# [SOLVED] acer 4741g BIOS recovery



## falkor13 (Jul 25, 2011)

Hi guys, Sorry about the quite long post but I think it's important I provide as much specific information as possible. 

I went to official acer website to update drivers, thought there was an update for my BIOS and used that to flash - didn't realise it was for same model notebook as mine but slightly different graphics card.
So yeah my computer force restarted, with long beep two short beeps, and continuous black screen. 

I read http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/11839-Acer-aspire-5536g-bios-dead?highlight=bios+acer+4741g+screen that someone fixed it on their 5536g just using a usb drive and not pressing anything so I've been trying the method posted by spkleader: basically he posted 'phoenix crisys disk' link, copy original BIOS for your computer into the crisys folder and rename wph name to bios.wph, run winsys targetting a usb stick

With the original BIOS firstly I couldn't find the exact original so I tried the closest I could find on the site Acer Support: Downloads & Support Documents 'supports i5 430n' whereas I have i5 430m. The others I don't think I can use as they are to support other graphics cards to mine (I have GT 320m)

I downloaded that and just copied the DOS files over (didn't think I need the win exe file also) into the folder and renamed the wph file and ran wincris onto a 250mb usb stick. 
I have the battery plugged in now with ACadapter, put usb in and held 'function esc' to get into BIOS recovery, turned on and my USB light flickered rapidly, then stayed on, i let go of function esc at this point, the light went off for 5 seconds then on and continued like this. I waited 20 minutes and the computer has not turned itself off yet like they said it would. 

So basically I guess I could be doing a few things wrong here, do u think that BIOS would be ok to use? do i have to press function escape, and if so what exact time should i let them go? (hard to tell with no screen lol) Do I have to use a usb floppy drive to do this? (I didn't think so cos that guy on the other forum managed to) 
Any help would be great, I've been searching for hours on a clear solution even talking to Acer (but they don't support using crysis disk) 

If you need me to provide more details (like maybe i could email you to the thread spkleader posted on) please let me know thanks bless you​


----------



## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

Hello falcor and welcome to TSF,

What reason do you have to be attempting BIOS recovery?

Did you have a bad BIOS flash update?


----------



## falkor13 (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

Yes I used the wrong BIOS update for my computer model by accident, which was for the GT 310m graphics card and mine has the GT 320m graphics card. I flashed it, and it force restarted my computer, when trying to turn on again it makes a long beep then two short beeps and doesn't display anything. So yes it was a bad BIOS flash update that lead to this.


----------



## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

I can't do anything until I get home. I will get back to you as soon as possible.


----------



## falkor13 (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

thanks looking forward to hearing from you


----------



## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

Hello again falkor13,

Part of your problem is that you don't have a Phoenix BIOS. You have an Insyde/EFI BIOS.

Recovery instructions for Insyde/EFI




Download the .zip file attached to this post.
Copy the BIOS file from the .zip to an empty USB flash drive. (format using FAT32 and default allocation)
Remove all external accessories from the laptop (battery, power cord, mouse etc)
Insert the USB drive into the laptop.
Press and hold fn+esc.
While holding fn+esc, insert the power cord. Wait for 10 seconds.
Still holding the fn+esc keys, power on the laptop.
Wait 2 seconds and release the fn+esc keys.
Let the computer go for a few minutes. It should power itself down.
Insert the battery, remove the USB drive and power on like normal.

*If it does not work the first time, repeat using Winkey+B.*

Please post the results.


----------



## falkor13 (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

hi thanks so much for posting I had no idea it was an Insyde BIOS how did you know that? I got confused as all the other acer aspire notebook models I'd been reading about having this problem have seemed to use phoenix bios. 

I have tried your steps a handful of times very carefully, I unzipped and copied to the usb drive ( a 250mb one) after formatting and followed the next steps- the computer is still not resetting itself even after 20 minutes. 
I notice when i do fn + esc the start up beeps i mentioned don't happen, my usb light flickers very rapidly at 2 - 4 seconds after i power on, i release fn + esc when it starts to flicker. Then it stays on fully for a second, off for 4 seconds, then on and off 4 seconds each. 

With window+b i get the beeps, it seems longer to register the usb and then has a full usb light and seems to be doing nothing. 

I also try another usb stick (3.3gig) it seemed to act similar with its light, it would fade in and out and occasionally have three short on off bursts but that's about it.

I'm guessing with fn + esc it's the right command cos it looks like it's searching for the bios file.

Oh I also tried downloading the latest BIOS to check the BIOS was correct, from the official website (v1.28) but I stopped when found no .fd file in the DOS folder to copy over and rename - are you supposed to use the ROM file if there is no .fd? 

So I'm not sure what could be wrong at this point,should i format my usb using FAT instead of FAT32? Should i try remove the x64 from the name of the .fd file? are you sure I can do this on a USB cos I also have a USB floppy drive I could possibly use? are you sure this is the right bios for my computer?

Anyway thanks for your time and trying so far, i think i'm almost there with your help


----------



## falkor13 (Jul 25, 2011)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

I am proud to say I am posting to you now on my 4741g laptop! 
Here's how I finally fixed it after 10 hours of googling for answers 
gavinzach I used your method however the 4741g has in fact a phoenix BIOS. 
I came to realise this when I downloaded the latest BIOS off the official acer support page for the 4741g, it is version 1.28 Acer Support: Downloads & Support Documents - Notebook / Aspire / Aspire 4741G
In the DOS folder there is no .fd file that could be renamed, only a .wph and a .rom
I downloaded the phoenix crisis recovery disk here The Ultimate Laptop Collection
simply copy only the .wph file into the crisis folder and rename it to BIOS.WPH 
format your usb stick first and then run wincris (run as administrator to avoid bugs) targeting the usb stick.
then follow gavinzach's steps 

Remove all external accessories from the laptop (battery, power cord, mouse etc)
Insert the USB drive into the laptop.
Press and hold fn+esc.
While holding fn+esc, insert the power cord. Wait for 10 seconds.
Still holding the fn+esc keys, power on the laptop.
Wait 2 seconds and release the fn+esc keys.
Let the computer go for a few minutes.
In my case it eventually restarted and loaded windows that you could completely see on your screen again!
I hope all acer 4741 users won't have to go through the pain I did if they get in this situation and find this post straight away through googling.
Thankyou to gavinzach and other posters who made me realise I should use the v 1.28 using the phoenix crisis disk. 
Peace


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: acer 4741g BIOS recovery*

Consider yourself very fortunate you didn't trash the Mobo.
Bios updates should only be done if the update directly addresses the problem(s) you are experiencing.


----------



## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

I must apologize Falkor... I just finished downloading and checking every BIOS available for your laptop on the Acer site.

It is always best to perform recovery with the intial release BIOS. I downloaded 1.11 last night when I got home to check. 1.11 is the only release on that page that is Insyde, the rest are Phoenix. If I had realized, I would have given you the detailed Phoenix recovery instructions instead.

I am glad you are sorted.


----------

