Dell Inspiron 1520 Bios Recovery Please!!!

Discussion in 'BIOS Mods' started by abbs2002, Jun 3, 2012.

  1. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    Hi there
    Nice forum, I have problem with my Dell Inspiron 1520 I was upgrading bios to A9 when the laptop just turn itself of, now when I press power all I get is the power, HDD lights come on disk drive works and the fan but nothing on the screen, laptop was working fine before this happened i.e screen and ram is not the problem, I guess the bios eeprom is blank since the flashing was started.
    I was reading through threads that relate to the problem I’m having and there were good ideas and instruction but the download link provided in this thread (Dell Phoenix Manual Mod Thread page 162) does not work, I was hoping for some help to get this modified bios for ispiron 1520 to get my laptop up and running again.


    Thank you for your help:biggrin:
     
  2. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    #2 LatinMcG, Jun 3, 2012
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2012
    what bios version was it before u update/fail.? best is to use same version it had prior to failure.

    extract HDRfile from exe with command prompt .. drag and drop the bios exe to the cmd window then type

    1525_A0x.exe(space here!!!) -writehdrfile

    notice the x is the version number.. also remove the _ on the hdr for filename
    1525A09.hdr

    take memory sticks out from under laptop and make sure the contacts are clean.. use 1 (optional)

    place it in usb storage and plug in to right side not rear with battery and power out.. hold end and power button .. now plug in ac power and let go of keys after led is blinking pink.

    should turn itself off after 2 to 4 minutes.
     
  3. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

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  4. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    hi, before the flash it had A02 i was trying to upgrade it to A09, I hve looked for the A02 to download but could not come across it.
     
  5. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    That command does not seems for me it can not find the 1520_A09.exe on my hard drive, I have the file saved on my desktop as well as in my documents but still no luck.
     

    Attached Files:

  6. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

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  7. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    I have to try with a different pc because with the laptop i'm using i keep getting the same response as the attachment.
     
  8. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

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  9. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    Thanks for that will flash and get back with the result.
     
  10. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    Hi, thank you for your help but I had no success, I have followed the instructions and tried all sort of things including removing the hard drive and disk drive so it can boot from the usb and I have tried 3 different usbs in all the usb ports with no luck only 1 usb light flashed once when I held the power and end buttons the other 2 usbs light did not flash at all, also I have made and ISO with the files you have provided and boot disk files and burnt them to cd/ dvd I though I’ll try that since my laptop was set to start from cd, I even tried to use external floppy but still no luck.
    But good news in the end after all that I got it working again thanks to you the hdr file was the correct file but the key combination was not, after a lot of reading as you have mentioned in your first reply plug in the usb and hold the END key only without holding the power key plug in the charger as soon as the battery light flash red let go of the END key and it should kick in to flashing the bios with no video and fan on full after a short period the laptop turned itself off and back on with bios updated to A09, it would not accept my other usb but accept my scandisk usb.
    Thank you for your help my laptop is up and running
     
  11. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

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    awesome .. reason why i had to hold power is my bios was not crashed .. forces it i guess.. without it i could not force to recover.
    i also use sandisk 8GB
     
  12. abbs2002

    abbs2002 MDL Junior Member

    Jun 3, 2012
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    I did pull my hair few times before getting it sorted J but that’s all part of learning new things I guess, yes sandisk the only usb it would accept out of the 3 I have tried, excellent thank you.
     
  13. hyper.blue

    hyper.blue MDL Novice

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Hello Guys,

    I tried to flash as instructed on a inspiron 1520 however after the restart i get the same result as before the power light remains on and the screen remains black and no fan.
    Depending on the bios version some of them cause the pc to restart and other to turn off after flashing. Can you please advise. Appreciate your help on this.
     
  14. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

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    #14 LatinMcG, Sep 19, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2014
    try a usb sd card adapter.
    check ram sticks... 1 at a time.
    plug in external monitor

    if external monitor works then lcd is broken.
    if none work.. it could be the nvidia reflow issue. ( youtube reflow nvidia)