Lenovo Legion 5 15ACH6H dead after windows updates - Sadly, laptops are dying after windows updates

[@seankingsland]

I have never. Never seen anyone perform a successful bios repair before. I hope everyone understands the value of what this man just showed all of us. Thank you sir.

[@scotshabalam2432]

I see bios failure a lot on Adrian's Digital Basement since he works on 40 year old machines, basically it's the same thing here except modern machines use SMD requiring magnification and a hot air gun instead of just a iron or (if Adrian is lucky)ZIF sockets.

[@SclletDEX]

I have done with it like 3 times

[@jnharton]

You don't really "do a BIOS repair". If the code/data on your BIOS chip gets borked in an update then the chip needs to be reflashed with the correct code/data. --- Without a functioning BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) most computers ars basically useless, except for very early machines that never had one (or any standard software) and provided a dead-start panel or similarly interface. A somewhat familiar example of that kind of machine is is the Altair 8800 from the early days of microcomputers. --- Such an interface is designed to facilitate manually entering machine code programs directly into the main memory (usually a simple program or a bootstrap/bootloader providing just enough functionality to get something else running). Another essential feature of the panel is controlling a number of essential bus signal, like whether the computer is running or halted.

[@jnharton]

Swapping out the chip was a little bit easier in the past, when the designs more frequently used sockets that you could just pull the chip out of. Of course that was always more common in desktops than laptops. --- You still would have needed a programmer, BIOS files, and some spare chips (just to cover the bases) though.

[@CM-xr9oq]

seen it lots

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

I suppose the "elephant in the room" here comes down to asking WTF Microsoft is doing messing about in the bios?

[@ntvtexan5015]

MicroSnot has pretty much always maintained that THEY control the PC (or Laptop) because it's their software used to control it. BIOS ? Sure they'll screw it up if they want to. I say we start a LINUX Mint 21 revolution against the Communists at MicroSnot !!! Now, who wants to write a SHITLOAD of drivers for LINUX Mint, as well as porting of the most used software ?

[@MattyEngland]

'You will eat ze bugs, and we will own your BIOS' WEF Politicians

[@waynesallee-com]

It's because the system wants full control. And that's just the beginning. There is still much more to come. Get ready now.

[@kaminekoch.7465]

Lenovo is responsible for whatever is pushed through Windows Update channel, not Microsoft.

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

@@kaminekoch.7465 Nope ... If you own a Lenovo system you will get their drivers... but it all comes from Microsoft. Nobody else has (legal) access to that channel.

[@DJdoppIer]

Once again, my fear of BIOS updating has been reaffirmed. This should never be an issue. It would be almost effortless for manufacturers to include a backup BIOS on these laptops (especially when they cost over $1000 ffs). But they don't want to, probably because it's yet another point of possible failure so that they can force customers to buy new laptops more often.

[@GamingHelp]

I can't help but think of the fans in modern units. I've looked at all kinds of machine's fans under the microscope as I've had to do work on stuff over the years. Sintered bronze, oil impregnated bushings are standard (Or ball bearings, but best of luck finding those now) in high quality motors. My thinkpads have sintered bronze bushings, but every other modern machine I own is solid bronze. I tend to get about 2-3 years out of modern laptop fans before they start howling due to worn bushings, a bit more if I'm super careful about never letting them spool while sideways (So the magnetic field/shaft termination holds them in place instead of the bushing) . It's absolutely intentional. And it didn't used to be like that. I have fans from cheap netbooks from the late 2000's and they've got sintered bronze, oil impregnated bushings. Some of them are still running today.

[@jamesstead2256]

And not buy them from the same company

[@mactep1]

why even update it, is the unfinished at release videogame trend infectig BIOSs now too?

[@jnharton]

@@GamingHelp I heard from someone at a local PC shop years ago (pre-pandemic) that in some cases laptops fans were basically giving out at 1.5 year mark. --- Of all the places to cheap out, the cooling system seems like a very poor choice.

[@jnharton]

@@mactep1 Your ignorance is showing there, just saying. -- I suspect a somewhat different kind of problem, albeit still bug related. For one, virtually all software has bugs, it's a fundamental reality of software development. And it isn't always possible to test edge cases like a damaged laptop, hardware failures for potential BIOS bug condition. -- Also, I really doubt that Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, etc re-test it their BIOS/UEFI code with every single bew model line they release.

[@Oak690]

Sorin you are one of those "good people" too. Helping all of us by sharing your knowledge. Thank you for all that you do.

[@NicholasBrakespear]

A real worrying trend with Microsoft's updates lately is that they've been screwing with things they never used to screw with. For example, the other day while watching youtube videos... my screen went black, then repeatedly turned off and on again, and the browser froze. I was perplexed, worried I'd suddenly been infected with a virus or something. No. Windows had, without my permission, downloaded and installed an update while I was using the machine... which had arbitrarily replaced my graphics card drivers with generic ones.

[@LAMG059]

Win 11 or 10?

[@NicholasBrakespear]

@@LAMG059 10. Apparently my gaming rig can't support windows 11.

[@jwstolk]

@@LAMG059 Windows 11 does this too. Linux has been installing updates while using the machine for more than 20 years, but it actually works. Maybe it will work on Windows 15.

[@zenithperigee7442]

@@NicholasBrakespear , Idk your machine's specs but I wonder if that's because of the "TPM 2.0" requirement. I put together an AMD Ryzen machine earlier this year and the CPU is supposed to meet the spec by integrating "TPM 2.0" functionality in the CPU itself although I have a TPM 2.0 chip as well it's just that to use it for either W10 which is currently installed or to upgrade to W11 I'd have to enable UEFI in the BIOS and disable some other items etc. My system still utilizes legacy MBR however and IIRC I'd have to convert from MBR to GPT in order to use UEFI so I can "enable the TPM 2.0 chip" just to "enjoy better security" so they say...🙄It would seem simplest to enable that function on the CPU since it doesn't require changing the partition table system.

[@SvendleBerries]

Yeah, Microsoft loves doing stuff like that. That's how I ended up with Windows 10. I was asked constantly if I wanted to upgrade from Windows 7 for free. I kept saying no. Then one day I went to the store, leaving my computer running, and came back to Windows 10 being installed. I never gave permission for Windows to do that. It's like they were just waiting for me to step away so they could force their update in.

[@Halterung01]

This is very common. When Windows first started shipping Lenovo Firmware Updates we had a flood of bricked IdeaPads and ThinkPads in the workshop in our small computer store. I did a small experiment back then, dumping the BIOS eeprom of a ThinkPad E15 then trying the Windows firmware update on the same machine again and again (reflashing the BIOS to its original state every time). It failed 6 out of 10 times.

[@Machistmo]

given that Lenovo is a Microsoft Partner this is shameful.

[@yoppindia]

🤬🤬🤬. Could be a capacitor problem, not supplying sufficient current during update.

[@eman0828]

This is false information being spread around even the OP of the video is clueless. Microsoft has absolutely nothing to do with anything at system board level or BIOS firmware updates. The updates are pushed by the factory installed utility driver application installed on brand new computers with the favory OEM image.

[@yoppindia]

@@eman0828 Not true, Microsoft has been pushing bios updates, through windows update, In my view they should not be doing this.

[@eman0828]

@@yoppindia Do you even know who you are talking to right now? The OP of the video is clearly clueless spreading misleading information. That's not how BIOS updates work!

[@niner8275]

Never had this issue with lots of BIOS updates in the last 20 years, but it's always the biggest fear when watching the progress bar crawling slowly to the right. Impressive work and quite exciting to watch! And on top a happy ending, so I can finally go to sleep now without any nightmares :-)

[@mohamedbouziani2467]

I have a lenovo laptop, i always get popups to update my bios, i tried it once but it didn't complete as i should enable bios update from the bios options XD

[@233kosta]

It's simple - always always ALWAYS use the bootable update image rather than the "update from within the OS" tool.

[@BSnicks]

​@@233kostaLast year I updated the BIOS on a Lenovo laptop from Windows. It automatically took a backup of the old BIOS, just in case something goes wrong. But if the new BIOS doesn't work, there would be no way to revert to the old BIOS.

[@233kosta]

@@BSnicks Yeh, that's why I avoid doing it. It can brick your laptop so easily! I once witnessed a BIOS update on a colleague's laptop, done through w10. The IT guy said "It'll be fine"... That machine never switched on again 😑 They basically had to get the guy a new one.

[@LinuxGalore]

Surprises me that to this day, laptops don't offer a bios rollback option, motherboard makers have been offering that feature for over 20 years.

[@jnharton]

Not every system has that feature, though it's certainly true that /some/ motherboard manufacturers have provided a relatively simple solution (backup copy of the BIOS). Computers that you buy off the shelf don't generally use "generic" motherboards though, they use boards that are often designed by or on behalf of the "manufacturer" (e.g. HP, Dell, Lenovo) and therefore custom. Often they are specific to a particular mode line and differ from directly buying a motherboard from a manufacturer like GigaByte (Gigabyte?) or AsusTek. Still, in the case of desktops where many things are relatively standardized, it's fairly common for a computer manufacturer to get customized variants of otherwise standard boards from a supplier. Unfortunately that is significantly less common with laptops, or at least there is little sign of that being the case.

[@nzoomed]

@@jnharton backing up the BIOS is useless if the update bricks the computer and you have no way to flash it anymore?

[@v5k456jh3]

That's why I don't update the bios unless something is seriously wrong.

[@RK-kn1ud]

It costs money and eats into profits. Most people buying a laptop want it cheap.

[@mbc07]

Nowadays a lot of laptops have emergency recovery modes to recover from a bad BIOS update, the issue is that those modes, more often than not, are not documented, or available only to authorized repair centers...

[@MnemonicCarrier]

You're a genius! I've lost count of the number of laptops I've seen binned because of dodgy BIOS updates. Even Lenovo simply swap out the motherboard on ThinkPads for simple repairable defects. We need more people like you who can fix things!!!

[@orion310591RS]

How generous of Microsoft. They give Repair shops opportunity to earn more! :D

[@mrspankyuk]

Windows not the only culprits with stupid shit like this. Norton did an update that would blank the screen. iTunes would prevent people's CD drives from working (when we had em). Certainly got me paid. 11 laptops a day would easily go upto 16-20 when some genius did something like this. Some laptops would come in no POST and all you had to do was puch the keyboard to reseat the CPU, actually worked on everyone, no joke. How many HP plastics have I repaired is silly, but HP sell the most in the UK, by far!

[@0015v]

In several case, some of the damage are unrepairable though....

[@mm0077]

You are happy, customer is happy and community is happy and cannot ask for more with this case. A lot of learning lessons with this case.

[@peterklus]

I am astonished at this process. While I don't have the skills to diagnose and repair BIOS chips, I understand enough to appreciate the approach taken by this person -- it is indeed very impressive.

[@Paul_Wetor]

One thing I learned to avoid is Windows optional updates. I installed some on an Acer One tablet-with-keyboard and it wiped out things like sound. Eventually my many Google searches found software that reloaded the missing components, but now I only run necessary updates.

[@ronaldcarson4360]

And preveiw updates. i've had five computers die, all after a windows update.

[@OverlandOne]

I have had both a windows 10 pc and a window 11 pc both drop the sound after an update. MS website offers no solution. I had to undo the update, then do a system restore, and only then did my sound return. I have since turned off all windows updates.

[@messagedeleted1922]

@@OverlandOne windows audio back end is cobbled together and terrible.

[@algwallt869]

I always delay Windows updates by a month at least. I'd rather take the security risk than have my laptop bricked (had this happen to a Lenovo laptop of mine a few years ago).

[@tac7826]

Thanks. This solves the mystery of what happened to the sound.

[@jltexh8]

Hi sorin I found this table online: 45w -120 ohms 65w - 280 ohms 90w - 550 ohms 135w - 1 k 170w - 1.9k they say any charger above 170w has a 4.5-5 kOhms in case of lenovo the resistor the id pin connects to ground.

[@PotionsMistress]

Thank you for making and releasing these videos, extremely helpful!

[@blays.7178]

I recommend you, to reheat left side of that bios ic again, to release that tension, that is created when you press down and solder right side. Good work and thanks for sharing.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

Goot tip right there...👏😏

[@klwthe3rd]

I have the near identical laptop with the RTX3060 and my best advice is to use the Lenovo Legion Vantage software to do all BIOS updates. WIndows updates are good for most things but if you check the Lenovo Vantage software often for updates and perform them through the manufacturers software, you won't have this problem.

[@maklogetrich2378]

there is a saying, if it's not broken, don't fix if the bios are OK, don't update unless you know what you're doing

[@klwthe3rd]

@@maklogetrich2378 The Vantage App makes it so user friendly that a novice can perform the updates. The issue with this customer was that his system WASN'T updated through the App so Windows proceeded to do it for them sadly to it's demise. I work in IT Security and to say NOT to update is completely ignorant.

[@mrkitty777]

HP has emergency bios recovery from a 1 Gigabyte USB stick with Fat32 partition and firmware file

[@fabian11235]

​@@maklogetrich2378 Yeah its sorta baffling to me how casual these companies are pushing bios updates. Its really not something that should be expected of a normal user and certainly not within a regular windows update. My mom never reads these update messages and will just force shut down her pc if she doesn't want to wait.

[@rocketscientist007]

@@klwthe3rd You don't know what the customer did & neither did he. Windows never does BIOS updates.

[@jayc2469]

After subscribing to you a few years back and seeing you use your exceptionally useful LiPo powered Screwdriver, I first decided to order One through Amazon. I was so impressed on how much I'd been missing, wasting so much time taking small screws out manually and putting them back! It didn't take long for me to order another 4 Boxed Sets of Precision Cordless screwdrivers, which I put away immediately, only getting a new one out when absolutely necessary! You basically inspired me sir! I thank you so very much for the hours saved unscrewing and screwing!

[@lucerodj11]

very experienced engineer.. thank you sir.. i learned so many things today.. more likely on computer troubleshooting..

[@CraigSherman-f9c]

I ran into the same issue with an HP laptop and followed the same procedure you performed and it fixed it. I eventually found the root cause of the issue. There "was" an EFI partition on the original SSD that was necessary to be present to finish the final stages of the BIOS flashing. I had previously wiped the SSD of the laptop so this reserved partition was no longer on it. I had an identical laptop and performed the same BIOS update and the exact same thing happened. I then installed the HP UFEI diagnostic tools on the first laptop's SSD, and put that drive in the 2nd laptop. When booting, a screen popped up during POST and it finished the flashing process, and the 2nd laptop was now fixed without having to physically remove the BIOS serial EEPROM. I wonder if this is the same issue with the Lenovo?

[@wngimageanddesign9546]

This is why UEFI isn't what it's cracked up to be! It has it's weaknesses as you discovered. Where that EFI partition is not obvious either. It can be a visible separate partition, or a hidden directory within the C: drive of the Windows installation. Why it's done this way is beyond logic. Perhaps some default due to whether a MBR or GPT drive is detected, or an installation is detecting a pre-partitioned drive. Ironically, I currently am trying to repair a damaged UEFI Windows boot partition of a Lenovo after an installation of Debian 12 for dual boot system, failed creating GRUB for UEFI. Nothing has worked. If this were MBR, I would have had it fixed in minutes. SMH! Some companies still provide alternate BIOS update methods instead of via Windows, but a DOS USB boot path, which I feel is safer and more direct and no extra layers of Windows in between.

[@Happigail_Adams]

I find it insane how they don't configure or at least check the EFI partition to include the UEFI diagnostic tools before flashing. It legitimately feels like they're trying to brick laptops with this.

[@raycardy4843]

Yes, we found this when our customer was using a third-party encryption system - which used the UEFI partition! It meant we could no longer install BIOS updates once the machine was imaged, so we had to load any new BIOS needed as part of the image build process!

[@SheaRibbster]

I just went through this on my little Zenbook. Went for it myself, even with a week left of my warranty, didn't want to deal with shipping, diagnostic fee, etc.... Was able to reflash the BIOS with my CH341A (black) board, good to go!

[@Walkzz_02]

hmm, I'm gonna try CH341A too... Any ideas if it supports SIO chips

[@Aneesh.Asokan]

@@Walkzz_02 Never, forget about SIO with CH341A!😀

[@rohmadabdulmaseh6845]

Amazing...both how you fixed that laptop..and how Microsoft managed to erase the BIOS ..which is a personal attack to the customer. 😀

[@micropower8]

Why is Microsoft updating the BIOS ? My mother get the message that she should decide to update the Laptop to Windows 11 or not. There is no possibility like "not now" if you do not have the time to do this. SO she decided not to update her WIn10 to Win11. I only use XUbuntu and she could do this too, because everything what she is using is available under Linux.

[@wallychambe1587]

@@micropower8 I went in my Bios and turned off TPM, that way it will not update to 11 until I want it to!😁😁

[@micropower8]

@@wallychambe1587 - Good idea.

[@shaunclarke94]

The update would have been published by the OEM to Windows Update. How is the content of that update, or how the hardware applies it the fault of Microsoft?

[@micropower8]

@@shaunclarke94 - If Microsoft is upgrading the BIOS in the correct way, then nothing bad should happen, because the BIOS-version what you can download from the website of the mainboard producer is working very well. So this must be an error who is related to Microsoft. I had the problem that the MS-update process has removed the icons on the task-bar. At the second attempt after a restart I could update the system again, but it stops while it was installing the new .NET frameworḱ. After two hours and no progress I simply restarted the PC. After this the Icons were there again and the system was useable. What do you think would happen if the system want to update the BIOS and a user shuts down the PC after some hours of 0% progress? If the BIOS is only written to 50% or maybe it only had deleted the old BIOS and it does not write the new BIOS. The Windows system does not give any information to the user what is wrong and why it is not going on in the progress. Under Linux this is much better, because you can see everything what is important in the update-window and you can find more information in the log-file.

[@Mirra2003-f9s]

Sadly Windows Update will attempt to update your BIOS if it finds one in its database. It happens mostly to new laptops and new desktop PC motherboards and usually this update is named "-your computer manufacturer's name- firmware". Now it does not install automatically anymore and you can usually find it in the "optional updates" section. In Windows 11 at least.

[@FairPlay137]

There are unfortunately still some cases where Windows will actually download required firmware updates.

[@1992OS]

@@FairPlay137 Thar's because manufacturers tell Microsoft "Hey, put this hardware controller in important updates", "Hey, this BIOS update must go to optional updates", and so on. This is specially true for the business section of products, at least in HP and Lenovo, which are the preferred manufacturers for my job.

[@escapetherace1943]

@@FairPlay137 i had my windows 10 locked down from updating, just put it on a laptop and it seems impossible now, to stop. I hate windows updates

[@The_10th_Man]

@@FairPlay137 This is true, and Windows has NO BUSINESS installing risky things like manufacturer BIOS updates. It will also force-install things like GPU drivers even if you already have a newer one installed. And hey lets not forget that HP USB driver from 2017 that every windows machine with an HP printer driver that windows force-installs every single day for years now. Windows is complete trash and always will be.

[@eman0828]

No such thing as a BIOS windows updates. The updates come from the pre installed driver application on your computer. I worked on thousands of Dell Latitude and Precision laptops day in and day out in the Enterprise world of IT. Not a single time I encounter any laptop in Mt line of work with a BIOS update via Windows updates. All driver updates are pushed via tge Dell Command Update driver application that comes pre installed from the factory. I run that application on every laptop I image and some times from the Dell website.

[@guig2004]

The simplest way is to check the manufacturer support site of your model of laptop and allways have installed latest bios to prevent auto installation via Windows Update mechanism. I do if for a Dell and Lenovo aswell.

[@nowaywithyoueveragai]

What to do when laptop manufacturer declares the 7 old month launched laptop EOL? Manufacturer says keeping last supported (by them) version is safe, games and other software constantly urge to update or doesn't run unless you update.

[@guig2004]

@@nowaywithyoueveragai By a 7 month old laptop you mean byt it's manufacturer date or you purchase date ? That's a signifact difference as You can still buy at some thrd party stores laptop equipped with Haswell CPU (2013 year) and it will teoretically by a few days old by a purchase date perspective in which it's still a 10 years old garbage. If you have latest BIOS installed on your own based of manufacturer support site, Windows Update will not install it automatically and you prevent any problems.

[@nowaywithyoueveragai]

@@guig2004 launch date :(. It happened to me with a MSI laptop similar to the one with the chip destroyed (video of last week).

[@wiegehts8599]

bought Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05, updated BIOS and laptop was not turning on anymore. Only by luck I backed-up BIOS before flashing. Purchased CH341A programmer and a clip, reflashed BIOS (with another laptop) back to original and it is working again. Always have BIOS backed up before updating Lenovo laptops... p.s. if you search for "lenovo 15alc05 bios bricked" you will find many threads on Lenovo community forum about it and no "official" solution. They did not even remove that BIOS version from the official support website and also they did not publish a fixed one...

[@Lif7ed]

Wow, what a great video to watch. Very informative and it's great to see more videos on here in regards to computer repairs etc. 🙏👍

[@TheKetsa]

Linux doesn't kill your laptop.

[@Zeft64]

Problem is game compatibility is high but not perfect here

[@mrkitty777]

Windows likes DeGrubbing the Grub bootloader 😢

[@VonGrav]

Linux told me to write my own WiFi driver. On a lenovo

[@tomperone9338]

Yeah, but it's Linux, so....

[@waynesallee-com]

Yes I'm totally sold on Linux. I built my own Linux operating system. Then I built my own laptop. I hate proprietary. I want things to work the way I want them to work.

[@centauro14]

Something very curious happened to me, I was reconfiguring the BIOS menu options, and I came across "reset overclock"... the computer turned on with a black screen after saving the changes. I downloaded a BIOS image and wrote the SPI memory. I appreciate your support in your videos, they help us a lot

[@DankyMankey]

Lenovo has a feature in their Thinkpads known as a “self-healing BIOS”; it creates another copy of the bios in case it gets corrupted and is unbootable.

[@evilj]

yeah, common in business laptops. That's why I love my old T450s I bought off when we had a refresh cycle at work.

[@sinancetinkaya]

Gigabyte calls it Dual Bios

[@Matruchus]

​@@sinancetinkaya That's a different thing. If it says Dual Bios with Gigabyte then the mainboard has two bios chips installed and the second chip takes over if the first one gets corrupted/unusable.

[@yapusqbua4481]

thunderbolt 3 can brick your thinkpad anyway, nothing but a bios update can fix this problem, i wouldn´t trust in this solution either

[@DankyMankey]

@@yapusqbua4481 yeah, its not fixable once it happens but it is preventable via a firmware update.

[@kingsuperbus]

That was really incredible. Thanks for sharing the video!

[@adrianjosecortidor5835]

I recently broke my laptop under warranty because of a bios update, not from Microsoft, but from Lenovo's website. My laptop is also a Lenovo, an Lenovo Ideapad Slim 5i Pro 16. I actually want to have the motherboard replaced but it would cost me half the worth of the laptop Considering having it reflashed at a technician. Looking at your video, this gives me confidence to have my laptop bios simply rewritten.

[@SagazHero]

Hey, I wanted to ask how did you fix the issue ? Mine is dead after Bios update

[@adrianjosecortidor5835]

Hey thanks for commenting. Allow me to give an update. Long story short, I got it fixed. For those who want the complete details I’ll have it down below. So you guys know what happened already, and by the way the cost of a new mobo is the same as getting a new one lol. Anyways, I had it repaired at a reputable technician, but before that, I unfortunately went to a different technician. He made things worse lol (further broke it, messed up the motherboard). With this experience, I totally thought that I completely lost my laptop worth around 800$ (1050$ in the Philippines coz prices are crazy here). When I went to the GOOD technician, he was able to fix the laptop, worked good as new. No performance issues or data loss whatsoever. I was actually really scared because I might lose all of my data because I was thinking that they might do a complete reset of the system, but no, nothing was lost, including my license with MS Office. If anything, the only thing I notice is that it consumes a little bit more power but everything works well regardless (I'd still pick this over completely losing my unit). This is why I’ll be sticking with Lenovo. Proven and tested. Just find the right technician and he’ll do miracles on your unit. Cheers :>

[@SagazHero]

Awesome@@adrianjosecortidor5835 I hope I can be as lucky as you Thanks for sharing the story

[@braselectron]

Thank you for your tutorial! This also shows why I don't use M$W since I bought my Lenovo U430. Linux full time user since 2010.

[@Tech-Savvy1]

I always update my BIOS separately via the Lenovo website and keep it always up to date. But Regarding my Windows updates, I usually wait and update only once a week for safety reasons. I used to check for new optional and essential Windows 11 updates every time I used the computer and had after the update problems launching some of my programs including games on Steam. Even reinstalling drivers and games altogether didn't help so I had to perform a clean reinstallation of Windows 11 and since then it works again flawlessly. The main message I have is to never update immediately after the update release and always wait a few days just to be on the safe side.

[@SheIITear]

Only slight correction. One should NOT update the bios as long as everything is working. If there are some bugs that could be explained by bios not working as intended, then update it. Otherwise leave it alone.

[@racing_mntage1584]

Does anyone has a link or buying source for the 90 degree charging adapter seen at 2:33. My desk is kinda short horizontally and its fixxed to the wall which makes the thick wire bend alot.

[@ErickBuildsStuff]

Not just Lenovo.. I had same problem with my Asus. Win10 gave a bios update and it was dead. Had to ask a professional to get Bios repair done. I could have done it but didn't wanted to wait for 30 days for AliExpress bios repair tool to come. Still it's a 50-50 chance if I attempt it. Hence spent €150 for it.

[@christop_bader]

Great video and repairing the Bios Chip was fascinating to watch

[@crawfordpritchard9604]

I'm Sure Lenovo are more prone to these bios related problems. Wonder if in the recent patches a change to the TPM or maybe a read of the Encrypted data to confirm the ID of System and something occurred at that point causing the this odd Black screen of death and no power, I would hope that BIOS updates are not applied thorough updates. Great vid Sorin and thanks for putting it up 👍

[@shadwxero]

I have seen HP machines push bios updates as “windows” updates

[@OriginalFinnish22]

@@shadwxero Asus does too nothing broken this far but they tried to lower gpu clocks in my other A15 I just flashed the gpu bios back no problems this far thought the display panel is gone and the machine serves as a data miner and a movie machine with a projector for now.

[@arcadeous9048]

I have seen Asus also have this kind of problem

[@fregatta9243]

@@shadwxero MSI does too.. but fortunately it was listed as optional.. so if i clicked random start windows update.. it didn't update the firmware

[@HotIssueViralTrendingPinoy]

thank you so much for always uploading video sir. i'm your number 1 follower here in the philippines

[@XeZrunner]

This is precisely why Windows Update should not mess with BIOS and UEFI updates. It is for a reason there are so many warnings when updating the BIOS manually. Windows doing that every weekend would be chaotic.

[@kryptodoozy]

I have the same problem. Have to mail ya my laptop so you can do your magic. You are awesome and we need more people like you out there.

[@gregbirger5810]

Outstanding repair job. This repair is unfortunately beyond the scope of casual tinkerers, and I wonder if Microsoft has legal liability for essentially bricking an end user's device like this? Regardless, good to know a fine laptop like this can be restored by a knowledgeable individual.

[@crapphone7744]

Unfortunately Microsoft includes a disclaimer in their license that they're software is not fit for any particular purpose, meaning you have no expectation that it can update a bios successfully or even run a computer as an operating system. And according to the messed-up views of our legal system, it's okay for Microsoft to force you to accept that license before you even read it much less use the software. Not making it up it's called a shrink wrap license. You pull the shrink wrap off to read the license that's inside and you have agreed before you even see the license. Go figure.

[@CarloTheImmortal]

I think I had someone also brick their laptop throught vantage bios updates, windows been pushing them for most brands through updates too. Not every bios has "disable capsule updates"

[@JonnyFix]

I always prefer genuine charger so I know that isn't this issue because we never know what ID trickery they are doing knowing that any given charging chip might halt until there's enough power available. I also hate bios faults because the way modern ones are keyed to the board and flashing one off another same model won't work. I might if I had some software that could edit the file for the model I have. I don't like bugging people on forums to do it for me.

[@SenileOtaku]

Actually, I remember seeing MSWin installs trashing computers as far back as MSWin 95. When the multimedia software company I worked at got our first W95 beta disk, we installed it on a Packard Bell we had for demos. The machine NEVER worked properly again, even after re-loading the factory image. We had to scrap it.

[@markae0]

Not too proud to show a mistake in your videos shows you are a professional. I am subscribed for showing the strange power supply problem in the start.

[@Skarz289]

i was waiting for you to test the universal charger again after you reprogram the bios

[@silviuguseila2552]

Yeah, he should have

[@ebojager]

Fascinating video thank you! I recently had an issue with a Lenovo Desktop BIOS and XMP RAM and was curious about how you would even going about fixing a BIOS chip.

[@t0nito]

What the hell is Windows doing messing with the BIOS in the first place?!

[@OskarBlomkvist]

It's actually the manufacturers fault, they're the ones that release BIOS updates over Windows Update.

[@daffyduk77]

Bill knows best 🙂

[@spirobel]

great video! calm vibe. Can we avoid the issue of non original charger detection by buying a laptop that uses usb-c for power input? or will they also reject "non official" chargers?

[@Atomique13]

It works with 3rd party USB-C chargers (>=45W)

[@greenman8]

Great episode (I have the same Laptop) million dollar idea- Put the bios chip in a plug, and have a socket on the motherboard.

[@buick1979]

You are a very good technician. Absolutely impressive.

[@raulrrojas]

Similar issue here with an Thinkad e15 gen2: It stopped charging and died when the battery drained all its charge. Never charged again. Luckily Lenovo replaced my mtherboard on warranty. They said it was related to an update required that I did not install on time, and that caused an component damage. It works great now, with its new Motherboard, but I'm not too confident on how much time it will last as it could happen again. Today 12-jul-23 a new firmware update appeared, and I installed it with no issues. Hope it lasts as it is a great computer, I love it (when it works)

[@helltarrist]

That is SO weird. "Update required that caused component damage" - like they're gaslighting you as if YOU were the culprit, lmao.

[@raulrrojas]

@@helltarrist true. But what to say, I am not an expert :)

[@NandoFeluco]

Congratulations! Very well done and very smart! I need someone like that in Rio de Janeiro to fix my laptop!

[@Alex-mj7km]

I'm curious if there is a way to prevent windows from flashing bios, like disabling firmware device in the device manager or something. Because this is unacceptable, BIOS is not meant to be updated at will, if it works - it works. If it is buggy - whole different story.

[@milosstojanovic4623]

By default win 10 (dont know if 11 work like that) DOES NOT update drivers for pc automatically, at least on desktop, it just adds win updates, visual c, frame network and other windows stuff. Other updates are optional and can be stopped/canceled. This was really strange thing to happen, maybe on laptops is different.

[@Alex-mj7km]

@@milosstojanovic4623 I have an ASUS small laptop with celeron (don t really remember the model but is somewhat recent), and moment I installed windows 10 on it, it installed all drivers from Windows update (as it should), but also it rebooted into BIOS and was happily showing a bios update countdown, which was quite rude. So I guess it depends on the manufacturer of said laptops. But you know, I don't use Windows that much these days, so I don't really know.

[@digudc]

I guess might customer made windows or lenovo system update without AC adaptor plugged into power. and many thanks to Sorin for sharing knowledges and helpful. all the best

[@znk0r]

As a dev I can't say I'm unfamiliar with spending an hour troubleshooting the wrong thing.

[@2112jonr]

Awesome piece of detective work sir, and repairing it too. A little misleading to say it's the Windows update though, when it was actually the BIOS update that caused the problem, not (for once!) Microsoft. Nonetheless, impressive work. And for the record, I have never updated a BIOS once on any PC or laptop, just ain't worth the risk. Even with the shadow BIOS that some PCs now have in case of problems. If it works, don't fix it !!!

[@mm0980]

Never ever let Microsoft update your BIOS. Uncheck those updateboxes und do a manual BIOS/UEFI update through your laptops own software (Lenovo Vantage/Legion Toolkit/Lenovo System Update in this case). This is like the airport would do software updates of the flight systems on an aircraft.

[@GalaxyCat001]

Would a bios password have stopped this?

I've never seen such a problem. Thank you for enlarging my horizon.

[@MrPrios1]

The lesson is "why you should never update your PC just to update it". Or your cell phone for that matter. I never update until I have to update to fix something or allow something to work. I have burned hours fixing "updates" to my devices. Great video, and great lessons to check the basics (power supplies).

[@Dr.U7]

What about security update ? :( should it be ignored? Some vulnerability patches

[@shaunclarke94]

Terrible advice. If you want to risk your own security then by all means, but don't encourage others to recklessly do the same.

[@MrPrios1]

@@shaunclarke94 My experience is stupid people open unknown sites or questionable emails. There is no protection for their own stupidity. I have run my desktop without an anti-virus for over a year. Still clean, why? I don't open questionable emails from people i don't know and from people I do know. I have lost count of how many of my friends have gotten hacked and sent me links to questionable sites. One gal had been hacked three times on PayPal. Clearly, she is an idiot. I blocked all her emails. Some people just should not be allowed to drive on the internet for their own good. And their husbands wallet.

[@grahamparsons3406]

My 3-year-old Lenovo PC did a Windows 10 update a few weeks ago. It said it was rebooting, then it never came on again. A new replacement Lenovo PC that I bought 2 days later did exactly the same on the first day I had it! The vendor swapped it with no questions asked, but did say that mine was the 11th one with the same fault over the same weekend.

[@silvake]

Well, with all due respect, I was expecting this... And you can't deny I told you so... Remember that live session where you attempted Cristian's laptop repair with multiple issues? My opinion was that you can't actually use your bench PSU on laptops with charger ID pin (HP, Dell, Lenovo), but you rejected my theory, explaining you have a "special" adapter cable, with all the necessary stuff to emulate the ID pin... Well, it seems I was right after all... For the special Lenovo case, there is a lot of literature on the internet, about how this ID pin is implemented on their original chargers. Search on Google for "Lenovo ID pin resistor" and you'll find out how can you trick any PSU to be recognised as a genuine Lenovo charger. Therefore, the solution I use is to put a specific resistor between that third ID pin and ground: the specific value of that resistor determines the wattage of the power brick you need. Cheers!

[@carlosgarciaoropeza5480]

@ Silvake: Yeah. I was in that session live. Here in North America they believe that each manufacturer will build the internal lithium batteries that it will use in its equipment (laptop in this case) and that it must cover them with the authorized logo of its brand. We know that "cheap" "copies" can be manufactured with similar features to the original, so they have been forced to also design their chargers/adapters to recharge those internal batteries of yours as safely as possible. Another way of saying it, manufacturers don't want any more lawsuits (for lithium battery explosion) let alone in a US court. This opinion that I share here, may not like anyone, but at least it makes me reflect. Once again, and I say it with absolute sincerity, thank you for your comment because that is how we all learn by analyzing and debating the issues openly. All the best.

[@davisdesigns1153]

This exact same issue happened with my ASUS, I wish i could find someone local that is as good as you are

[@eman0828]

This is not a Microsoft issue nor a BIOS would come from a Window's update. That's the manufacturers. Some how you may had the driver update app installed on your machine that may have bricked it. I have a Legion 5 I use daily in Music Production that goes threw weekly Window's updates and it only installs security patches and system updates. It's got nothing to do with the BIOS. I had my Legion 5 for 3 years still on the same firmware version from 2020. I work in the I.T Field as a Field Tech and Linux Sysadmin and i never came across a any BIOS update via a Window's update. It comes straight from the Dell site. I work on everything from Windows, MacOS, UNIX Solaris to RHEL Linux system's.

[@ardaninho]

Never ever use adaptors on these laptops. We always recommend using the original adaptor that came with the device. Make sure you ask the sending customer to send their AC adaptor to properly test it.

[@kevito666]

I had about 15 HP Elite laptops that I found thrown out in the garbage, I managed to piece together 8 of them into nice units, but the BIOS had a password lock. I managed to desolder each BIOS chip and manually flash them to a password free version, and they all worked fine! It took me a while to realize that I couldn't actually flash them with an external clamp because they had some sort of tamper proof circuit... but removing the chip worked fine for flashing!

[@Hejazi1365]

The problem with your charger was that it doesn't have the lenovo chip inside to talk to the laptop or not be adjusted to maintain 16 amps?

[@roblonsote]

Lesson to be learned: Check if it laptop charging port uses the ID terminal first if you have 0 amp consumption, especially if it has weird connectors

[@robert4you]

This work is so very impressive. What a guy! I find these videos extremely soothing and relaxing to watch, but if I had to do this I would have been a nervous wreck... 😂😂

[@MicrodomS]

8:00 Hi man! Thanks for your channel. Tell pls what programmator do you use for the bios chip and what solder you use to solder the chip? Thank you

[@IAmMeomeo]

unsoldering the bios chip and using a chip flasher to reflash it is suprisingly a smart idea too be honest, i always thought "if someone's bios is bricked, couldnt they take out the bios chip and reflassh it?" sadly it doesnt appear there are many people that know how to do those types of things.

[@rana1561]

The thing is, not just that it requires decent base level understanding for people not into electronics, but also that usually regular electronics users don't have required tools to do these things, one expects not have to do these things.

[@SARPHEN]

More power for this man this is very saved me anytime

[@nerust69srt]

You`re the Superman Sir! #respect !! Kindly share the tools that you`re using to unscrew the laptop

[@raylopez99]

I learned something new in this video: you can put a lot of solder flux on a joint being soldered without ruining the solder joint. I thought flux was conductive but apparently it's not, it just cleans and strengthens the solder bond.

[@shalopez420]

Certified solderer here. The point of flux is to tranfer heat, clean the pads, and causes impurities in the solder paste to float to the surface where they can be wiped away and not interfere with the joints. Some fluxes are conductive while others are not. The flux can also eat at the solder and pads over time. Assume all fluxes are conductive and corrosive. All the flux should be cleaned off with q-tips and isopropyl alcohol before powering on or replacing any panel.

[@raylopez99]

@@shalopez420 I see. That's very interesting and thanks. Somehow I had confused the flux with the solder.

[@theothergameygamer]

Wow. I was not aware that bios updates were being performed via Windows update. I'll be paying more attention to Windows update content from now on.

[@romanm.4763]

I suppose before flashing a bios chip you have made a backup. Then you can cut and paste the encrypted dmi region that keeps serial and model information

[@tonystarch4487]

Not only laptop, but All In One also. I recovered a V530-24ICB that died after an update, seemingly done by windows update. AIO didn't POST and loop screamed 3 shorts - 1 longs beeps. Had to desolder and reprog the 128 Mbits chip with a binary dump found on badcaps (If I recall correctly) then resolder. The system restarted like a charm. Also did a HP mini not long ago, same kind of issue (but no beep whatsoever), bios chip reprog rez'ed the box.

[@himanshutripathi7441]

As the other poster said. This fan problem i have also faced in the newer systems where if you use them in odd orientation fan bushings go bad.

[@KC-nd7nt]

Yes sir . Been there before . Handy to have a chip reader / programmer handy these days if you want your machines to work every day . Its sad but reality . So simple to have an original bios backed up on every machine at the factory . The people need to put pressure on motherboard manufacturers to include a copy on board

[@waltergonzalezpaz5995]

Awesome job, very nice repair. I have a chip programmer, do you think it could work with it?

[@klote82]

I would absolutely love to attend an in-person class where we learn to troubleshoot motherboards to figure out if they are indeed bad or not. I've had a ton of calls lately where when you connect power there is no indication of charging and laptop appears completely dead

[@drulli1]

Hi Sorin, I have a Lenovo Y720 which seems to have a similar problem(stays on only for a few seconds ~5s, after Windows Update) . I swapped, Ram, SSD, HDD, Akku & Power supply from a twin Lenovo ( I bought 2 of them at the time). Nothing solved the problem. Though I wanted to send you the Laptop, but you take only jobs from UK, acc to your homepage. Right? I am from Germany. ( I assume the shipping in and out UK EU is too painful.

[@rajanne2947]

Before soldering the new BIOS chip do you remove CMOS battery? What about main battery you remove?

[@ashryver3605]

Bios updates forced upon you from within OS from 3rd party bloatware or Windows themselves should be a literal crime - no generic user has any understanding of a BIOS and what the risk is to update it, and like this user did, may turn it off during the update. Or worse, ie. Corruption or just general crap. Should only ever be done from within the bios flashing utility itself, or bios flashback usb... with learned knowledge of the process.. Its also more criminal tbh that in 2023 bios updating is still such a disastrous procedure. Im sure bios flashback means you can always recover, but if you dont have a bios flashback motherboard? And no backup 2nd bios? Youre done

[@johnmathias9892]

I am suspecting the customer force switched the laptop off during BIOS update thinking there was something going wrong.

[@7_of_9]

Hey same thing happened to me on the X1 Extreme. Lenovo send someone to pick it up and dropped off a new one within 48 hours. Better buy warranty for such an expensive machine. I disabled the auto updates on all machines and do it manually as needed.

[@fu1r4]

9:46 No new thermal paste?

[@everlasting-ministries]

I really appreciate this video, I learned an important lesson always test/check charger first 🙂

[@lnteI]

Customer provided a lot of valuable details. With all respect BIOS chip should have been checked ad programmed first instead of doing 1 hour of troubleshooting.

[@lnteI]

@@Look_What_You_Did The guy literally said it happened during the firmware update.. its not uncommon for a bios update to fail and cause this kind of issue. The repair was awesome either way, I just question the order of steps

[@ritsukasa]

my laptop is an HP and several months ago there was a firmaware update that was very scary, because the ventilator was at full for minutes, and when I say at full, I mean, even if the cpu is at 100%, the ventilator don't make that much noise, it was a level a bit above. And the really scary part is that I saw smoke coming from the holes of the laptop. Amazingly the laptop survived and didn't get on fire. Other thing, my laptop and the laptop of a brother (similar model) sometimes make a mechanical noise which is very very loud, much much noiser than a ventilator, and last for 1-5 minutes I don't know how that is possible but at least the laptop is working.

[@keithnsearle7393]

The smoke could have been from a dust build up. A good way of checking is to open up your laptop(s) and give it a good dusting.

[@kreisenderigel6770]

to my knowledge there is no windows updates which include BIOS upgrades. The customer may have done a windows update and then decided to update Bios as well, but not in the context/program of windows updates.

[@kemosensabay503]

Microsoft lost me after Windows 8.1, I've been unable to trust anything that came after. I still use 8.1 and Linux on newer systems. Thanks for a great video.

[@FisherGrubb]

I'm pretty sure you can also use at least 1 USB-C port to charge these. They commonly have 2 ports. One at the back can charge. That could save you if you know you have a good USB-C charger

[@richardkaprielian1633]

Where do you find the bios that will work? is it on the microsoft website?

[@momoanddudu]

Is the firmware update part if Windows update? DELL laptops update their firmware via DELL Command Update, which I think doesn't go through MS.

[@jonjon3865]

Nice oane ! Thanks. For info. Bless you and your family! Good man

[@fvrrljr]

i've never done a Bios update always read it's 50/50 *awesome tutorial*

[@mireazma]

I have a desktop. Up until I stumbled upon this vid, I thought it was impossible that a Windows update can mess with the bios. It appeared to me as if updating Windows broke something into my bios. I've been having problems with booting into Windows and only upon resetting bios did I manage to get it back running. Keep in mind that the order of the boot items is the same. But at times the problem keeps coming back and I have to constantly reset the bios in order to fix it.

[@sherry8444]

So what was the difference between the chargers? I didn't understand, other than plugging in the second charger gave a proper internal voltage reading

[@negativezero2221]

So far that has never happened to any of my laptops but it's very informative to know that it can happen. In all my laptops I always deactivate the anti-malware software windows forces on all systems and to my surprise it has helped with performance on older laptops/desktops.

[@TheSpanjaMan]

The first thing I do when I install Windows for someone is that I disable hardware updates through windows updates as it can cause trouble. This is one example and the second is when windows update automatically replaces newest drivers with older ones. As it happened to users of AMD graphics cards. In some instances it could break the system if it occurred during already commenced update of the same driver.