Vostro 1520

Discussion in 'BIOS Mods' started by qarty, Apr 20, 2010.

  1. turmoil

    turmoil MDL Novice

    Jan 6, 2012
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    Hello,

    I have a Dell Vostro 1520 with a failed BIOS - similar to what lakai above me described, I was able to create a recovery USB drive and it flashes which appears like the computer reads data, however it does so for 10 seconds, stops for 30 seconds, starts to read again for 10 seconds and vice versa. All the while the Num-Lock LED flashes 4 times a seconds and the other LED's remain solid blue...

    Interestingly, it appears that no matter which key combination I use, the computer keeps trying to read the USB drive as described, as if as it automatically enters recovery mode.

    I have the battery, HDD and second RAM stick all disconnected.

    Can anyone please point me to how to get this computer alive again?? I think I'm going to cry now :sad:

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. turmoil

    turmoil MDL Novice

    Jan 6, 2012
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    This is what I used

    (please replace "*" with "." as I am not allowed to post liks for some reason)

    I followed the instructions in this post:
    forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/14085-Dell-Studio-1737-BIOS-Recovery?p=210059&viewfull=1#post210059

    I used this WinCris (from the above post):
    www*4shared*com/file/144981145/99cb86a/Phoenix_Crisys_Disk.html

    And I extracted BIOS.ROM from this .exe:
    www*dell*com/support/drivers/us/en/04/DriverDetails/DriverFileFormats?DriverId=R262278&FileId=2731112960

    Thanks
     
  3. turmoil

    turmoil MDL Novice

    Jan 6, 2012
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    Quick update:
    Tried with A02 BIOS and the difference is that it tries to read data for 10-15 seconds and then stops trying.
     
  4. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    #26 LatinMcG, Jan 7, 2012
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2012
    i was looking in phoneixmodtool and the rom and shows toscpl ??

    OEM/Table IDs identified are:
    1. DELL CL09
    2. Intel CANTIGA
    3. TOSCPLCRESTLNE
    4. INTEL CRESTLNE
    5. TOSHIBA+2nd ID
    Header (DELL CL09 LTP) in BIOSCOD02.ROM (x1)
    Pubkey in MOD_4A01.ROM (x1)
    Marker (2.1) (DELL CL09 ) in HOLE3.ROM (x1)

    i got the files when i ran the file from cmd with -writeromfile .. i went to c:\windows\temp\WINPHLASH and copied files over to zip. before canceling update error wrong bios for me.

    bios date matches to tqhoangs sendspace rom, but name i see is HPBA08.ROM
     
  5. turmoil

    turmoil MDL Novice

    Jan 6, 2012
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    Thanks but I'm not sure what you're trying to say :)
    Are you referring to Vostro 1520 BIOS?
     
  6. nuffa

    nuffa MDL Novice

    Jan 8, 2012
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    Hi,

    I also have a problem similar to turmoil and lakai. Bios update failed midway through on my Dell Vostro 1520. I've tried the method described in here.
    forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/870-Bios-Recovery-Procedures?p=26249&viewfull=1#post26249

    Made a flash drive dos bootable and copied Autoexec and PHLASH16 files to it. then extracted the HPBA08.ROM file from the Bios exe file using Universal Extractor and renamed it to BIOS.WPH and copied to the flash drive. then tried different key combos (Fn+B, Win+B) to enter recovery mode but no luck. the light in flash drive is on but it does not seem to be updating the bios. :(

    Any help to get this working would be appreciated.

    Thanks.
     
  7. turmoil

    turmoil MDL Novice

    Jan 6, 2012
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    You need to create the flash drive using WinCris.exe. Follow instructions in this post:
    forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/14085-Dell-Studio-1737-BIOS-Recovery?p=210059&viewfull=1#post210059
    But use the download link provided by tqhoang above me
     
  8. nuffa

    nuffa MDL Novice

    Jan 8, 2012
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    tried that method also. it does not automatically power up as said in step 9. so manually switched it on. but still doesn't work.
     
  9. turmoil

    turmoil MDL Novice

    Jan 6, 2012
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    But does it look like the computer is trying to read from the flash drive at all?
     
  10. nuffa

    nuffa MDL Novice

    Jan 8, 2012
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    yes. in every method i tried the light in flash drive is on. in most cases it first blinks for some time then keep on lighted after some time.
     
  11. IMartinI

    IMartinI MDL Novice

    Feb 11, 2012
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    Hi to all.
    My name is Martin. I have a Vostro 1710 and my computer also crashed in the middle of a BIOS reflash.
    I've tried many things, but so far I've been out of luck.

    So, I'll tell you the things I've done/found out, so you can help me:

    Recovery Mode: I don´t know if every Vostro computer behaves the same, but in my case, the battery led blinked only once, in a different color (kind of violet), only when I press the left side SHIFT key, followed by the power button. After that, you can hear the fan spinning very fast.
    Unfortunatley, though you can hear the fan, the computer wont start.

    ROM files: I downloaded the lates bios version from DELL. I ran the exe (in my case V1710A12.exe). The computer in which I ran this file is a desktop PC, so when it told me that there was some sort of incompatibility, I colsed the application, but the files were still there in the TEMP folder. If you go to C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\WINPHLASH, you will find these files. Just make sure that you have turned off the "hide system files" option or whatever in the folder's preferences.
    The thing is that there are three different ROM files (BIOS.ROM, DELL VOSTRO 1710 A12 BIOS SLIC.ROM, TMA17A12.ROM) and I don't know which one is the right one.

    Crisis Disk: I've managed to make a CRD in a USB stick. It's a 2gb one, so I don't know if that's the reason why the computer won't take it. Besides, as I told you before, I don't know which of the three files I should choose, and if changing the extension (ROM to WPH) works.

    If anybody can give me any advice, it'll be very apprecciated!!!


    Thank's very much in advance, and sorry for my english.

    Martín