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Question

ASUS x202e won't POST

Mar 23, 2016 4:13PM PDT

So, here is the story.
I've bought an used x202e on eBay *in perfect condition, not a scratch on it*.
It came upgraded to Windows 10, but since I wanted to do a clean slate I've cleaned all the partitions and formatted the hard drive. I've also upgraded BIOS from 206 to 210.
So far so good. Then, I've installed Ubuntu on it, but I thought that it would be a good idea to install Windows 10 again and run it as dual boot.
Windows 10 rewrote the GRUB so I had to fix that one as well, but I've accidentally erased its boot partition and (of course) it wouldn't boot.
So I decided to do it again but this time, to do it properly, I wanted to install Windows first and than Ubuntu later.
Again, I've deleted all the partitions, formatted the HDD and started Windows 10 installation from a pen drive. It went well up to a point, but then it got stuck on "Wait a moment" (or something) screen, and after some time I did a hard reset. After the restart, the installation continued but got stuck again. I did a hard reset once again, but this time laptop wouldn't POST anymore.
What I get right now is: power led is on, Wi-fi led flashes for a second, HDD starts spinning and then it all stops. The screen is black and I can't enter BIOS or anything.
I've checked the HDD - works fine, attached an external monitor to see if I'll get something that way - nothing. Tried to boot without HDD - same thing. Tried to boot with a pen drive - no luck.
The rest of the components are soldered on the motherboard so I can't check if it's memory, processor or BIOS.
I think that without the memory it should still be able to enter BIOS so it could be either processor or BIOS. Processors almost never dies on the default settings so corrupt BIOS seems most likely (or so I wish to think since it can be replaced. The laptop run on battery the whole time so there is no chance that there was a power surge or something that could fry the components.
I've tried unplugging the battery, holding power button for 60 seconds, clearing the CMOS, no results.
I've run out of ideas what to do so any suggestion is welcome.
Thx!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
The clue here is ", formatted the HDD and started Windows 10
Mar 23, 2016 4:40PM PDT

Formatting prior to a Windows install can break the Windows installer. Try it with a blank HDD.

It can be rough to get the boot off the USB when it's in this shape. There are tomes on the web so I'll write the easy exit is to wipe the drive on another PC.

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Tried it already
Mar 23, 2016 7:07PM PDT

I left out that part. I've formatted the HDD on another computer and tried but no luck.

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That's still incorrent.
Mar 23, 2016 8:20PM PDT

Do not format the drive. Leave it blank.

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Tomorrow
Mar 23, 2016 8:43PM PDT

I will try that. Still, I can't understand why it won't go to BIOS, with or without the HDD

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The BIOS is one of the newer ones.
Mar 24, 2016 8:04AM PDT

Getting into the BIOS changed. I don't have the manual handy but I find that often I have to press and hold a key and then power up. I only let go of the key when I see I'm at the screen I want to see.

It's all part of attempts to do faster booting. Consumers clamored for fast boot times and if the screen started and paused for user input for 5 seconds that's 5 seconds that can be shaved off startup times.

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In theory
Mar 24, 2016 5:37PM PDT

Didn't have access to another computer today so I can empty the HDD, but I will do it ASAP. However, I'm not really hopeful that it will solve anything. Even if the system doesn't won't to enter BIOS I should be getting a message like: "Nothing to boot from, Give me something to boot", instead of a black screen

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Big news!!! The office has a X202E so I brought it home.
Mar 24, 2016 5:42PM PDT

BBL!!!

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Answer
OK, I have the office Asus x202e here.
Mar 24, 2016 5:55PM PDT

I looked it up and to get to the BIOS (it's actually called Setup in the menu) I held down the Esc key and powered up. I did not release the Esc key till I saw the "Please select boot device:" screen. On it is the option to get to the BIOS (it's called Setup) in the menu.

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Answer
Still there?
Mar 25, 2016 8:05AM PDT

I'm on the road today so while I have the x202e, get back while I have it so we can compare notes.

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No luck
Mar 25, 2016 1:39PM PDT

So, I've erased the partition on the HDD, now it's "Unallocated space", but that didn't have any effect (as expected).
You don't need to hold the power button to get "Please select the boot device", you just need to hold the Esc key. You enter the BIOS directly by holding F2. Still, none of these things works for me since I can't get anything on the screen.
I've noticed something strange today - plunging in the computer has the same effect as pressing the Power button - if the computer is off and you plug it in it turns on (it doesn't boot but the result is the same as if I've pressed the Power button). Also, it's impossible to shut down the computer while it's plugged in (it will just do a hard reset and reboot). There might be a hint there.

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I wrote the Esc key.
Mar 25, 2016 1:48PM PDT

" I held down the Esc key and powered up. I did not release the Esc key till I saw the "Please select boot device:" screen. "

Remember my x202e is fully functional so if yours is broke in some way, well that means it's something else. You can also try leaving the HDD out and it will fail to boot but I have booted from USB and USB DVD drives on this model. It's one of my favorites because its BIOS is less ornery about secure boots than some.

Try the old trick as a last hurrah. Unplug power and the battery (yes it's internal but is on a plug inside, press and hold the power button for the full 60 seconds, release, plug in the battery and main charge and try again.

It's sounding like the machine has a hard fault at this point. These sold for about 250 here refurbed so repair is unlikely to be a good idea.

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Better option
Mar 25, 2016 2:44PM PDT

There is no need to replace the entire computer, I can go with just replacing the motherboard, it would cost me less than a 100$, but I was thinking that there might be a way to avoid this.

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All the above is about a working model.
Mar 25, 2016 3:01PM PDT

I lead with how we can trip up the Windows installer by formatting before Windows installation. Later it seems you revealed other machine issues. Now that you can't get the Esc key to work and the shutdown and startup is wacky it's not user error but a hardware fault.

I got lucky the office has the x202e in it's inventory so I could test how to get to the setup (BIOS) and more.

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Original post
Mar 25, 2016 4:48PM PDT

I did assume that it's a hardware error, the confusion might be that you understood BIOS as a software and I was thinking about the chip itself. Since I can get the BIOS chip for 5$ or less, I'll first try with that one and then see what happens.

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Sorry if you felt mislead.
Mar 26, 2016 9:11AM PDT

The top post read as the usual "format the hdd and can't install windows." Later we see issues with the machine. The power down issue tells me it's not the BIOS chip.

But 5$ is a cheap thing to try. Good luck.