Upgraded with wrong BIOS.... Expert opinion needed... Tosh..

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

asavarani@gmail.com <asavarani@gmail.com> wrote:
: Hi all,

: I hope that someone here can help or at least give some expert opinion
: on this matter.

: I just bought a used Toshiba Satellite 1100, and I was having some
: problems so I thought I would upgrade the BIOS to see if it would help.
: By accident, I flashed the BIOS with a BIOS for Satellite 1110. Of
: course, the laptop does not start anymore. Actually, the power light,
: the CD drive light and the Fn lights go on (not all at the same time)
: but nothing appears on the screen.

: Have I totally fried the motherboard? I haven't opened the machine yet
: but assume that the BIOS is soldered on the board, would it be worth it
: getting the BIOS removed and re programmed by one of the companies like
: www.biosman.com?

Yep, it sounds like your computer is a brick. That's why they tell
you WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! over and over again and make you
confirm what you are doing so many times.

Is it worth fixing the machine? Depends how much a company like
biosman would charge, assuming you even could re-program the BIOS.
You might first try to get ahold of the service manual for the
machine.

Even then, can you get a quote from biosman? Might be cheaper to get
a new motherboard, even one off eBay.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

asavarani@gmail.com <asavarani@gmail.com> wrote:
: Andrew wrote:
: >
: > Yep, it sounds like your computer is a brick. That's why they tell
: > you WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! over and over again and make you
: > confirm what you are doing so many times.
: >
: > Is it worth fixing the machine? Depends how much a company like
: > biosman would charge, assuming you even could re-program the BIOS.
: > You might first try to get ahold of the service manual for the
: > machine.
: >
: > Even then, can you get a quote from biosman? Might be cheaper to get
: > a new motherboard, even one off eBay.
: >
: Thanks for the reply,

: Trust me I am very frustrated with what I had done. I have done at
: least 30 BIOS upgrades.... I have absolutely no excuse for this...

: Anyway, They don't charge much for re-programing the BIOS or even
: sending a new BIOS, but could the symptoms as I described them be the
: result of simply a problem with BIOS or is it the motherboard? I've
: fixed a lot of desktops but never a laptop so I don't even know what
: the symptoms could mean...

It seems unlikely that your motherboard died coincidentally when you
were upgrading the BIOS. It sounds like the BIOS, which is the very
basic operating system of a PC, is just non-functional because it's
the wrong one. Replacing the whole motherboard is a quick-and-dirty
way to fix the problem if the BIOS chip is soldered into the
motherboard.

At this point, you have nothing to lose by opening up the laptop and
trying to find the BIOS chip. If you can get it out, send it to
BIOSMAN. As I said, having a copy of the service manual for the
laptop would be helpful and could save you some time.

You might also try resetting the CMOS defaults in the BIOS by removing
the battery for ten minutes or setting a jumper, in vain hope that
this might be enough to get the wrong BIOS to wake up - long shot but
worth a try. Again, the service manual would help you try this.

Good luck! We've all done dumb things, so I know how you feel.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Some systems have a way of recovering from this situation. Usually
involves a floppy disk or CD in the drive at startup with the correct
bios file and a specific filename. However, I don't have a service
manual for this particular model.

Just for kicks (and given that there is nothing to lose), create a
bootable floppy or CD with the burn program and the correct bios and
also an autoexec.bat to actually start the burn and see if this will
execute.


asavarani@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I hope that someone here can help or at least give some expert opinion
> on this matter.
>
> I just bought a used Toshiba Satellite 1100, and I was having some
> problems so I thought I would upgrade the BIOS to see if it would help.
> By accident, I flashed the BIOS with a BIOS for Satellite 1110. Of
> course, the laptop does not start anymore. Actually, the power light,
> the CD drive light and the Fn lights go on (not all at the same time)
> but nothing appears on the screen.
>
> Have I totally fried the motherboard? I haven't opened the machine yet
> but assume that the BIOS is soldered on the board, would it be worth it
> getting the BIOS removed and re programmed by one of the companies like
> www.biosman.com?
>
> TIA
>
> ECaC
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On 2005.5.31, asavarani@gmail.com wrote:



> Trust me I am very frustrated with what I had done. I have done at
> least 30 BIOS upgrades.... I have absolutely no excuse for this...

My theory is that it's better not to have experience with BIOS
upgrades. Unless there's a very good reason to flash it, the risk
usually outweighs any benefit.


--
garglemonster@my-deja.com

Today, THREE WINOS from DETROIT sold me a framed photo of TAB HUNTER
before his MAKEOVER!

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:10:31 -0400, Garglemonster
<garglemonster@my-deja.com> wrote:

>On 2005.5.31, asavarani@gmail.com wrote:
>
>
>
>> Trust me I am very frustrated with what I had done. I have done at
>> least 30 BIOS upgrades.... I have absolutely no excuse for this...
>
>My theory is that it's better not to have experience with BIOS
>upgrades. Unless there's a very good reason to flash it, the risk
>usually outweighs any benefit.

I agree. But that still didn't stop me from upgrading a BIOS
last week. I had upgraded a computer from Win98SE to XP.

The mouse wouldn't work right with Win XP until the
1999 BIOS was upgraded to the 2001 version. It works
fine now.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I've seen some of those on E-bay, but they don't seem to contain the
service manual for Satelitte 1100, they only contain the user manual.

I'll look again.

Thanks

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Well, I tried everything except for removing the BIOS battery, which I
could not access. And nothing worked.

I guess the only thing left to do is to take the laptop with me to
China on my next trip and see if I can get it fixed there for a
reasonable price.

Thanks to everyone with their suggestions and here's wishing that
manufacturers include a verification step into the flash software.

Thanks again to all.


Cheers.

ECaC

Check out Ask Iris at Toshiba Website


Document ID: 98080064
Posted Date: 09/06/02
Last Updated: 08/26/02
Operating System: BIOS
Category: BIOS, CD
Distribution: Public
Applicable Models:
Portege All
Satellite All
Satellite Pro All
Tecra All


Hold down the F12 key when booting your bricked computer to get a BIOS update prompt:

From the BIOS update file:



There are three ways to install this BIOS version:

1) Use the bootable diskette that is automatically created by the Windows
UnZip process (Recommended)

2) At startup by holding down the F12 key.

3) Run CHGBIOSA.EXE at the command prompt.

*****************************************************************************


1) BOOT DISKETTE INSTALLATION METHOD (Recommended)
--------------------------------------------------

This release of the electronic distribution BIOS utilizes a self-extracting
ZIP file that, when run under Windows or Win-OS2, creates a bootable BIOS
installation diskette.

Since you're reading this, you were obviously able to extract the downloaded
file. If you also created the BIOS installation diskette as a part of the
extraction process, you're ready to follow the installation instructions
below.

If you didn't create the installation diskette during the extraction phase,
or if you extracted the downloaded file with PKUnZip or WinZip, you can
create the installation diskette by executing the INSTINFO program from the
DOS command prompt.

Install this BIOS using the following steps:

WINDOWS 9x, Me, 2000, NT:

o Close all open programs
o Insert the BIOS installation diskette into your diskette drive (A
o Click Start
o Click Shutdown
o Click the radio button next to "Restart the computer?"
o Click Yes

WINDOWS 3.x:

o Close all open programs
o From Program Manager, click on File/Exit Windows
Windows exits to a MS-DOS command prompt
o Insert the BIOS installation diskette into your diskette drive (A
o Press Ctrl-Alt-Del (press and hold the <Ctrl> and <Alt> keys and press
the <Del> key) to restart the system

OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS

o Close all open programs
o Shut down the operating system
o Insert the BIOS installation diskette into your diskette drive (A
o Restart the computer by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del or turning the computer
OFF then on again

The computer will boot MS-DOS from the BIOS installation diskette, and
initiate the Flash BIOS installation routine. When the Flash BIOS
installation is complete, the success message is displayed:


Please push the RESET SW (or turn AC power OFF/ON) to restart!

ROM Write Successful!
Utility Finished!


Eject the diskette from drive A: and turn the computer OFF then ON, or press
the reset switch to restart your computer.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS RELEASE
---------------------------------------------

If you are unable to use the Windows self-extractor, the self-extracting
ZIP archive can be extracted by executing it from a DOS prompt or it can be
extracted using PKUNZIP 2.04G or an equivalent UnZIP utility. A DOS batch
file, INSTINFO.BAT is provided in the ZIP archive which will create the BIOS
installation diskette. If all else fails, you can execute the
self-extracting diskette image manually. This file is named 1116D930.EXE, and
needs a parameter of A: (1116D930 A to successfully create the diskette in
drive A:

The self-extracting diskette image, 1116D930.EXE, will run under MS-DOS or a
command prompt under Windows 9x, Me, 2000, NT, or OS/2. PLEASE NOTE that long
directory names in the path where the self-extracting image file is stored
under Windows 9x or NT/2K will cause the self-extracting image to abort. Long
directory names are supported under OS/2.



2) BIOS KEY INSTALLATION METHOD
---------------------------

Your Toshiba computer has a special keyboard function to install an
updated BIOS image.

To use this function, hold down the F12 key while the computer is
powered on. The computer MUST be in BOOT mode, not Resume mode.

This installation method will only work with the internal keyboard. If
your computer is docked with the display closed and you are using an external
keyboard, the computer will need to be undocked and the internal keyboard's
F12 key used.

When the computer starts up with the F12 key depressed, the following
message appears:

'Ready for BIOS update. Place the BIOS diskette in the drive, and press
any key when ready to proceed.'

Insert the diskette that contains CHGBIOSA.EXE and BIOFC1AT.COM,
and press any key. The CHGBIOSA program will automatically load the
BIOFC1AT.COM file.

3) RUN CHGBIOSA.EXE AT THE COMMAND PROMPT
-----------------------------------------

The CHGBIOSA program is designed to be run from the MS-DOS command
prompt. It cannot be run in a DOS box inside of Windows 3.x, Windows 9x,
OS/2 or other operating systems. It also will not run if a Memory Manager,
like EMM386, is loaded. The CHGBIOSA program can be run from a
floppy disk, hard drive, or PCMCIA drive. However, you will need a floppy
diskette (high or low density) in your A: drive at the time the CHGBIOSA
program is run.

When the CHGBIOSA program is executed by itself, it will prompt you
to specify where the BIOS image file, BIOFC1AT.COM is located. Enter
the complete path and file name. Example: C:\4800V93\BIOFC1AT.COM.

NOTE!
-----

If your path for BIOFC1AT.COM is anywhere other than the root directory
of the A: drive (A:\BIOFC1AT.COM), CHGBIOSA will copy the BIOS image
file from its current location to the root directory of A: drive.


Optionally, the CHGBIOSA program can also be run from a single command
which includes the path to the BIOFC1AT.COM file.

Example: CHGBIOSA C:\4800V93\BIOFC1AT.COM


zzyzxfc

Actually, I did something similar to my Toshiba laptop. I tried to flash the proper BIOS update but something when wrong. I think it was that I wasn't fully out of Windows 95, just shelled to DOS. I should have booted off a floppy to DOS.

However, there is a way to recover. Install the proper BIOS update on a Floppy or CD. When you turn on the laptop computer, kepp the F12 key presse. That will bring up a built in BIOS flash recovery prompt that will read either the floppy drive or CD drive or either (depending on the vintage of the laptop).