanB · February 2019

If you unplug the computer from the elctrical outlet, and pull out the CMOS battery for a couple hours, it will reset the BIOS. I wasn't talking about updating the BIOS.

Chucko · February 2019

could this not cause some boot issues if done incorrectly say?

JordanB · February 2019

If you're not comfortable.........It might be best to just try to sell your 1.5V memory on ebay. And then get the 1.35V in link below.

https://www.kingston.com/us/memory/search?DeviceType=2&Mfr=ACE&Line=Aspire&Model=89520

HelpMe35 · February 2019

To Flash it. Simply unplug your machine and take out the battery. Hold power for 30 seconds, plug machine in, hold fn+esc, press power, let go of fn +esc after machine starts.

To create USB. Open cmd as admin.
Diskpart
List disk
Select disk "your disk number no quote "
Clean
Create partition primary
List partition
Select partition "your partition number"
active
Format fs=fat size=4000 quick

Download the Acer bios from drivers and downloads, extract the exe, and place the contents on the USB

NOTE: If you try to do the wrong version; and keep holding FN+ESC, you will enter efi shell where you can load EFI protocols and device drivers, and execute simple scripts.