Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Oh %^&*(). !!!

  1. #1
    Senior Member kib's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Southeast Arizona
    Posts
    2,590

    Oh %^&*(). !!!

    So I look up from making dinner to see my laptop flashing blue and updating its bios, unasked by me. I managed to get it shut off but, no surprise, now it won't come back to life. Any suggestions on where to start??

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    You need to get a USB from the manufacturer of your machine to reinstall. Hubster says this is a tough one and there is no alternative in his 27y experience.

  3. #3
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,401
    I've never seen a 'flashing' blue screen of death. In the past I'd restart a Windows machine in 'safe mode' and activate the operating system's diagnostic utility. I'm not sure if that works on current Windows versions though.

    If you can't make the machine start up and you have a copy of it's operating system, I'd try booting from that media and then follow instructions for repairing the installed version.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  4. #4
    Senior Member kib's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Southeast Arizona
    Posts
    2,590
    Thank you, Gardnr. I feel like this was a virus as I've never seen a flashing bios as part of a legitimate update, but maybe the computer was just running an update and I interrupted it? Does it make any difference?

  5. #5
    Senior Member kib's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Southeast Arizona
    Posts
    2,590
    Thanks Alan. Hubs looked over and said "why is your computer flashing?", I came out and saw the bios updating and held the off button til it shut down. I've never been able to create an os disk worth crap, and this is no exception. All that I can do is push the on-off button, in which case the on-off button is either lit or not lit. No matter which F key I press I am not whisked into bios-land. - Asus, windows 10.

  6. #6
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Posts
    6,618
    Not to be that guy, but interrupting a BIOS/firmware update can result in "bricking" the computer -- corrupting its basic instruction set and leaving in unable to boot. The data on your hard drive should be safe. But you may need to find someone who can fix ASUS computers to service the BIOS circuitry and get it back to where it should be. If F2 does not get you to the setup screen, a repair tech probably is your next stop, I'm afraid.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  7. #7
    Senior Member kib's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Southeast Arizona
    Posts
    2,590
    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Not to be that guy, but interrupting a BIOS/firmware update can result in "bricking" the computer -- corrupting its basic instruction set and leaving in unable to boot. The data on your hard drive should be safe. But you may need to find someone who can fix ASUS computers to service the BIOS circuitry and get it back to where it should be. If F2 does not get you to the setup screen, a repair tech probably is your next stop, I'm afraid.
    Thank you for being That Guy! I'd rather think I messed up a legitimate update than my data was targeted. I keep things encrypted but this is seriously not the time for an id or bank theft. I'll bring it to the Other Guy tomorrow. Again, thanks Steve, and Gardnr, and Alan.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    4,790
    I've never seen a computer that updates its own bios, that is something that is always been initiated by the user.

  9. #9
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,401
    Quote Originally Posted by ToomuchStuff View Post
    I've never seen a computer that updates its own bios, that is something that is always been initiated by the user.
    Yeah, I've never seen that either. I think somethings not right in this scenario.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  10. #10
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Posts
    6,618
    Could be a firmware update rather than a BIOS update. I've never in my entire life selected "Automatic updates" from the preferences list because I want too much control over my computers, but I've seen "automatic" as an option many times and I know for a fact that some macOS updates do some unannounced updates behind the scenes (malware definitions, sometimes device drivers) as part of OS updates. The Windows world may be too Balkanized to be able to do that, but one would imagine Asus has access to their own stuff.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •