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Wiki'd: http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:recoverfrombrick
Note: Rename to 702.ROM if you have an 8GB model
This is not a question, it's a guide.
I've done this twice now (edit: thrice), so i'm talking from experience.
I've removed the battery & mains power while it was updating the BIOS (I let it update for around 45 secs so it at least did the first part of the flashing). After this I confirmed it was dead. The screen doesn't light up, only the power light is on (other time WiFi was on too), no HDD activity or anything else.
To recover, have the Eee's BIOS .ROM file (downloaded from ASUS website) renamed to 701.ROM on a FAT16 formatted Flash Stick. Plug it into any USB slot, and turn the Eee on. If the Flash Stick has lights, it will continuously blink for a second or 2 (depending on speed). Continue to wait 10 mins, then power off the Eee, then turn it back on, and it's recovered! There is no need to press Alt+F2.
I've also modified my BIOS to use a custom splash screen. Don't feel put off by me only having 9 posts, i'm an avid poster on Whirlpool.
Edit: Also found this, http://5i01.com/topicdetail.php?f=233&t=486970
Last edited by MickJT (2008-02-06 6:24:53 am)
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If I am ever in that situation I will try this. What the heck, I'm going to worry about making my bricked Eee worse at that point? Thanks for the tip MickJT!
You know, you might want to edit the title of this post to read: "How to: Recover from a corrupted Bios/bricked Eee PC". That way folks will more easily recognize that it is a solution, rather than just someone else with a bricked machine.
Last edited by Paul In SF (2008-02-01 10:21:35 am)
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Should put this in the wiki also!
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Mick, very helpful, thanks. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow and see if I can get it working before the courier comes to pick it up to take it back to the retailer. Please excuse me as I am pretty hopeless with this sort of thing:
1) I have a number of usb memory sticks- how do I know that it is FAT16 formatted (and failing that, how do I formatt it to FAT16
2) How do I rename the BIOS.ROM to 701.ROM
Sorry if these questions seem basic to you but I really have no idea what I'm doing!!!
Any help would be appreciated.
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Martyn wrote:
Mick, very helpful, thanks. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow and see if I can get it working before the courier comes to pick it up to take it back to the retailer. Please excuse me as I am pretty hopeless with this sort of thing:
1) I have a number of usb memory sticks- how do I know that it is FAT16 formatted (and failing that, how do I formatt it to FAT16
2) How do I rename the BIOS.ROM to 701.ROM
Sorry if these questions seem basic to you but I really have no idea what I'm doing!!!
Any help would be appreciated.
You know if your Flash Stick (why do they give it so many names?) is FAT16 formatted by right-clicking on it in "My Computer" and going to "Properties", where it says "File System", it will say "FAT", not "FAT32" and not "NTFS". "FAT" is FAT16.
Some (well at least 1) brands don't work. The one i've got here that doesn't work is an Imation brand... but 2 other brands worked fine, so i'm going to assume most work fine.
If you have the 4GB 701 model (not Surf) then the BIOS can be downloaded here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/3xwsyb
Exrtact the .zip and you will get a .ROM file. If you have a program asssociated with .ROM files, the .ROM extension won't be visible. If you want to be 100% certain you are seeing the filenames correctly, go into My Computer, then Tools / Folder Options, and untick the option to hide known file extensions.
If in Vista, it's under "Organize / Folder & Search Options".
Right-click on the file and left-click on Rename, and rename it to 701.ROM (if you didn't choose to unhide file extensions, then if .ROM was not visible, then just rename to 701, you can make sure it's the right filename by checking in a DOS prompt and typing "E:", and then "dir" (replace E: with the drive letter of the usb drive)).
I have not checked if case sensitivity makes a difference, but I doubt it.
Note: Rename to 702.ROM if you have an 8GB model
Last edited by MickJT (2008-02-02 12:14:16 am)
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I have now added this to the Wiki, under the Hardware section.
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:recoverfrombrick
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Paul In SF wrote:
you might want to edit the title of this post
How do I do that?
I just noticed it says "cover" instead of "recover". Hmm
Last edited by MickJT (2008-02-02 12:19:59 am)
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I don't know. I know that we can edit the contents of a posting, but not sure if that works for the title or not.
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I would use the 'contact us' link at the top of the page and ask them to change the title for you.
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I sent a message to a moderator.
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Mick, you are a star. Going to have a crack at it later. Will let you know how things turn out. Many thanks for your trouble.
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Mick- Thanks for the very clear instructions (even a dunderhead like me could follow them).
I've done as you said and I found three memory sticks of different makes (all FAT16), downloaded the file from the link that you gave and renamed it to 701.ROM on all three. I've then inserted a stick into a usb on the eee, turned the eee on and waited for ten minutes. First thing I noticed was that the lights on the stick did not show at all (no blinking, no nothing).
After ten minutes, I have powered off the eee, removed the stick and powered on. Unfortunately nothing has happened (the power light and wifi light show as before, other than that- nothing). Bearing in mind your comments regarding some brands of stick not working, I repeated the process with the other two sticks with, sadly, the same results.
I followed your directions to the letter, have checked that all 3 sticks say FAT in the properties, and have renamed the file downloaded from the link ( this file was named 701-ASUS-0703.ROM) after I unzipped it to 701.ROM. So I think that I have got the process right but there is clearly something that is off kilter. Question: each of the sticks I used had other documents on them, back up word files, mp4 files etc. Should the stick be empty except for the 701.ROM file?
Also, should the stick be left in the usb slot when powering up after the ten minute wait? (although I've tried it both ways). Sorry to be a pest but if you have any ideas I would be happy to give them a go!
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The stick doesn't need to be empty.
You never mentioned how the problem occured. Did it just go dead on it's own or was it during or after a BIOS update?
If it just seemed to die at some point, then your problem may not be BIOS related at all. If you have an 8GB model, then you need to download the 702 model BIOS and rename to 702.ROM. I assume you know that already, though.
I've only tested this when I interupted a BIOS flash on purpose. The only way to know if it's useful for other situations is for people like yourself to give it a go and report what happens.
At least it's under warranty!
Edit: Not that it matters, but in answer to your question, no, the stick doesn't need to be in when you power it up the 2nd time. Also, even though I didn't have to do this, you could try pressing Alt+F2 repeatedly for 15 secs when you turn it on (familiar with F8 for safe-mode? It's like that, gotta get it at the right time). That's the key combination for EZ-Flash. If you see no lights blinking on your flash drive though, don't get your hopes up.
Last edited by MickJT (2008-02-02 2:38:09 pm)
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I would also try the stick in each of the USB slots -- it may only look at one for the presence of a drive.
Do the sticks have to be FAT16?
I also would definitely be on AC power for this...
Last edited by HomeBrew (2008-02-02 2:55:35 pm)
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HomeBrew, it works on all USB ports, and yes it has to be FAT16, and no you don't need to be on AC power (but I recommend it).
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Thanks guys. I'm going to have another go today and try various combinations of Micks instructions (it's already bricked- what's the worst that can happen now?).
Mick- it all started when I clicked on the Bios Update icon. A command screen came up and I mashed a few keys and that was the end of that!
The retailers, Cclonline.com (who, to be fair, have been pretty helpful) are sending a courier on Tuesday morning to pick it up and, in response to my question of how long it would be before I got a replacement said "hopefully we can have the laptop turned around as quick as possible meaning late this week or early next week to have a replacement with you, subject to stock being available". This seems quite optimistic given the shortage of units but, you never know.
What is encouraging in this incident is the support and advice I have received from people such as yourselves which has helped me enormously. Will continue to post on this thread until I get my new machine back.
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Thought i'd do it again (must be something wrong in my head). I interrupted it in AFUDOS this time at around 35%.. and again, managed to recover it, with one major difference that was enough to scare me. The Eee wouldn't turn off without removing the battery. I could swear I was able to just press the power button before.
Last edited by MickJT (2008-02-06 5:11:37 am)
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You like to live on the edge!!
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BTW Mick, I noticed that your instructions to me above differ slightly from your wiki entry on this subject. In the wiki you instruct that the downloaded bios file be put in the root directory of the flash stick (not in a folder). I didn't realise this and had stored it in a folder on the stick. As it happens, it made no difference to me as I have now tried it both ways numerous times and still have a dead little eee!
CCL had arranged for City Link to collect the eee from me yesterday (Tues) morning but it is still here at 4.00pm on Wednesday! Phoned City Link today and they said their driver ran out of time yesterday (!?!)and he would pick it up this afternoon. Somehow, I'm not holding my breath.
CCL haven't answered my phone calls or emails for the last 24 hours and, after originally being impressed with their service, I am now hestitant to use them for future purchases. I guess you can never tell how good a company really is until something goes wrong and how they deal with it.
If it is ever collected, I will be interested to see how well I am kept informed and how quickly my replacement gets to me. I really miss my little buddy.
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Ahh yeah I automatically assumed people would stick it in the root folder, but I made the wiki more formal looking. Why would you store it in a folder anyway? What was the folder named? Just curious.
So, for example if my flash drive is L:\ on my Desktop machine, I just stick 701.ROM in L:\, so I have L:\701.ROM
Put the stick in the USB port on the Eee, and turn it on. No pressing any keys, but it can't hurt to try Alt+F2 repeatedly for a few secs while starting up. The stick blinks a little bit, then there's a 5-10 min wait (5 should be enough, but 10 is definitely enough). Turn it off or remove batt, and turn it back on and it's recovered... and remember to try a different branded flash drive just incase.
I've used a 3rd brand now, Kingston, and that worked fine. RunDisk, DSE, Kingston all fine, just Imation at this point that it doesn't like. Don't forget, FAT (aka FAT16), stick doesn't need to be empty though.. and if you have the 8GB model, download the proper firmware for that and name it 702.ROM (which model do you have by the way? It'll stop me from saying this).
Edit: Could chat on MSN, Skype, IRC, whatever.. later on if you wanted to. In around 12 hours (i.e 23:00 GMT+10.5)
Last edited by MickJT (2008-02-06 7:57:30 pm)
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hi Mick, sorry wasn't around yesterday (trying to earn some money!).
It's a 701-4G. I called the folder "Bios". Why did I do it? Because I don't know any better!!!
It's all a moot point now as the courier driver finally (30 hours late!) picked my eee up to take back to CCL for replacement. I am now eee-less and having to use my Acer laptop which, after the eee, looks and feels like something from prehistory. Amazing how the little fella wormed his way into my affections so quickly. Can't wait to get it back, but will have to lurk on the forums until its in my sweaty hands again. I can assure you of one thing- I'm never going to do a Bios update again!
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Well, if you ever think about updating the BIOS again (compatibility reasons or something), do it with the Alt+F2 EZ-Flash, and before the warranty period expires (incase for some reason it stuffs up again, but it shouldn't).
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For informational purposes.
I tried installing EeeXubuntu on sdb (SD card). EeeXubuntu did not ask where to install Grub, tried to put it on an unformatted sda (internal ROM), so I ended up with a corrupted machine. I was getting error 22 and the keyboard and aux ports were no longer recognized at boot.
I could not even type "yes" to reinstall Xandros, or enter responses to put EeeXubuntu on the internal ROM.
After coming close to throwing the machine away, I realized the USB ports were still working, so I went to Microcenter, got a cheap USB keyboard, and tried to reinstall Xandros. It worked perfectly. The machine is as good as new.
Hope this helps someone else.
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I strongly suspect this technique is a have. I don't see any behaviour like this on my system and the instructions in the wiki seem to be based purely on conjecture regarding a similar recovery procedure in a different AMI bios.
Can I get some independent confirmation from someone other than MickJT that this actually works? If not it might be wise to remove the instructions....
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If you can't get this method working try this. this is from a bios recovery website that i found when i bricked my eee.
format a usb stick and put the bios file onto it, renaming it 701.ROM
remove battery and power lead
plug in power lead doesn't matter about battery (although try not to kick the power out when you do it)
turn on the unit and press Ctrl+Home (fn aswell to enable Home Ctrl+Fn+Home)
this should enable the first part of the ami bios that is unwritable to boot the built in bios recovery tool
this will then search your usb slots for a bios file called 701.ROM, update and tell you to restart
hopefully this will work for you if MickJT's solution doesn't work for you
MickJT could you be kind enough to test this method for me as i have only tried it on my eee. Thanks and good post
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