06/05/2010

Acer Aspire One BIOS Recovery

Acer Aspire One BIOS Recovery
The AA1 has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, which makes it possible to flash the BIOS even if it doesn't POST and the system doesn't boot anymore. It's meant for emergencies and is also known as crisis disk mode. Use at your own risk.

First format an USB flash drive with FAT.

Download the latest BIOS, and extract all files from the zip file. Put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file with FD suffix in the root directory of the drive. The files must not be in a folder. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that's important.

Turn the AA1 off, with the USB drive still connected, and make sure both battery and AC adapter are also connected.

Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds. The power button starts blinking at this point. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate flashing the BIOS, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button stops blinking, and the AA1 reboots shortly after. Wait patiently.

The BIOS has been re-flashed and all settings are reset to default.

If the AA1 doesn't reboot by itself, but the power button still blinks, wait a few minutes before turning it off, and try again.