Bios Reflash Required?

I have an Acer Aspire M5400 desktop computer with an AMI BIOS that after being opened up and vacuumed out, now refuses to boot. It powers up, all the fans run, and I can even hear the HDD spinning. There is however no activity indicated by the HDD LED, and the screen is completely black (no POST screen). I've removed all peripherals, including RAM, but I get no response (no beeps either). Tried with one stick of RAM, same behavior. Cleared the CMOS via the jumper, same thing. The only thing that I can think of that's left is that the BIOS may have corrupted somehow. I went to the Acer website and got the BIOS file, renamed it to amiboot.rom, and put just the .rom file on a flash drive formatted to FAT32. To reflash, I've tried just starting the computer, and also starting it while holding CTRL and HOME, but I can't get any activity out of the flash drive. I'm starting to think that the mobo is fried, but I figure I might as well pull at straws here, as I have nothing to lose. Can anybody give me any pointers, or maybe identify something I've missed? Thanks.

 

All the indications you list state that the BIOS was totally erased somehow and you've got an expensive paperweight at this point. I accidentally blanked the BIOS on a Dell desktop and had the same symptoms as you do. I had no choice but to get a new mobo for it. But, once the new mobo was in, the Dell functioned normally.

 

Yeah that's what I figured. No way to reflash it though huh? I've read that it can be done, but there's so much conflicting info with regard to filename, key combinations etc...

 

You may have zapped something when vacuuming. The static from the vacuum cleaner can kill chips which is why most use canned air and blow carefully.
I could not find a clear picture of your MB, does this help?

 

I don't see how the BIOS could get corrupted in this manner unless you zapped the motherboard via static while vacuuming - and that is the danger of vacuuming. In fact, vacuuming is actually the worst way to clean out a computer just because of static issues. Dust and air particles banging into the nozzle as they zip past can create extremely large charges of static electricity in the nozzle end that can then be discharged through a device on the motherboard. If you did not wrap your hand around the nozzle end and plant an extended finger of that same hand onto bare metal of the case while vacuuming, you might have easily zapped your motherboard, CPU, RAM or any number of ESD (electro-static discharge) sensitive devices.

Understand too a static discharge big enough to torch a Grand Canyon sized trench (microscopically speaking) through these sensitive devices can still be so tiny that you (as a human) cannot see, hear, or feel the spark!

Using an air compressor equipped with a suitable inline moisture and particulate filter is the preferred way to "blast" out the dust. I never vacuum unless it is pouring down rain outside. And then I make sure the computer is unplugged from the wall and I take extreme care to ensure I keep my nozzle holding hand grounded to bare metal of the case interior. But typically, I just wait until it stops raining.

My guess (if not ESD damage) is you knocked loose a power connector. Remember, most motherboards require two and sometimes 3 connections from the power supply. So I would double check all your connections.

If all good, I would swap in a known good power supply to see what happens. Just make sure you frequently touch bare metal of the case interior to prevent excessive build up of static in your body. Excessive potentials can be reached just by squirming in your clothes while sitting.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I've ensured the main connection and the 12v ATX of the PS are both seated properly, and I actually did swap out another known working PS just to be sure. I'm pretty sure the mobo is cooked, but if it's bricked I figured I have nothing to lose by trying everything I can possibly think of. Also DOA - The BIOS chip is actually an SMD chip soldered to the board, so a swap would be a little complicated. I do actually have a hot air rework station, but I don't think I'm going to go through all the hassle without knowing that it will solve the problem...

 

It's been that way for a couple decades now - ever since they went to erasable programmable ROM chips where the user can "flash" updates.

 

Worth a try
https://www.bios-mods.com/bios-recovery/ami-bios-recovery/

http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/UEFI_BIOS_Recovery.pdf