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G74SX Bricked Bios after update ...SOLVED!

rachcampitos
Level 8
Hello guys, one week ago i was doing my normal life like most of you, and suddenly this asus live update gave to me this 203 Bios update, so i was thinking "why not?" without knowing all the suffering I was going to feel after to do that, well, my G74SX died, and after that, my pursuit of the answer for this very big problem that I know most of you also were getting end this friday, when I found the way of how to fix this, and believe me guys, Im not a programmer and I did it, but I know most of you are on an ASUS support area maybe USA or surroundings, but it was not my case, im in Peru and this machine was bought on USA, so for me was going to be very difficult to get an ASUS solution, so I started to look for all kind of ways to solve this problem, and most of you are also in a big trouble because your warranty has expired, so here is the solution, for people who has the equipment to do this is ok, otherwise, you must contact an specialist who can take yous bios chip out of the motherboard and flash it on a different device, I dont know too much about this, but here in Peru there are many people who can make this job.

So here are the basic steps:

1. Gain access to the SPI ROM
2. Using a SPI ISP programming adapter, or device programmer, read and store
the bricked BIOS image (4MB, Winbond W25Q32)
3. Download, from Asus, the BIOS update file, for the version that you were
originally running, before the failed update attempt (V201 is on the driver
CD, V202, V203 are on the download site).
4. Using a hex editor, merge the two images as follows:
Reconstructed_Image 0x0 - 0x17FFFF = Bricked_Image 0x0 - 0x17FFFF
Reconstructed_Image 0x180000 - 0x3FFFFF = Update_Image 0x0 - 0x27FFFF
5. Program the Reconstructed_Image into your SPI Flash
6. Power-up or power cycle the laptop (your G74SX should be alive again)
7. Enter BIOS setup, by pressing F2
8. Select "Restore Defaults"
9. Save and exit

For those who can not make all this, I HAVE THE FULL 4MB BIOS RECONSTRUCTED FILE, send me a PM and i will be glad to be helpful for you.

Special thanks to PILGRIM who was following up all this process and helping me every day.
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26 REPLIES 26

PILGRIM
Level 11
Way to go, rachcampitos!..:)

Now this is what I call "an ROG take and give"..
I'm really glad to see the end-result of your undertaking.
We may be strangers physically, but in these forums,
we are connected by this commonality we call our ROG laptops..
And it makes all the difference.. Even for a little while, in this we call life.

Honestly, at first, I was a little negative about the outcome.
FYI (for the others not familiar with it), there is a thread
with a similar situation but with no definitive outcome.
See: http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?11709-G74sx-Original-BIOS&country=&status=

But reading through your situation- bricking your laptop, and
without any ASUS service center in your country (Peru), I thought
why not try to help, and see what happens next. I can only imagine
how it felt to be in your shoes. But it's still good, you having technically-
suave friend/s who helped you bring back to life your laptop.

Now, this might not be a big deal for those who have easier access
to an ASUS service center. But it is for the others who haven't..

And, finally, this thread made a conclusive, positive ending to the query
that, indeed, there's a workaround for a bricked BIOS- even if there's no
service center around..

Kudos to you, Raul.. Please stick around this forum and try to share
whatever good you have. For we know that what really matters is not
how much we can take, rather, in how much we can give..
ASUS G74SX-3DE

PILGRIM
Level 11
Don't know if you agree.. But moderators, consider to make this thread a sticky.
It goes without saying that the OP's self-help guide can really help those that
need it, absent an ASUS service center. And we know, there are many of them
in their own respective countries.
ASUS G74SX-3DE

I am agree with you Walter, no matter how much we can take, rather, in how much we can give, I really hope this thread can help people who has the same problem, I think we must fight until we get what we want, and if we get it and we can be helpful to others, we must help.

evga
Level 9
+1 for both.
many thanks.
I have done this before for my g73jh.

GiGaLeOnZa
Level 7
Hey there, I'm in a similar situation, though under warranty... my G74Sx's warranty runs out in 5 weeks and I just flashed the BIOS and bam, dead. RMA'ing it via NYC Service Center, Datavision. I wanted to point out This thread because Sir Robin was the one to figure all this out, rachcampitos was fortunate enough to follow those steps but I have to say that credit should be given where credit is due,

On a more technical note, if I was out of warranty and needed to do this myself, where is the password stored in the BIOS code? I was curious because after doing some reading, the BIOS password is stored physically in the BIOS, and cannot be cleared via a CMOS reset. This is my first new laptop since I had a 2007 Dell e1705 that could be reset via a CMOS pull.

jwbroderick
Level 7
Hello everyone,

Well i am having the same issue with my bbk8 using winflash, i stated the upgrade and left the laptop unatended and when I returned an hour later it was off and I havent been able to turn it on since then.

Does the chip need to be pulled?
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jwbroderick wrote:
Hello everyone,

Well i am having the same issue with my bbk8 using winflash, i stated the upgrade and left the laptop unatended and when I returned an hour later it was off and I havent been able to turn it on since then.

Does the chip need to be pulled?
Hardware recomendations


Sorry to hear about your laptop. If it's still under warranty, and there's an ASUS Service Center near you,
it would be better to send it for repair. But if you're in a location where it's difficult to do so, then you may
send a private message to rachcampitos and ask for advice on how he solved his. Good luck to you..
ASUS G74SX-3DE

jwbroderick wrote:
Hello everyone,

Well i am having the same issue with my bbk8 using winflash, i stated the upgrade and left the laptop unatended and when I returned an hour later it was off and I havent been able to turn it on since then.

Does the chip need to be pulled?
Hardware recomendations


Hi there!

I fixed my bricked asus g74sx just yesterday using sir robin's method and Raul's reconstructed file without any technical people to help me. And i'm not a computer science student or anything like that, so if i can do it, so can you!

What you'll need:
-Bus Pirate ($30) - can get from "sparkfun"
-SOIC-8 clip ($20) - can get from Ebay - make sure the cables aren't soldered though! i made that mistake the first time and it took me weeks to figure out what i was doing wrong. Buy the one with detachable cables, they should be coloured.
-Mini usb cable ($2) - i recommend buying a new one, i tried using a spare i had at home but the bus pirate wasn't recognised.

Preparation:
-Remove back cover + battery of laptop
-Cut a square hole above the bios chip (see photo), i heated up a knife to do this, blow away any fragments etc.
-Have a look at the datasheet for the bios chip, to see where the signals are located
http://www.winbond.com/hq/enu/ProductAndSales/ProductLines/FlashMemory/SerialFlash/W25Q32BV.htm
-The connections you need are: CS -> CS, CLK -> CLK, MISO -> DO, MOSI -> DI, GROUND -> GND
Also connect Vcc to 3V3, and make sure AC is unplugged and battery removed

What you'll neeed to do:
-(optional) i upgraded the bus pirate to the latest firmware first, not sure if you need to, just make sure its the right one for your version of the bus pirate
-check device manager in windows to find COM port number of buspirate (probably COM3)
-Press windows and type 'cmd' to open command prompt
-navigate to flashrom folder using "cd "
-type:

[Do Nothing] - "flashrom -p buspirate_spi:dev=COM3,spispeed=1M"
To check the bios chip has been detected by the bus pirate

[Read Flash] - "flashrom -r bios_img.bin -p buspirate_spi:dev=COM3,spispeed=1M"
will save a copy of your original bios as a file named "bios_img.bin"

[Verify Flash] - "flashrom -v bios_img.bin -p buspirate_spi:dev=COM3,spispeed=1M"
will check the saved backup against the bios chip

[Write (and erase) Flash] - "flashrom -w bios_new.bin -p buspirate_spi:dev=COM3,spispeed=1M"
will program the bios chip with a file named "bios_new.bin", mine failed to verify the first time so i ran this command again and it worked


Software:
-Send me your email and i can give you the reconstructed file + flashrom program for windows

I know how it feels, i almost gave up many times, but i'm glad i didn't, the road is easier for you now that a few of us have traveled on it, good luck!

I am looking forward to doing this myself, Bus Pirate is en route!

Seeing as I have a warranty still, but I 'm not eager to ship my laptop out for a 3rd time and another 2 weeks of waiting, I wanted to tackle this myself. nbssss, question for you.

I didn't see you mention anything about having to setup flashrom. I don't have the Bis Pirate yet, when I plug it in tomorrow and setup flashrom, you used these instructions? to set it up? I just want to plan ahead so I can get right to it... I saw your post on Dangerourprototypes, I admire your tenacity! The motherboard is already out of the laptop ready to rock and I have some great pics of the process so far!

Once the software and bus pirate are setup, I'll plug in the usb connector, hook my clip to the chip and the Bus Pirate, send the commands, verify all went well, reassemble laptop and enjoy!

Once I verify my success (I hope) i well then get the info together and make a nice "Zombie G74sx Revival Guide" and quote every1's hard work!

Much thanks in advance to: RachCampitos for the BIOS files and puttin this info up on the ROG forums where it belongs, nbssss for the detailed commands and help & Sir Robin over @ Notebook forums for a ton of info as well! I am itching to start this project!!