My laptop unexpectedly restarted while upgrading BIOS and now will not boot

Per a problem I was having with my Toshiba A65-s1067 laptop overheating and causing problems with windows I decided to upgrade the BIOS. According to Toshiba the BIOS upgrade changed some settings that would help with the overheating issue. So, I downloaded the updater version 1.9 from Toshiba directly and followed all the precautions because I know how easily the computer can be messed up during a BIOS flash. I ran the Windows based FLASH executer provided by Toshiba – my first mistake – and about 10 seconds into the update Windows came up with an information box saying that services.exe unexpectedly terminated and the computer would be restarted. I tried everything to keep it from rebooting, but to my dismay after 45 seconds the laptop restarted without being completely done with the BIOS FLASH. Of course, now I have a brick that just beeps an error code at me (Long-Short-Long-Short) and turns back off. I took the laptop apart by your instructions to check and see if it had a fixed or removable BIOS in hopes that I could get it reprogrammed or just simply replace it. Of course it has fixed BIOS (INSYDE BIOS-M 7363 39VF040 – I think this is the MobilePro BIOS advertised by INSYDE) and so that hope went out the window. I researched further and found that there is supposed to be a BIOS Key Installation that works with Toshiba laptops that allows it to read new BIOS from a floppy drive and write it into the BIOS, however, I don’t have a floppy drive and it doesn’t appear that there is an internal floppy made for my model. There is a USB model, but I don’t know if that is the floppy they are referring to (Not sure if it would work and I don’t want to buy it and find out it won’t). Also, there was some information I found about holding down the C key and allowing the BIOS to be read from a CD, but this did not work. So, I have researched and found no way that I can fix this without actually taking it to a Toshiba dealer, which I would prefer not to do as the laptop is not under warranty. This matter is also further complicated by the fact that I am currently living in Italy and there is not a Dealer nearby!!! This is very frustrating and I really would like to be able to fix the problem on my own. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Your laptop restarted while upgrading the BIOS and I think the BIOS got corrupted. Unfortunately you will not be able to fix it yourself and even if you take the laptop to an authorized Toshiba service center, they will offer to replace the whole motherboard.
If the laptop is not bootable and you cannot start it from the DVD drive, you will not be able to start it from an external floppy drive either, so there is no sense to buy it.
PRECAUTION: you have to be very careful if you decide to upgrade or reflash the BIOS. Make sure the laptop is connected to the AC adapter, do not run the upgrade on the battery power. If the laptop shuts down during the BIOS update, the BIOS might get corrupted and the laptop will not start again. If the BIOS gets corrupted it would be necessary to replace the motherboard and it’s very expensive. Always read user’s manual before the upgrade.

Do you need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part description.

 

 

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34 Responses to “My laptop unexpectedly restarted while upgrading BIOS and now will not boot”

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  1. 34
    frankie68 Says:

    i fixed the 3com issue with a small program:
    nicset.exe wich enables the lancontroller in the c610 bios..

    problem solved!!!

  2. 33
    frankie68 Says:

    my c610 has no lan controller in the bios….how come?

    hi,

    my c610 (i have 2) doesn’t have a 3com lan controller in the bios..my other one does have it though..
    he doesn’t give any error and works 100% , but no lan controller..the chip on the board is there though..
    i bought this one with a password, i got rid of it with the
    paperclip methode ..does it have anything to do with it?
    i downgraded the bios three times and I gave it the original
    service tag back with the assettag.com utility but still no
    lan in the bios..
    i search on the net for other owners with this problem but
    i think ia am the only one on this earth???

    thanx!

  3. 32
    Manik Says:

    I have a Toshiba Qosmio F45 which is two years old (out of warranty) and now it doesn’t boot showing a blinking cursor. I am not able to go to BIOS also as it does not show any F1 or F2 option (its like it is recovering from a hibernation). Will draining the CMOS battery will help? I have the disassembly guide but do not know how to reset the BIOS.

  4. 31
    belkin99 Says:

    I have Toshiba A512 Satellite, I was updating the BIOS from Toshiba website, and through the update the laptop shut down and did not started yet. I tried boot from bootable Bios CD but it would not. I talked with the Toshiba service but they did not help me and asked me to take it to bestbuy. I did it but they said you need to reset the cmos.
    I opened the laptop and found the battery is solid to the motherboard.
    inspite that this problem is Toshiba problem becuase the put a correpted bios and the did not help to fix this issue.
    I am asking please any one know how to reset the CMOS battery that solid to the mother board. I open it but I do not know how my laptop is Toshiba Satellite A512

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