[SOLVED] Upgrading BIOS on Acer Travelmate B-115M: Correct file name?

[Micha_]

Hi there precious people!

I have a Travelmate B115-M (Insyde) on Arch Linux, that suffers from huge mouse problem.  Some people report that this is fixed with recent BIOS updates.  As you probably know, Acer does not support BIOS updates from Linux---despite selling Linux computers (I hate them very dearly).  Hence I tried to go manual:

- Downloaded the latest BIOS from Acer.com[1]
- Launched it with Wine to get the "isflash.bin" file from the Temp directory[2].
- Renamed it: BIOS.FD, ZHJBx64.FD, ZHJB_x64.FD, PLEASE-OH-PLEASE.FD, with[3] and without stripping it before using InsydeImageExtractor[4].  Using PhoenixTool does not return any suggested name.
- Put it on a 8GB, Fat32 formated USB key (one primary, bootable partition)
- Hit Fn+Esc while booting, with the USB key in;
- Power led blinks, nothing happens (I tried clicking the power button and dancing around the laptop too).

Someone already provided a BIOS dump: http://www.mediafire.com/file/9elhk4nctt...B115-M.rar

I'd happily donate for any conclusive help; this is getting well beyond frustrating.

Merry season, as they say!


Thanks a lot!

[1]: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/su...t/5328?b=1
[2]: http://michael.cadilhac.name/public/bios...sflash.bin
[3]: http://michael.cadilhac.name/public/bios...ractor.bin
[4]: https://github.com/LongSoft/InsydeImageE...s/tag/v0.2

[mclarke2355]

Hi,

it should be "ZHJB.fd" for your notebook. You need to use the isflash.bin file that you got from the temp-directory.
Finding out the recovery name is actually rather easy using UEFITool (also available for Linux).
It has a search-function with which you can search the BIOS for specific strings.
Searching for common file extensions (.fd, .bin, .rom, .wph, ... - unicode text) will often yield the right filename (see attached screenshot).
   
Google Drive-Link with the correct file (BIOS 1.40): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4NHIBM...1IQlE/view

Steps for flashing:

1. Copy the BIOS file to an empty and with FAT16/32 formatted usb stick.
2. Unplug the AC adapter.
3. Plug in the USB flash disk.
4. Press and hold <Fn> and <Esc>, and then plug in the AC adapter while still holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
5. Press the Power button. You can now stop holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
6. The BIOS flash should now begin, the fans will spin up and the power led should blink.
7. After everything is done, the notebook will shut down.

[Micha_]

Holy schnitzel on a cob.  Are you for real, can I kiss you right in the face.  This definitely worked.  Thank you an awesome lot—it really improved the mouse glitches by the way.

I've spent hours searching for the correct name, and it was here all along; I just wasn't expecting it to be in unicode somehow.  So basically, a good quick and dirty way to get your file name is:

$ strings -e bios.bin | fgrep .fd
ZHJB.fd
$

An additional note: On this model, the power led *blinks* if it cannot find the file and *stays on* if it's upgrading the BIOS.

Thanks so much.

[kingkhan]

Hi There,

I have a similar issue tracking down the the exact name i need to flash a recovery bios. For some reason windows update decided to flash bios which has completely bricked my system. (Acer Aspire R5-471T)

I extracted the isflash.bin from the temp directory and tried to get a filename with the phoenix tool without any success. I then tried to rename the isflash.bin file to AA.bin, AAHW.bin, BB.bin, BBHW.bin, BIOS.bin, and even BIOS.fd

I tried the UEFI program you linked to and could not find the filename there either.

I tried the esc + fn and power on with the USB stick in the laptop without any success. The USB stick i am using is an 8gb stick formatted to FAT32. Currently only the bios files are on the root of the USB and nothing else.

I am really hoping someone can assist with this.

[feluchi]

Hi There,

I have a similar issue tracking down the the exact name i need to flash a recovery bios. For some reason windows update decided to flash bios which has completely bricked my system. (Acer Aspire R5-471T)

I extracted the isflash.bin from the temp directory and tried to get a filename with the phoenix tool without any success. I then tried to rename the isflash.bin file to AA.bin, AAHW.bin, BB.bin, BBHW.bin, BIOS.bin, and even BIOS.fd

I tried the UEFI program you linked to and could not find the filename there either.

I tried the esc + fn and power on with the USB stick in the laptop without any success. The USB stick i am using is an 8gb stick formatted to FAT32. Currently only the bios files are on the root of the USB and nothing else.

I am really hoping someone can assist with this.

Hi!
You can try to use name:  isflash.bin

[kingkhan]

Hi There,

I have a similar issue tracking down the the exact name i need to flash a recovery bios. For some reason windows update decided to flash bios which has completely bricked my system. (Acer Aspire R5-471T)

I extracted the isflash.bin from the temp directory and tried to get a filename with the phoenix tool without any success. I then tried to rename the isflash.bin file to AA.bin, AAHW.bin, BB.bin, BBHW.bin, BIOS.bin, and even BIOS.fd

I tried the UEFI program you linked to and could not find the filename there either.

I tried the esc + fn and power on with the USB stick in the laptop without any success. The USB stick i am using is an 8gb stick formatted to FAT32. Currently only the bios files are on the root of the USB and nothing else.

I am really hoping someone can assist with this.

Hi!
You can try to use name:  isflash.bin

Hi, Thanks for the reply, i should have mentioned that i tried that as well. I tried isflash.bin as well as isflash.fd no luck with either. I also tried USB ports on both sides of the laptop.

[kingkhan]

I will make a new thread, as it seems this might be a more widespread issue. There are others that suffered the same update as me

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion...re-r5-471t

[msmith123]

@kingkhan

The recovery name should be "SKI2Luffy.fd".
Got the recovery name through UEFITool:
       

Here's the latest BIOS (1.12) with the correct name: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyiPi6x...RXvL3/view
In case you can't get this working with BIOS 1.12, try this file (BIOS 1.10): https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jcvwcQ...hoPgeB_8gQ


Flashing as usual:

1. Copy the BIOS file to an empty and with FAT16/32 formatted usb stick.
2. Unplug the AC adapter.
3. Plug in the USB flash disk.
4. Press and hold <Fn> and <Esc>, and then plug in the AC adapter while still holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
5. Press the Power button. You can now stop holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
6. The BIOS flash should now begin, the fan will spin up and the power led should change its state.
7. After everything is done, the notebook will shut down.

[kingkhan]

@kingkhan

The recovery name should be "SKI2Luffy.fd".
Got the recovery name through UEFITool:


Here's the latest BIOS (1.12) with the correct name: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyiPi6x...RXvL3/view


Flashing as usual:

1. Copy the BIOS file to an empty and with FAT16/32 formatted usb stick.
2. Unplug the AC adapter.
3. Plug in the USB flash disk.
4. Press and hold <Fn> and <Esc>, and then plug in the AC adapter while still holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
5. Press the Power button. You can now stop holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
6. The BIOS flash should now begin, the fan will spin up and the power led should change its state.
7. After everything is done, the notebook will shut down.

Thanks MrSmith!! I'll try it this evening and report back. I actually found that same entry, but didnt piece together the name

[kingkhan]

@kingkhan

The recovery name should be "SKI2Luffy.fd".
Got the recovery name through UEFITool:


Here's the latest BIOS (1.12) with the correct name: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyiPi6x...RXvL3/view


Flashing as usual:

1. Copy the BIOS file to an empty and with FAT16/32 formatted usb stick.
2. Unplug the AC adapter.
3. Plug in the USB flash disk.
4. Press and hold <Fn> and <Esc>, and then plug in the AC adapter while still holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
5. Press the Power button. You can now stop holding <Fn> and <Esc>.
6. The BIOS flash should now begin, the fan will spin up and the power led should change its state.
7. After everything is done, the notebook will shut down.

Thanks MrSmith!! I'll try it this evening and report back. I actually found that same entry, but didnt piece together the name

Thanks again MrSmith, I was able to successfully recover the bios on my laptop using this method. The only thing i changed was to use the 1.09V of the bios file as that was the last known working update for me.

Other than that, the Power LED on this laptop blinks when recovering the BIOS.