Unable to access UEFI
fabul Posted messages 42114 Registration date Status Modérateur Last intervention -
Hello,
I picked up a still fairly recent computer (with Windows) six months ago that was completely non-functional, probably because the updates hadn't been made, to the point where it was no longer possible to turn it on. I installed Manjaro using a bootable USB drive via the BIOS. Everything worked very well except that after this process, I could no longer access the BIOS (after pressing the right key at startup, I end up on a black screen with a blinking white cursor at the top left). I reset the BIOS battery several times, took the computer apart to manually disconnect the battery for several hours but nothing worked. Seeing that I couldn't figure out where the problem was but everything else worked fine, I could hear the system starting up normally (so I figured the BIOS was working), I stopped doing anything.
Now, six months later, I have a second problem that has arisen: my system crashed (probably due to a system update, which is quite common with rolling releases). That's usually not a problem since I just need to reinstall Manjaro or boot from an old version before this update; I've done that a lot.
Except that not having resolved my BIOS issue, I now find myself with nothing. If I turn it on while trying to access the BIOS, I get the result I already described, and if I let it boot up, it just writes a sentence (with no specific warning, just a sentence that it always says, that it has cleared a partition something) and I end up on a black screen with a cursor (not exactly the same cursor, so I can tell the difference when I do or do not manipulate to enter the BIOS).
I'm not asking for help with the system issue since, as I said, I know how to reinstall a system.
My problem concerns the BIOS. I have disconnected the BIOS battery and the main battery. I'm waiting a day before reconnecting and seeing what happens... but do you have any other hypotheses? In my opinion, the BIOS is functional; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to use my computer for six months. It might just be the display that's acting up. I want to clarify that once I reach either of the two screens, I cannot type anything in the command line.
A big thank you to everyone who reads these lines.
16 réponses
Hello,
(without any particular warning, a phrase he always says, that he cleaned a sheet music something)
What is the phrase in question?
My problem concerns the BIOS. I disconnected the BIOS battery and the battery. I’m waiting a day before reconnecting it to see what happens... but do you have any other hypotheses? In my opinion, the BIOS is functioning; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to use my computer for 6 months. It might just be the display that's malfunctioning. I should specify that once I reach either of the two screens, I cannot type anything in the command line.
It is indeed quite strange. You should be able to enter the BIOS on startup if you press the right key. The question that naturally comes to mind is whether the key in question is damaged.
Moreover, provided that your grub is installed with EFI support (on Debian, this corresponds to the grub-efi-... packages), you should have an UEFI Firmware Settings entry in grub that allows you to modify its settings. That could be a way to enter the "BIOS" even if the dedicated key isn't working.
Good luck
Hello,
I don't remember the phrase, I can provide it this evening when I have everything reconnected, but in my opinion, if this phrase helps, it's to solve the system problem and not the BIOS problem.
No, the key to access the BIOS (F2) is not damaged since I can see a difference when I press it or not.
For grub, do you know how to find that key? Because I don't see the grub menu appearing there.
There is some news: I couldn't boot with a USB drive with Manjaro (because of the boot order that I couldn't change) but - and I don't know why - I can boot with a USB drive with Tails and it works. This proves that the BIOS works, it's just that I can't access it...
Usually, there is definitely a shortcut to access it. But as I was saying, once you install Linux, you will have an entry in GRUB to go into the UEFI.
I already have access to Grub when I boot live with Tails, but I still can't access UEFI. The problem is that since UEFI starts first, no matter what I do in Grub, it has to reboot, so it doesn't really make a difference to go through Grub or not... right?
But what is the command to use in Grub to access UEFI? I can't find it online...
Problem solved!!
I wanted to install it on my hard drive (to have something working to boot from) and it didn't work (I don't know why) but it allowed me to partition the hard drive. When I rebooted, I was able to access the BIOS (after it asked me for a password that I no longer had and I had to go through a whole process that I didn't know to bypass it).
So it was indeed at the time of the Manjaro installation that something went wrong and made it impossible to access the BIOS, but it was still indeed there.
Thanks for the help, mamiemando!
I'm reviving my own post because the heart of the issue is still unresolved, and I would like it to be addressed before I see its real impacts.
The problem is exactly the same: I cannot access the UEFI (it gives me a black screen with a dash, as before).
This isn't bothersome since I rarely boot with a USB stick on my computer and currently I don't want to change the system, but in the opposite case, I wouldn't know what to do.
Do any newcomers have ideas? Or any veterans with new ideas?
Thank you!
Sorry, I meant to write "flash the BIOS," but the problem is the same: how do I boot from the media I would insert if I can't even access the BIOS?
Thank you!
Hello,
Every time I had to flash a BIOS, the manufacturer provided a Windows executable that would trigger a restart of your computer and update the BIOS (without having to boot from any media).
Assuming you can boot into Windows, and assuming there is such an executable for your motherboard, you don't need to enter your BIOS to flash it.
What is the model of your motherboard? We could see what is available.
Good luck
Hello,
I couldn't find a site specific to the motherboard model you mentioned and I keep coming across Acer's site when I search. This leads me to believe that you will likely find what you need directly with the laptop manufacturer. So, what is the exact model of the PC? Assuming it is indeed an Acer laptop, the next step would be to check what they offer here.
I'm running Linux, that might complicate things...
We'll see how what they offer looks like. There are solutions available for Linux as well (see this link), but I've never tested them.
Good luck
On their site, in the "bios" category, I find several, which one would interest me?
https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/SF114-32/downloads
Hello,
The latest numbered BIOS
Did you see this page?
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/582911/how-to-enter-the-advanced-bios-settings-page-on-acer-swift-1-sf114-32
If you look here, does it help more?
https://www.malekal.com/liste-touches-acces-bios-boot-menu-constructeur/