blind flashing truely explained in full for the aspire one

this isnt my work. I found it after corrupting my bios somehow, was playing with slax, did a reboot and whammo, the dreaded no led, black screen, oh crap my lapytop is dead deal.
here is how I fixed it, the trick I hadnt seen mentioned anywhere else was the second touching of the power button. no floppy usb needed, usb stick worked great!

Acer Aspire One BIOS Recovery
The AA1 has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, making it possible to flash the BIOS even if the system doesn't boot anymore. It's only meant for emergencies and may void your warranty, so use at your own risk.

Follow every step carefully!

First format an USB stick with FAT.

Download the latest BIOS, and put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file in the root directory of the stick. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that's important. Do not remove the USB stick.

Turn the AA1 off, make sure both battery and AC adapter are connected. Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button to turn the AA1 on. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds, the power button will be blinking. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate the BIOS flash, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button will stop blinking, and the AA1 will reboot shortly after. Wait patiently.

The BIOS has been flashed and all settings reset to default.

If for some reason you made a mistake during the procedure and it doesn't reboot by itself wait 5 minutes before turning it off, just to be safe that it isn't still flashing the BIOS.



that little find made my day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

admin edit - source - http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer ... overy.html

 

This has been posted many times here...nice try...this is the original source...http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer-aspire-one-bios-recovery.html do a search first before trying to pull a stunt like this.... :lol:

 

it should be a sticky and yes I know the source, I didnt want to post outside links. seems it is the best way to deal with dead unit from corrupt bios, that was what I was hoping to share.

 

If you know the source then you should give the full credit to the original person i.e by giving out the source.....

 

lol did you not read my posts? I said it wasnt my work in first post, I also stated I didnt want tp post a link. if you really want to split hairs, the source didnt come up with it either, acer did. do you think its a fluke the bios can be fixed in this manor?
if your a mod here, well you just put a big sh&t spot on this forum for me. I thought this was a great find aswell, this forum. if your not a mod, then kiss off, I am not here to impress you. this was not a "stunt". your stupidity shows volumes when making a statement such as that. stunt my a%%. I would have posting in front page if I were looking for flaming glory as you have pictated my attempt to help.
people like you are a dime a dozen, your not special, your more like something I step over, like poop on the sidewalk.

 

Yup, just added my first foe to my Control Panel. :x I suggest others do the same.

 

Please Help Me

When I received my AA1 I had put a supervisor password in the Bios... Ther is no prob beacause i found the way the rewrite it using the caps lock. And after i had fixed also a user password.

I had after that made a lot of change in my setup and i had done lot of test for changing the password (i'm a french please excuse my poor english) of the supervisor ; and those tests works.

After that i had use only my user password when i boot. And because I have done so many change in my Supervisor password in the Bios, and i after more than a week i don't use it (using only the user passw.) Since i don't remember my Sup. Passw....

Big problem, but i could go in the BIOS because i remembering my User passw.

After reading eveything regarding the blind flashing, I just decide to flash my BIOS.

Before my BIOS was 3109, now it's 3304 .... BUT the Sup. passw. is still there !!!

How could i remove it ???

 

I just found this INFOS why they use JAL90x64.fd in place of yours code ?
What's is truely need in this USB flashdrive ?

BIOS Recovery by Crisis Disk
BIOS Recovery Boot Block:
BIOS Recovery Boot Block is a special block of BIOS. It is used to boot up the system with minimum BIOS
initialization. Users can enable this feature to restore the BIOS firmware to a successful one once the previous
BIOS flashing process failed.
BIOS Recovery Hotkey:
The system provides a function hotkey: Fn+Esc, for enable BIOS Recovery process when system is powered
on during BIOS POST. To use this function, it is strongly recommended to have the AC adapter and Battery
present. If this function is enabled, the system will force the BIOS to enter a special BIOS block, called Boot
Block.
Steps for BIOS Recovery from USB Storage:
Before doing this, prepare the Crisis USB key. The Crisis USB key could be made by executing the Crisis Disk
program in another system with Windows XP OS.
Follow the steps below:
1. Save ROM file (file name: JAL90x64.fd) to the root directory of USB storage.
2. Plug USB storage into USB port.
3. Press Fn + ESC button then plug in AC.
The Power button flashes once.
4. Press Power button to initiate system CRISIS mode.
When CRISIS is complete, the system auto restarts with a workable BIOS.
5. Update the latest version BIOS for this machine by regular BIOS flashing process.

 

I just wanted to say that this post saved me a whole pile of sleepless nights fiddling with my new lappy! 3 days after buying, adding RAM, and trying to tripple boot XP,OSX, Ubuntu, I somehow fried my BIOS...

I realize this wasn't the first post with this information, but still a life saver for me.

I just felt the need to thank everyone submitting useful information in this forum!

Cheers,

Moku

 

From the service guide:

The "HW Gap" is the two separated triangles to the direct right of the last onboard RAM chip, on the top side of the board.

 

where I can find the BIOS Recovery by Crisis Disk ? because I cant understand what you mean!

can you pls give me more informations?

 

My Aa1 was on and fine the other day adn when I came back upstairs it was just on with a black screen.. had ovo rebooted and had this problem.

Its happened once before and I followed these instructions and it worked fine but this time it dosnt seem to be working..! Any ideas why?

I hold Fn+Esc and power on, the light flashes so I let go of Fn+Esc and pres the power button once. The light on my USB stick flashes a few times then stops and the power button is no longer flashing.

Then nothing.

:cry:

EDIT: False alarm! user error.. failed to rename .fd file to ZG5IA32.FD Lol All ok agina now

 

i cant blind flash my bios.... i do everything and still no answer..... no blinking power button..... i've tried everything....

anyone can help me???? please!

 

Start over from the beginning, and do it exactly like listed here :

1) Download the latest bios archive file for your AAO A110/150 from Acers's support site to another PC.
2) Insert your USB stick on the other PC. Format the USB stick in FAT16 format. Not FAT32. Only FAT16 format will work, so do not use a USB stick with greater capacity than 2 GB.
3) Extract the .fd file from the downloaded bios archive file, and copy it to the USB stick. Rename the .fd file to ZG5IA32.FD.
4) Extract the FLASHIT.EXE file from the downloaded archive file, and copy it to the USB stick.
5) Make sure that both files has finished writing to the USB stick, before removing the USB stick from the PC.
6) Switch of your AAO A110/150. Insert the USB stick in the AAO A110/150.
7) Hold down the FN key and the ESC key, and keep them pressed.
8) While keeping them pressed, turn on the AAO A110/150, by pressing the power switch. Keep all three keys pressed for a couple of seconds, then release all three keys. Press the power switch one more time.
9) The power switch should start to blink, indicating a Bios flash in progress. Wait, untill the AAO A110/150 reboots.
10) When the AAO A110/150 reboots, the flashing has taken place.

Come back if that doesn't work.

 

Currently using this method on my AspireOne D250, upgraded from 1.03 to 1.06 and had random issues (black screen on boot, sitting at post screen for eternity). Now upgraded to 2gb of ram (proper speed, etc) and its issues are easily repeatable. Downloaded 1.07 and from Asus, extracted the .FD and renamed to ZG5IA32.FD (all CAPS), copied it to a 64mb flash drive formatted to FAT16.

Not sure if having AC plugged in before effects this, however it appears to be flashing something.

-power off, pulled battery for 30 sec, no AC
-hold ESC and Fn keys down, plugged in AC adaptor
-while holding ESC and Fn, hold power down also for roughly 5sec
-release ALL KEYS, power button flashes for 1/2 a sec, no screen at all however your USB dongle will begin to flash
-I am currently at this stage, waiting for the flash to complete. Its definitely doing something, USB appears to be flashing - led indicators appear to be flashing periodically (every 30sec or so). Its been about a few minutes, so I'll see what happens.
-According to the above info, it should reboot automatically after - so I'll let it sit for another 5-10 tops before I get worried lol

PS. I don't recommend anyone with a D250 to attempt this method YET, I'm still playing the test-dummy for this role!

Current Status: Still updating, 3min into it so far..

 

I'm not so sure that the biosfile has to be renamed to ZG5IA32.FD for the D series. The A series (A110 and A150) has the model # of ZG5. The D series has another model # assigned, and probably needs to have the crisis recovery biosfile named accordingly, if we should follow a logical path of thoughts. But then again, it's Acer, so who knows if we should follow logical path

 

I thought the Macles Bios Recovery procedure applied to the AOA series only.

 

It's not AAO A series specific. It is a part of the InSydeH2O bios framework, so a crisis recovery procedure should be in all machines using the InSydeH2O bios, whether its an acer or another manufacturers machine.
The question remaining though, is what name the crisis recovery biosfile needs to have, since that can be customized by the manufacturer.
The A series (AAO A110 and AAO A150) needs the crisis recovery file named ZG5IA32.FD - ZG5 for the model no as listed on the back, and IA32 for Intel Architecture 32 bit since that is the architecture the Atom N270 belongs to.

The D series has another model no (and another bios numbering) than the A series. The D series (at least the D150) is named KAV10, so if logic prevails, the crisis recovery file should be named KAVIA32.FD.
Unfortunately I don't have the repairmanual for the D150/D250, so can't verify that. I do have the repairmanual for the A110/A150, which descrribes the crisis recovery procedure (what you call the Macles Bios Recovery procedure), and that states the crisis recovery file should be named ZG5IA32.FD for those models.

 

First of all hi to all of you, and sorry for the long post
I have a problem updating the bios, still have v0.3114 on, bought the ONE mid October 2008, first went on black screen at around February 2009, I contacted Acer customer service, and they sent via e-mail the updater file and instructions on how to flash update the bios. However I insisted on having the ONE checked by a technician since it was still in warranty. So I took it to the authorized service and got it back next day. On the report of the service it stated that they had updated the bios. I thought "o.k. the lady in customer line was right, it was a bios problem,maybe I could do it myself, but at least it is done by an expert. Almost three months later same thing, the ONE could not boot, and the screen black, no bios welcome screen, nothing. Contacted customer service again, prepared to do the update myself I asked to be sent the update file and instructions, but I also told them about previous update and asked whether this type of malfunction be a regular three-month maintenance issue on my netbook. Man on the phone informed me that probably the technician did not flash the updated version (3115) but re-flashed the previous (3114), so they sent me via e-mail v 3115, I myself did the flash thing and had my ONE running again. Until three days ago when I faced the same black screen again. Called again and asked in an agitated manner whether I will be able to count on my computer or I must always "fear" it might suddenly, one day never "wake up", because I had already had the same problem twice and the last time I was sure I used the newest version to flash. The man on the other end of the line told me that the problem is a known bios bug in which the motherboard locks and has to be unlocked by doing the flash thing, and he also told me that I have to do the procedure twice (nobody had told me that in the previous two occasions) because the first time unlocks the bios, and the second updates the bios. If I only do it once I will face the same problem in a few months. So, he send me the new version v0.3309 (found on acer site that is now v0.3310, little bit off time here in greece, probably that's why the acer support does not have latest version ) and told me that my bios has v 3115 and after the two flashes it should have version 3309. Did first flash, unlocked bios only to see that I actually had 3114. Netbook is working fine now but cannot update to v0.3309 or 3310, have tried both but it does not update. I have tried with a flash formatted at FAT32 (that what the info mail from acer support advises) and with various combinations in the "Fn+esc press power button" part of the procedure. every time the usb flash flashes "indication it sends data to BIOS?" but the version is still 3114. I say again it works and boots fine, but I am a little pissed my bios is old and probably in christmas my ONE will die on me again.

 

@ Salonicensis
You can use the Macles Bios recovery method on a computer that will not boot (Step one), but you have to perform a normal Bios flash (Step two) to completely rewrite the Bios including version number.

This is the normal bios flashing procedure;
http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/07/flashing-bios.html