Member Avatar for Baradaran

I have a Sony Vaio SVE1511C5E which turns on and off, an endless loop. I tried everything to find out the reason. Finally I got the BIOS IC out, put it into a reader and tried to update the BIOS, however, there is no .bin file to programm the IC available. I have already searched the whole internet.

A BIOS dump from a similiar machine would be a great help. Does anyone eventually have a BIOS file (spi flash, .bin)?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Best regards,

Ali Baradaran

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 413 Views
  • 1 Week Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

Dani AI

Generated

A concise recovery checklist for the SVE1511C5E, with practical steps that address the gaps in the thread.

First, verify the exact SPI flash chip marking and the motherboard revision sticker. A BIOS image must match both the chip capacity and the board revision; mismatches are a common cause of persistent boot failures. Do not write any image until you have a reliable backup of the original chip and have confirmed the chip ID/size.

Safe SPI workflow (bench work is preferred):

  • If possible, desolder the SOIC8 and program the chip on a bench adapter. If you must use a clip, power the board correctly and take anti-static precautions.
  • Make at least two full reads of the chip and compare checksums before trusting the dump.
  • Check file size and ensure the dump comes from the same model and revision.

Example (Linux, CH341A/flashrom for illustration only):

flashrom -p ch341a_spi -r sve1511_backup.bin
sha256sum sve1511_backup.bin

flashrom -p ch341a_spi -r sve1511_backup_2.bin
cmp sve1511_backup.bin sve1511_backup_2.bin

# write only when you are certain the image is correct
flashrom -p ch341a_spi -w sve1511_good.bin

After a verified flash, confirm BIOS settings: SATA mode (IDE/AHCI), UEFI vs Legacy, and Secure Boot. If the drive is detected but shows "No OS found", boot a Linux or Windows PE USB to check disk health and reinstall or repair the OS as suggested. Using a BIOS package intended only for a Windows updater is possible, but extract and verify the payload on a separate Windows machine before flashing.

A caution: using an image from a different board or revision can render the laptop unbootable. High-resolution photos of the motherboard and the flash chip markings are normally required to identify a matching image, and sharing raw BIOS files is not something to do lightly—prefer verified backups and exact-match images.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for rubberman

How old is this bugger? My wife had a Vaio years ago which was a bit of a pig. She switched to an Apple Macbook Pro and never looked back.

Member Avatar for Baradaran

This case is actually up to date from right now. The problem is that any BIOS dump I tested results in "No Operating System Found". I tried several dumps and ways to get the laptop working, however I had no success up to now.

Sony provides a BIOS Update, which can only be run under Windows. I tried to boot up from the same hard disk drive by connecting it as an external device via USB with no luck. Windows crashes.

Any suggestions what to do more?

Member Avatar for rproffitt

From the story so far, you never wrote the HDD is not working so I'll take it the OS is blown or someone installed it when the BIOS was set to IDE emulation and the default is other. Anyhow, if the HDD is detected but no OS found, wipe the drive and install an OS.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.