Laptop won't post after failed bios update - replacing the bios chips

[Dman8777]

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E430 which was having some issues so I tried updatjng the bios. I used the windows tool from the lenovo site but the update hung after restarting the pc. Now the laptop won't post and apparently this is a common issue with this laptop. A number of users have had this problem on the lenovo support forum.

To fix this issue, I can either replace the motherboard for ~140$ or the bios chips for 25$. The supplier for the bios chips is from taiwan and they ship internationally. According to the posting, they just need to know the model of the laptop and they will pre-program the chips with the correct bios.

The chips are both 8-pin smt packages which are soldered to the motherboard. I can solder these chips without an issue but I would like to know if anyone else has done something like this. Does it really work? Please share your experiences.

Here's the ebay listing for the chips.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-BIOS-CHIPS-LENOVO-ThinkPad-Edge-E530-E430-E530c-E430c-E431-E531-E330-S430-/141186721525

 

[Burpo]

1600+ feedback @ 100% means this seller has the goods. Soldering in a new bios chip is definitely the way to go to save the laptop.

 

[Dman8777]

Update after chip replacement: it worked!

So I got the chips last week and soldered them onto the mobo today. I then put the laptop back together and tried turning it on, no post. I shut it off and turned it on probably 5 times but it wouldn't post. I opened it up one more time to make sure I hadn't forgot to attach a cable but everything was correctly connected. Then I swapped the ram to the other slot and tried turning it on again, no post.

At this point I was ready to give up but I tried one last time and it posted. I don't know why worked after ~7 tries but I'm glad I didn't give up too quickly

 

[Dman8777]

Update after chip replacement: it worked!

So I got the chips last week and soldered them onto the mobo today. I then put the laptop back together and tried turning it on, no post. I shut it off and turned it on probably 5 times but it wouldn't post. I opened it up one more time to make sure I hadn't forgot to attach a cable but everything was correctly connected. Then I swapped the ram to the other slot and tried turning it on again, no post.

At this point I was ready to give up but I tried one last time and it posted. I don't know why worked after ~7 tries but I'm glad I didn't give up too quickly

 

[Dman8777]

Update 2: Since replacing the bios chips, the laptop powers down 30 minutes after booting. It happens in windows, it happens in the bios menu, and it happens regardless what I do with the laptop. Putting the system in stand-by resets the 30 minute timer, so the system is still somewhat useable.

I searched and found that a number of people have had this problem with laptops from all vendors as well as desktops and the only solution which seems to work is replacing the mobo

 

[jihe]

Update 2: Since replacing the bios chips, the laptop powers down 30 minutes after booting. It happens in windows, it happens in the bios menu, and it happens regardless what I do with the laptop. Putting the system in stand-by resets the 30 minute timer, so the system is still somewhat useable.

I searched and found that a number of people have had this problem with laptops from all vendors as well as desktops and the only solution which seems to work is replacing the mobo

Did you upgrade your CPU? This is what happens when you put an i3/i5/i7 on a HM70 chipset. If the motherboard has the HM70 chipset then it will only work with pentiums at most. Intel locked this chipset with their ME firmware. If you have the HM77 chipset then the ME region of your bios is corrupted/incorrectly set up, perhaps due to the new bios chip. A normal BIOS flash would not fix this, you could try FTK firmware flashing tool. But be warned, it's very easy to mess up your laptop. Perhaps you should invest in a flash programmer, then you'd never have to buy a bios chip again.

 

[Dman8777]

Did you upgrade your CPU? This is what happens when you put an i3/i5/i7 on a HM70 chipset. If the motherboard has the HM70 chipset then it will only work with pentiums at most. Intel locked this chipset with their ME firmware. If you have the HM77 chipset then the ME region of your bios is corrupted/incorrectly set up, perhaps due to the new bios chip. A normal BIOS flash would not fix this, you could try FTK firmware flashing tool. But be warned, it's very easy to mess up your laptop. Perhaps you should invest in a flash programmer, then you'd never have to buy a bios chip again.

Thanks for the info.

I haven't changed the cpu. Do I need a laptop-specific file to flash the firmware? What's the difference between the bios and the firmware? Which of the 2 chips is affected?

Messing up my laptop isn't a big deal. Restarting it every 30 minutes already makes it relatively uselsss for my use case.

 

[Dman8777]

When I open the intel management ap, it doesn't show any info, there's no version for any the components. How does one go about updating the intel ME firmware?

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Update 2: Since replacing the bios chips, the laptop powers down 30 minutes after booting. It happens in windows, it happens in the bios menu, and it happens regardless what I do with the laptop. Putting the system in stand-by resets the 30 minute timer, so the system is still somewhat useable.

I searched and found that a number of people have had this problem with laptops from all vendors as well as desktops and the only solution which seems to work is replacing the mobo

A cheap fix or try would be to replace the battery, I'm sure you knew this...

 

[jihe]

When I open the intel management ap, it doesn't show any info, there's no version for any the components. How does one go about updating the intel ME firmware?

Have a read through this. I never tried a laptop but on a desktop board I did manage to fix a corrupt ME region. But first you should make sure your laptop chipset isn't HM70. Then you should try to upgrade your bios using the Lenovo bios update tool (preferably the dos version).



http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1726429

 

[Dman8777]

Updating the bios and changing the battery don't help, unfortunately.

 

[jihe]

Updating the bios and changing the battery don't help, unfortunately.

Well at least check your chipset isn't HM70.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Updating the bios and changing the battery don't help, unfortunately.

Remove all batteries over night(no power), hold the on button for five minutes.

 

[Dman8777]

The chipset is hm77. The laptop came with an i3.

What does holding the power button for 5 minutes accomplish?

 

[Magic Carpet]

delete.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I think the new rom isn't fully compatible with your board. The rom may have been for an hm70 based board instead on which i3/i5s shutdown in exactly 30 mins. Try putting in a celeron or pentium cpu to check my theory.

What does holding the power button for 5 minutes accomplish?

Nothing game-changing in your case, unfortunately.

 

[LTC8K6]

The chipset is hm77. The laptop came with an i3.

What does holding the power button for 5 minutes accomplish?

Discharge of any capacitors to make sure the board has absolutely no power.

 

[Dman8777]

I flashed the bios again but to an earlier version this time. During the flash, the bios was flashed (256 blocks) and then the embedded controller (32 blocks). The last time I tried a bios flash, only the bios was updated. Anyway, it didn't solve the problem, the laptop still shuts off after 30 minutes

 

[Magic Carpet]

You can possibly contact the laptop manufacturer, maybe they can give you sound advice (they are useful occasionally). Can't provide more help, sadly.

 

[Burpo]

The fix..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thin...131324?hash=item5b1c9ddb7c:g:WLgAAOSwiwVWSiju

Cheaper than buying just a board, with leftovers to sell off, may come out ahead..

 

[Dman8777]

Lenovo's response was that the mobo needs to be replaced.

Thanks for the suggestion burpo. I'm in germany so that doesn't help unfortunately. I'll definitely check out ebay.de though.

 

[Dman8777]

Lenovo's response was that the mobo needs to be replaced.

Thanks for the suggestion burpo. I'm in germany so that doesn't help unfortunately. I'll definitely check out ebay.de though.

 

[Burpo]

That's why I posted above. You're getting a pretty much complete laptop with working board, and enough stuff left over to sell & recoup most if not all your money back.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Lenovo's response was that the mobo needs to be replaced.

And what did your ebay bios supplier say? They must have some clue.

 

[Dman8777]

The seller from Taiwan seems to think the bios is password protected and wants to sell me another set of chips to remove the password. I'm pretty sure that's not the problem though. I have no password set in my bios and can change all the settings at will.

When I bought the chips, I told them the old chips were both Winbond versions but they sent me 1 winbond and 1 chip from another manufacturer. They said it was compatible but maybe its not?

I haven'tbeen able to find anything like what burpo suggeated here. Prices for motherboards start at about $150 which is stupid when the problem is a couple chips which cost pennies...