Member Avatar for ssnake_pit

Hi there i a great headache about the message i got from this Laptop
Toshiba satellite 1805 - S203 the story starts here

one day i saw my battery charge was going down so i plugged it to the electrical cable then it shutdown, :?: ; then i turn it on again but it show the following message Bios(Block3)is Damaged! (Call your service man.)
Service man: Place maintenance disk in drive and press any key when ready

woops!
then i imagine that it was asking for the bios then i went to the toshiba page to download lastest bios i made my bios disk and introduce it in it show that updated successfully but when it boot up again same message i try to reflash firmware same thing i search the web but no solution yet i removed the battery 1 month and reflashed some one told me that the bios i have from toshiba is not full bios its just an update that i have to get a complete bios it just show the same message over and over again and it doesnt boot OS
also i tried pressing F12 to do it different way
and also the 2nd message i only see its
Ready for bios update. Place the bios update diskette in the drive and press any key when ready to proceed

does someone know what should i do?

im thinking to use linuxBios but i dont think it can flash it...:sad:

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by edduard

Dani AI

Generated

Quick summary and what the message usually means — A persistent "BIOS (Block3) is Damaged" on older Satellites (including the 1805 series) normally indicates the firmware image or a protected boot region in the SPI flash is corrupted so the normal updater/POST cannot continue and the machine asks for a maintenance/repair disk. This exact symptom was reported by multiple Toshiba owners and discussed as a repeat problem in community bug reports. (bugs.launchpad.net)

Practical next steps (safe → more invasive)

  • Locate the flash chip on the board and note whether it is socketed or soldered. If the chip is socketed you can remove it and reprogram on a bench programmer; if soldered you need an in‑circuit method.
  • The standard recovery approach when the vendor updater cannot recover the boot block is to use an SPI hardware flasher (CH341A or similar) with a SOIC8 clip plus a tool like flashrom to read a full backup, identify the chip, then write a correct full ROM (not just an updater). Detailed examples and step sequences are documented by experienced repair guides and vendors who use this method for in‑field recovery. (puri.sm)

Example commands (Linux/flashrom; first back up, then write):

sudo flashrom -p ch341a_spi -r backup.bin
sudo flashrom -p ch341a_spi -w full-rom.bin

Always verify the chip ID before writing and keep two independent backups. Flashrom documents supported programmers and cautions about risk — wrong image or interrupted writes can permanently brick the board. (manpages.debian.org)

When to stop and get service — If the chip ID cannot be detected, the clip won’t seat reliably, or there is visible board damage, professional board‑level repair or board replacement is the pragmatic choice; Toshiba service manuals for these older models are limited and many owners ultimately chose repair shops or used donor boards. If help is needed, look for a local electronics shop that offers SPI reprogramming or a laptop board donor for the exact 1805 S203 SKU. (vdoc.pub)

Notes: this expands on ’s report and the hardware angle raised by . If unfamiliar with chip programming, avoid guessing — the CH341A/flashrom route works but has real risk; get a repair shop experienced with SPI flashes. : if the unit is still available, record the chip markings (e.g., Winbond/MX/… text on the 8‑pin IC) and note whether the chip is socketed — that information is the fastest way to judge repair cost and feasibility.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for TT4Titans

Try this one.


Member Avatar for ssnake_pit

thanks but i already try with all bios update from the first release to this one :(

Member Avatar for TT4Titans

If you tried the one i sent you too alrady and it said the same then your CMOS chip is bad.who ever told you that the updates aren't full flashes doesn't know what they are talking about.the updated flashes are full with the updaes added.The Bios software (firmware) is flashed into a CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) chip on the your chip is bad most of them are soldered onto the motherboard if not you could find one and replace it.but for the price and trouble locating a motherboard would be better.

Member Avatar for edduard

hi, is anyone resolved ? Please post.

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