Compaq C500 notebook, boot crisis reads floppy but no change

Don't ask how to hack password. (BIOS Passwords)
Post Reply
schnicklife
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 4:52 am

I have a Compaq Presario C500(C555NR) Notebook PC and recently upgrade the BIOS with sp35954.exe( an HP WinFlash program) to F.24A, the first time everything was fine... The second time, not so much. I am able to put the notebook in to boot crisis mode by holding down the windows key + b while plugging in AC( with no battery) and then pressing the power button. My USB-to-floppy will read for about 2 minutes. After that nothing happens, the notebook does not restart. I have left it running after the light stops on the floppy for hours and nothing changes.

I have trying a few different things:
I have tried at least 10 different floppys
2 different floppy drives
B1800 crisis recovery disk
a few different Phoenix Recover from different forums and websites.
2 or 3 different MINIDOS.SYS and PHLAS16.EXE(not counting the one that come with the Phoenix Recovery program)
After check out the hex on MINIDOS.SYS I added VGABIOS.EXE(I think this is for faking the funk for video bios, not sure)
I even tried some ROMpaq for a some C500 notebooks
Clearing CMOS
With and with out PCI wireless card
Reseated the RAM
I even tried adding some DLL file from sp35954.exe
and a few other things

I have only tried one BIOS.WPH, the one that used in the first attempt ( it worked). I see the floppy reading for 2 minutes so I know the BIOS is being read, but may not be flashing? I would guess that it is not the right BIOS but I know it worked. Or that I am not grabbing the wrong file, but I only see one 32bit BIOS.WPH.

Apparently my problem is so complex that it will take a few days for a higher level HP tech to call me back. I am guessing that since my notebook is out of warranty they will just tell me to buy a new one.

I still think that my notebook is recoverable seeing as how I can get into the BIOS recovery mode.

Any ideas? Anything that I have not tried?
Thank in advance for any input.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

UPDATE:
I downloaded a new copy of CRISISBOOT.,ZIP and now the floppy drive reads the floppy slower and powers down after a few minutes.However nothing has change. I think I need to try another BIOS.WPH. I only know of one... The one that I used before that worked. Where else could I find other BIOS files. HP/Compaq only has the one in sp35954.exe

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/


*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

UPDATE 2.0:
Thank to a friend I now have a copy of the origanl BIOS that was on the notebook before I flashed it the first time. However when I use that BIOS the notebook does not restart when it is done and it still does not work.

Could I have a hardware problem that just so happen to come about when I had a bad flash?

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Thank you again.
mart
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:46 pm

I am experiencing the same problem on a Toshiba P200. Windows flash program failed and corrupted the BIOS. System successfully boots in Crisis Recovery mode (Fn+B) and initiates recovery procedure from USB floppy. It reads data from the floppy for a while. As you point out, the read time is about right for a 1 MB file. When done reading the system just sits there, supposedly flashing the BIOS, but no matter how long I wait nothing changes.

Like you, I have tried several versions of PHLASH16.EXE and MINIDOS.SYS. Some of them give the exact same behavior, while others fail before reading the BIOS file. None of them perform a successful flash.

It's frustrating to be so close to a fix yet not quite there. I guess I'll keep trying different versions as long as I can find them. Toshiba only offers the crappy windows flasher, so I have no idea which version would be the correct one for my model (there are many floating around the Internet). Would you mind mailing me the ones you tried? I'll PM you my e-mail address. Thanks. And hope you'll find a solution.
mart
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:46 pm

Update: Managed to bring my system back to life!

I traced the problem down to some really weird constraints in the order of directory entries on the floppy.

Look here for details and tips on how to get the Phoenix Crisis Recovery Disk working: http://crd.y1.cc/

Thanks to all who posted info on this matter!
phil_nernim
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:39 am

Hello Mart,

I have the same problem than you with my P200-157 but I didn't find the correct version of "phlash16.exe" and "bios.wph" . Could you help me please?

Thanks!

Phil
Post Reply