BIOS update breaks Windows 10 Aspire TC-220 ES61

pondeponz · February 12

I have an Acer Aspire TC-220 ES61 running Windows 10 x64 on a 1Tb SSD and a 2Tb HDD for apps and storage.
I decided to check the Acer drivers page for a bios update since I tend to keep drivers updated and perform my own maintenance tasks, I like to work on my own computer and build them also.
On the Acer page according to my model I noticed a bios update that was dated 2020/01/25 for P11-A4 version.
Now I know the date was changed by Acer because it was a couple years since my last BIOS update.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/76/akzlzv65et8y.jpg

So upon completion and rebooting I get the BSOD "Your PC Ran Into A Problem And Had To Restart" StopCode:Inaccessible Boot Device

I've dealt with this error once before, the only way is to wipe my drives and clean install Windows 10 from scratch. None of the Windows repair options work it's a loop!
I hopeless boot loop! I managed to get back into Windows via Safe Mode and attempt chkdsk command which worked, however now the drives were corrupted! I find chkdsk useless and ends up making things more complicated, my DVD drive showed up as CDROM drive, my 2Tb HDD disappeared from Windows completely and my keyboard lights even started blinking on and off at one point. Also upon shutting down Windows everything turned off except the power button light, forcing me to hold down the power button until it turned off. I am in the process of wiping my drives using a bootable partition software, after I made a Windows 10 USB via media creation tool. It's a compete mess!

egydiocoelho · February 12

For some reason, this bios was relaunched with the date of 2020. However, it is the same bios of 2016, see:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/p2/20ghpvr6g2ba.png

I downloaded the p11-a4 versions of 2016 and 2020 and what changes is only the time of the creation date.

pondeponz · February 12

I see. Now my machine is bricked I can't even reinstall Windows because the hardware is all out of whack.

However I submitted a repair request with ACER.

egydiocoelho · February 12

As you "updated" the bios, try to restore it.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/j0/dnb9dzukonhe.png

pondeponz · February 15

Yeah, I managed to get it up and running on the original 2Tb HDD it came with, my computer, instead of the SSD. Apparently, SSD disks are quite stubborn when I wipe them with zeros with a partition tool and become frozen so nobody else can use them.

egydiocoelho · February 15

Did you convert ssd to gpt, so that it works in uefi mode?

pondeponz · February 15

I use different bootable partition tools (Minitool PW, Parted Magic, etc) so yes. But the SSD is in a frozen state! I've looked around and tried addressing it with Kingston SSD Manager but no luck. I have to unplug the SSD and replug it still no luck. I don't think this motherboard supports hotplug because it's not technically a gaming computer (Acer TC220 ES61). I didn't mention the residual effects of the bios update is noticable such as unable to suspend the system or I'll get an error in bios under recovery tab, something about EFI failed, but I can still start windows and everything thank goodness!

egydiocoelho · February 15

I had a similar problem and I fixed it by disabling secure boot. To do this, simply create a password in the change supervisor password and disable secure boot. If that doesn't work, try disconnecting the rtc battery (cmos) for a few seconds.

pondeponz · February 16

I can disable secure boot without setting a password, also I've disconnected the battery and cleared the CMOS before I reinstalled windows 10.

I just made a supervisor password and disabled secure boot now. I also have fast startup disabled in Windows 10.

No luck, still getting error after waking up from suspend, 4 beeps,

Bios recovery tab "ROM Image Update Denied"

"EFI_ABORTED! ROM Image is not loaded"

Flash Update Parameters

Reset NVRam [Enabled]

Main Block Update [Enabled]

The BIOS version is P11-A4

JordanB · February 16

If you have a spare HDD or SSD, then install Windows 10 on it using the following instructions. Make sure you disconnect your other HDD with Windows 10. Disconnect the SATA data cable and SATA power cable before you install Windows 10. It's important that you follow the instructions below and don't use any of your third party partition tools. Please don't attempt to partition or format your spare HDD/SSD.

Step1: Download the Windows 10 iso
Step2 : Download rufus
Step3: Use rufus setting: GPT, UEFI (non-csm) FAT32 to create your USB installation media.
Step4. Make sure you go in to your BIOS settings and load the defaults (F9) and then save/exit (F10)
Step5: Go back in to your BIOS settings and enable the F12 boot menu and then save/exit. (and make sure the other Windows 10 HDD is disconnected)
Step6: Boot the Windows 10 USB by tapping the F12 key at Acer post logo
Step7: Select Custom Installation
Step8: Make sure your spare HDD/SSD is entirely unallocated space---if not delete all partitions---this will wipe the drive
Step9: Click on your spare HDD/SSD (it should say unallocated space) and then click Next and the Windows installer will automatically partition and automatically format and automatically install Windows 10.
Step10: After your Windows 10 installation is successful, try to update BIOS using the Acer instructions in the appendix folder.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

https://rufus.ie/

If you want to try an older Windows 10 version, you can get that from here.

If you still have trouble, you can send me a private message, and I'll give you different instructions for updating BIOS.

You can get an emergency spare SSD on amazon for $25 or $30.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Computers-Accessories-Internal-Solid-State-Drives/zgbs/pc/1292116011

Note: My instructions assume your PC was not in legacy mode.

pondeponz · February 16

No luck booting the bios recovery usb as per instructed it boots into windows automatically.

My system is UEFI

egydiocoelho · February 16

Can you publish some screenshots of the bios settings?

pondeponz · February 16

egydiocoelho · February 16

What happens when you press f9 to restore the bios and then f10?

pondeponz · February 16

I did that already, everything works except system suspend and upon shutdown of Windows the keyboard,mouse and screen turn off but the power light stays on and cpu fan still spinning, I need to press and hold the power button to shut off the motherboard. Still no luck with the usb with rcvboot.cap

egydiocoelho · February 16

What happens when you activate launch csm?

pondeponz · February 16

Still no luck, tried setting removable devices first too.

camberr · March 7

I have aspire tc-220 with a similar issue. Exact same symptoms but I got there in a slightly different way.
Fixed it by installing p11-a3 bios. After checking the system worked I tried going back up to p11-a4 and it broke again.

here is how I got to the issue.
Nov 2019 bought a new WD 500g ssd nand b to speed up the aging pc. Moved the os to the ssd. (I know... fresh build is better... but all that software to reload!!) Had problems with booting so I upgraded to p11-a4 and it worked great for 3 months. Then the pc started acting up, possibly after a win 10 update. Very slow boot up 3 hrs or more. Finally it stopped booting at all and the SSD is dead.
Mar 2020 bought a new SSD same model. Still had the old disk and os and it still boots (but slow ~2min) I updated the os on the old disk to the latest version of Win10 1909 then transfered the os to the new SSD. Everything good except when the PC goes to sleep I would get 3 beeps and a bios window when it wakes up. "Rom image update denied" error. hit save and exit and it finishes waking up. I decided to try a new bios. Found the latest is still p11-a4 but has a new date so I installed it. This is when I got the symptoms listed at the top of this Thread. Windows would not boot on either drive. Wasted 2 days chasing this problem. Fixed by downgrading bios to p11-a3. It looks like acer changed p11-a4 in early 2020 but did not change the build date or the version.

pondeponz · March 7

I managed to fix this after going on the Acer drivers page, selecting show "all" and the 2016 version of p11.a4 which is the correct bios that worked for me. I had downgraded to p11.a3 and then back to p11.a4 NOT p11-a4.