Boy, do I feel stupid

[BigRob_NH]

While researching my keyboard issues (dropped characters, general inaccuracy) in the forums, I decided to update BIOS from 201 to 203. Obtained G74sx.203 from the Asus site (today, 6/2) and did basic research on how to apply. Well, of course I found the recommendations to use Easyflash over Winflash. But, apparently, I did not dig deep enough into using Easyflash. Stupid me, I put the BIOS file on my 😧 partition. Easyflash didn't complain at all and applied the update, going through the standard erase/write/verify steps but instead of rebooting in 2 seconds, it shut down, never to power on again.

So, of course, further googling on asus easyflash uncovers that you really should use a USB stick formatted to FAT32 or else you'll trash your BIOS.

I submitted a tech support request though the contacts page on their site. They claim they'll be on this within 48 hours. I guess I'm just here to vent.

The thing that really chafes me is that I ultimately found the easy to follow steps on ASUS own knowledge article! There was absolutely no warning in that article about using a USB stick.

[brecker]

that sucks...

there are a few methods you may wanna try...

check this link

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/657861-asus-g73jh-bios-recovery.html

i know your is a g74 and that procedure is for a g73... but it may work... i haven't checked the files of his attachment, but changing the g73 bios for the g74 one may do the trick (probably you have to rename it as well)


also taking the boot recovery method outside of the picture, wouldn't it be possible for someone to reflash the bios directly to the mobo with a jtag? I know it is not something easy, and that only users with knowledge on electronics may benefit from it. But it would be awesome if asus made this information availeable alongside the pinout of the bios chip and a how to achieve it... since this is probably what they do when they ship them dead laptops and the recovery process don't work... or at least a decent asus repair center may do this... i imagine third world ones just replacing the mobo...

btw don't try to ask support about my last rant above, i wrote it mainly to check if someone had done something similar before and is willing to lend a hand...

[Boosted_R]

sorry to hear, but that's pretty much ASUS standard for laptops, they really need to get on top of their Laptop department.

BTW this is an ASUS problem if the tech says you have to pay it not true and they are misinformed. Contact Mason@ASUS (on this forum) if they want to charge you.

Good Luck

[BigRob_NH]

After waiting for a day for a reply to their email based reporting interface, I called the 888 number. Roughly 20 minutes later I have the RMA and instructions in hand. Hopefully this goes smoothly.

The phone rep mentioned that I'd receive a pre-paid shipping label. That has not happened. Is this something you all have been receiving with your RMAs?

Edit...Hour later, the FedEx shipping info was received. I'm not pleased with how deadly Easyflash is and that such a severe issue can exist with a critical piece of software like that but this leg of the operation is certainly starting off OK.

[chrsplmr]

BigRob_NH .... Welcome to ROGforum.

Do yourself a favor now .. forward your rma info .. #'s ect to Mason@Asus
Simply ask him to keep an eye on this for you .. you will find he goes out of his way for 'us'.

A simple USB Only .. warning on the download would save this from happening .. well for most.c.

[BigRob_NH]

Time to bring this thread to a close.

Mason was a big help. He stayed on top of the progress of this RMA and behind the scenes corrected the Customer Induced Damage state of this RMA. I received the system back on Friday, 6/22. Motherboard had been replaced. System booted up fine. BIOS 203. Keyboard lights work (common issue I see in similar threads). Everything is back to normal.

This whole issue with the quality of the BIOS update tools is pretty sad and it is painful to have to RMA your system (if you are able to) but all things considered, it went as well as expected.

Thanks Asus.

Oh, and BIOS 203 seems to have helped my issue I was having with dropped keystrokes. Keyboard input seems far more accurate.

Regards,
Rob.