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New m6811...problems?

post #1 of 34
3/21/05 at 10:47am
Thread Starter 
Hi All,
I am a newcomer, just joined. I had been browsing the forum for s few weeks now and find it most interesting.
I just got a m6811 from TigerDirect yesterday. Problem is, I can,t get past the initial setup and registration of winXP. The hour glass just sits there forever.

I am also trying to get into the BOIS setup without success.
Anything I need to know?
Thanks
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post #2 of 34
3/22/05 at 5:50am
If the unit came with restore disks insert disk 1 to reinstall the OS
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post #3 of 34
3/22/05 at 8:42am
It could be a bunch of things. I don't want to make you uncomfortable with your purchase but 9.99/10 laptops tigerdirect sells have some kind of major flaw with them. Not to mention every single piece of hardware I bought from them was junk on arrival.

The enter the bios, as soon as you see the "e" press the delete key in upper right hand corner of keyboard. Also the 6811 should come with just one DVD to reinstall the OS, so give that a whirl.
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post #4 of 34
3/22/05 at 10:58am
Thread Starter 
I have tried to restore it several times and the same thing happens.
I tried to contact Emachines support but I cant even register the problem since I live in Jamaica in the Caribbean (West Indes).
The support form seems to be only for complaints from the US and Canada since you must enter a STATE, ZIPCODE & CITY from one of these countries.
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post #5 of 34
3/22/05 at 11:32am
Thread Starter 
I just got off the phone with a rep from Emachines. He thinks the machine is defective and should come in for repairs. I am just finding out that all that fancy repair and warranty business only apply to the US & Canada.
Well, we agree that I could send it back to a friend in the US and then they could arrange to collect it for repairs.
I am just wondering however, if TigerDirect is selling defective equipment and not informing customers.
Perhaps we should be very careful of buying from TigerDirect.
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post #6 of 34
3/22/05 at 11:48am

Possible Solution

I have purchased the same notebook M6811 a month ago and i have the same problem. At first I have tried to reinstall Windows but it wount helped -> finally I have checked the BIOS version -> it was 00F02 -> very old and buggy -> i have installed the latest version 00F08 and the problem had dessapeared
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post #7 of 34
3/22/05 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
Dmitry, thats interesring to hear. I wouldn't mind trying this before sending it in.
Could you quickly run me by on the procedure you used to flash the new bios?
If it works I might not send it in again. If I send it for repairs, it might be months before I get it back seeing I do not live in the US. The cost could be huge to ship directly to my country.
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post #8 of 34
3/22/05 at 12:21pm
The guide how to do that and some more interesting information I have found at this webpage thank's to Wereshark :
http://www.wereshark.com/m6805/
You may find the guide and warnings of doing this there (I do not have any warranty for my laptop thus I have purchased the refurbished one)
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post #9 of 34
3/22/05 at 1:41pm
The BIOS update is also available from eMachines. They post it as a m6805 upgrade, but it is the same thing. Trouble is you need to be running Windows to use it.
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post #10 of 34
3/22/05 at 7:21pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to all you guys, I appreciate your responses. I am going to take the plunge.
I could however, do with all the know how as to how I can backup the original bios from a DOS boot. I can't boot up in windows.
I would like to have a copy handy in the event I need to send the unit back for repairs.
I still have a 3 months warranty on it. (Well, TigerDirect said so).
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post #11 of 34
3/22/05 at 10:47pm
All of the original BIOSes are available here:

http://www.rmecc.com/~v2/em/index.html

Read th einfo on the BIOS flash utility. You can also physically back your BIOS up, but you will need either an external floppy or a Fat32 partition on your HD. The only other way is if you were to use a boot CD that installed the files capable of reading and writing to an NTFS partition.
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post #12 of 34
3/23/05 at 4:14am
Thread Starter 
Forgive me, but I still have a problem.
I have checked those sites you all recommend, and everyone seems to be flashing from a working system. My machine cannot boot into windows and winPhlash seem to me to be a windows utility.I need a utility that can flash from DOS. I am sorry I have been working mostly with Award bioses, Can anyone suggest a DOS based utility that I can use here.
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post #13 of 34
3/23/05 at 4:20am
Thread Starter 
Dmitry, as you said you had my exact problem, What utility did you use?
Unless i am overlooking something. Were you able to use winPhlash? How did you do that?
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post #14 of 34
3/23/05 at 4:20am
My apologies. I thought the author also had a link on the site to the DOS based phoenix flasher. The DOS based version is called "Phoenix Phlash16". I'm not sure of the version I have used, but here is a link to one: http://www.biosrepair.com/biosfiles/phlash16.rar
If you need me to, I can send you the one I have on my machine sometime later in the morning when I get home. Slaving away at work right now Keep in mind you will need some sort of bootable partition, CD or USB device prior to accessing any files from DOS.

Edit ... a link to a newer one: http://www.biosman.com/downloads/PH1614.zip
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post #15 of 34
3/23/05 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
Thanks much, the links work and i got it. Now I can tackle the task at hand. I can now
create a bootable CD.
Will keep you up to date with the result.
Thanks again.
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post #16 of 34
3/23/05 at 9:09am
Definatly keep us up to date. This is very interesting. (Unfortunatly at your expense).
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post #17 of 34
3/23/05 at 10:50am
I olso was not able to load windows after install but after 2-3 hot reboot with power botton it finally had loaded almoust succesfully
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post #18 of 34
3/23/05 at 11:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmitry
I olso was not able to load windows after install but after 2-3 hot reboot with power botton it finally had loaded almoust succesfully
almost?
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post #19 of 34
3/23/05 at 12:21pm
Almoust -> some trouble reamained 1. It did not shut down correctly, 2 no power indicator for battary, 3. Sometimes stuck for a couple ofminutes -> after flashing new BIOS - no more problems
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post #20 of 34
3/23/05 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Thunder_PC, Could you send me a copy Phlash16 that you have using? I am trying to make up a boot CD and it is not going too well.
I got the machine to boot to DOS but when I try yo run Phlash16 I get an error "Unable to open -A:\bios.wph, Press any Key to reboot."
I used Nero to make one from a bootable floppy with DR DOS.
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