Everything you read or download here comes 'as is', with absolutely no guarantees. I am not affiliated with Toshiba Corporation, Phoenix Technologies, or any other names mentioned in the text. The Crisis Recovery Disk and Phlash16 tools are copyright Phoenix Technologies. I’m just an end-user like you, who, at one point in time, nearly killed his laptop when a flash update failed. I had a very hard time finding information on how to recover from a corrupted BIOS, but in the end I managed it with something called Phoenix Crisis Recovery Disk. This specially prepared disk can restore a BIOS without any user interaction (black screen, no keyboard) and without taking the laptop apart. In this guide, I will try to give detailed instructions on how to use this otherwise poorly documented method. Most of the information I found came from people who were wrestling with the problem like me, not from official support channels. Hopefully this page will prove helpful to those unfortunate enough to find themselves holding a dead computer after performing a manufacturer supplied BIOS update, as I did.
Bottom line: use at your own risk.
If you want to bookmark this page, bookmark this forwarding address: http://crd.y1.cc/. The actual location of the page may change, but the forwarder is permanent.
Use this guide if your system has a Phoenix BIOS which has become corrupted, preventing your machine from booting. The most common causes for a corrupted BIOS are power failure during the flash update, program crash during the flash update, and using the wrong BIOS image file.
Do not use this guide in any of the following cases:
What follows is a step by step guide to performing the Crisis Recovery procedure.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably more worried about losing your computer than losing your data. Still, if there’s anything important on your hard drive, I recommend taking it out and/or making a copy. The hard drive does not need to be connected for the recovery procedure to work.
Before you do anything, you want to make sure about two things.
Normally you would look on screen during POST to see the BIOS manufacturer’s name, but since your system doesn’t boot, you’ll have to refer to the motherboard manual or the system manual. You’ll probably find this information within the first few pages, among the other system specs.
If you don’t have the manual, or it doesn’t contain the name you’re after, you will have to open up the case and take a look at the motherboard. The BIOS chip should have a label with its name attached to it.
A corrupted BIOS (sometimes called BIOS checksum failure) can be diagnosed by the following symptoms:
If all of this applies, you most likely have a corrupted BIOS on your hands. However, you want to make sure it’s not just the CMOS data that has been corrupted. When options in the CMOS are set to incorrect values, the system may become unable to boot with similar symptoms as those described above. The difference is that the settings in the CMOS can be easily reset to fail-safe values using a jumper on the motherboard or a special key combination during POST, where as a corrupted BIOS requires the flashing of new, healthy, BIOS data. If you’re not sure whether it’s the CMOS or the BIOS that is corrupt, then always try to reset the CMOS first. Refer to your motherboard manual for instructions (often called CLEAR CMOS or something similar).
When you’re convinced it’s the BIOS that’s bad, read on.
The Crisis Recovery procedure described in this guide depends on a special emergency feature called the boot-block, which is built into most Phoenix BIOS chips since around 2001. The boot-block is a tiny part of the BIOS that holds some special code. This code allows the computer to boot in Crisis Recovery Mode (CRM), in case the rest of the BIOS becomes corrupted. The boot-block area does not normally get overwritten when a BIOS update (flash) is performed. That said, it is possible to overwrite the boot-block code if you try hard enough, so you want to make sure it is still functional before moving on.
Procedures to activate the boot-block vary somewhat between manufacturers and models. There are roughly three ways to do it; by special key combination, by motherboard jumper, or by parallel port dongle. You probably won’t know which of these applies to your system, as it’s not something normally documented in the manual. Yet, before you can move on, you have to find the correct method. This is mostly done by trial and error. The process can be a little frustrating.
First, prepare your system for CRM by removing all media (such as floppy disk, CD-ROM, etc.) and disconnecting all peripherals (mouse, printer, USB devices, etc.). If you have a laptop, remove the battery and disconnect any external monitor and keyboard. If you have a desktop, leave the monitor and keyboard, but remove everything else.
Running in CRM is like running a dead computer in zombie mode; it’s still dead for the most part, but some basic systems are able to start. In this mode screen, keyboard and hard drive will not function. There will, however, be a few clues that show something special is going on. Here’s what to look for:
Now that you know how to recognize CRM, proceed to try out the different methods of activating the boot-block.
This is the easiest and, thankfully, the most common way to activate the boot-block. From what I read, most laptops today support this method. The procedure is as follows:
Some systems may require a different key combination. If Fn + B doesn’t work try: Fn + Esc, WinLogo + B, and WinLogo + Esc. There may be others, but these are the 4 combinations I was able to find. If you can’t find one that works for your system, try method 2.
I found references to this method in several older documents. I believe it’s not a common way to activate the boot-block, but if you can’t find a working key combination, it’s worth checking out. The procedure goes like this:
If none of the key combinations work, and you can’t find a boot-block jumper, then there is one last method you can try. I have to warn you though; this method is somewhat risky and unlikely to work except on a few older HP laptop models. If you believe it may work for you, give it a try.
This method involves constructing a custom built dongle for the parallel port out of an old printer cable. Here’s the wiring scheme:
Pin 2 – Pin 15 Pin 3 – Pin 13 Pin 4 – Pin 11 Pin 5 – Pin 12 Pin 6 – Pin 10
The procedure is:
If none of the methods above work for you, then unfortunately it’s starting to look like the BIOS boot-block is either not present or corrupted, in which case you will not be able to perform Crisis Recovery. Refer to the section called "It didn’t work, now what?" to read some suggestions on what to try next.
Assuming you did find out how to activate Crisis Recovery Mode, it’s time to move on to the next step.
Crisis Recovery only works from a floppy disk, so you will need a floppy drive on the target system. A bootable CD-ROM, USB storage device (pen drive, memory stick) or any other storage medium won’t do, so don’t waste your time trying (as I did). The reason is the boot-block is too small to support anything but a handful of basic functions, therefore there is no screen support and the only supported medium is floppy disk. Many modern systems, including most laptops, no longer come with a built in floppy drive, or even the room to add one. Luckily, CRM does support external floppy drives connected by USB. So go out and get one, and include a box of 10 floppy disks of a dependable brand. I went with an Iomega YD-8U10, which seems to be available under different brands as well. It worked without a hitch.
When you found yourself a floppy drive and some disks, move on to the next step.
Now it’s time to prepare the Crisis Recovery Disk. For this step you will need a working computer with a floppy drive (can be the same floppy drive as the one you use on the target system, although it’s easier if both systems have their own drive).
Download the Phoenix Crisis Recovery Disk Creation Package: zipped, self-extracting
Extract the package to an empty folder. I will refer to this folder as the CRDC folder.
Download the latest production BIOS for your system. Get it from the manufacturer’s website. Warning: Crisis Recovery will flash whatever you feed it. Normal checks to see if image matches board are skipped, so make 100% sure you have the correct file for your system. Once downloaded, locate the BIOS binary file, rename it to BIOS.WPH and move it to the CRDC folder.
There are two ways of creating a Crisis Recovery Disk: under Windows or under native MS-DOS. I have tried both ways, but only the disks created under native MS-DOS worked, so I will ignore the Windows based method. If you must try, run WINCRIS.EXE under Windows, and choose MINIDOS Crisis Disk.
Next you have to prepare your working machine to boot into native MS-DOS. This is not as trivial as it used to be 10 years ago. Here’s how I did it. First, I created a small (10 MB) temporary partition on my hard drive and formatted it with FAT. Next, I copied the CRDC folder to this partition. Then, I looked up an old Windows 98 CD-ROM and used it to boot a native MS-DOS environment directly from the CD (choose Boot from CD-ROM and Safe Command Prompt – Shift F5). If you don’t have a Windows 98 CD-ROM handy, you can use a bootable floppy disk instead: compressed image, self-writing image. There are, of course, other ways to boot a native MS-DOS environment. Any of them will work fine as long you are not in a Windows DOS box/command prompt.
Once you are in a native MS-DOS environment, navigate to your temporary partition and run:
C:\CRDC>CRISDISK B:
Note: I use B: because by booting from a Windows 98 CD-ROM drive A: becomes a virtual drive, and the real floppy drive becomes B:.
CRISDISK will perform the following actions: format a floppy, copy the needed files to it (MINIDOS.SYS, PHLASH16.EXE, BIOS.WPH), and install a customized boot sector. Note that the order of these actions is important. If the files do not end up in a specific directory entry on the disk it will not work. MINIDOS.SYS must occupy the first directory entry, etc. Yes, I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this.
Once the disk is created, take it out. You are now ready for the final step.
While the target system is fully powered off, hook up the floppy drive and put in the Crisis Recovery Disk (CRD). Now boot the system into Recovery Mode (as established in Step 3). If all went well, the system will start reading the disk (a very good sign!). This takes about 2 minutes for a typical 1 MB BIOS file. After the reading is done, the flashing procedure should begin automatically. There may be beeps during flashing, or the system may remain silent as mine did. Since the screen is still black, there is nothing to indicate something is going on. Just give it at good 5 minutes, and then flashing should be done. After that, the system may or may not automatically power down. If nothing happens after 5 minutes, power it down by pulling the plug. Then try a normal boot to see if it worked (remember to remove jumper or dongle if you had to use one to activate the boot-block). If the system boots, congratulations, you saved your machine! If not, read on.
For me it didn’t work the first time, or the second time, or the third. In fact, I have lost count of how many times I tried before it finally worked. The version of PHLASH16.EXE that gets put on the CRD by default is one of the newest around, and is reported to work on many systems, however for me it didn’t work. I had to try out many other versions of PHLASH16.EXE before I found one that did the trick. So for people who encounter similar difficulties, I have included all different versions I managed to find. They are:
So, what to do if everything works up to the reading of the disk, you wait 5 minutes, yet the system remains dead? Put the floppy back in the working system, and create a new Recovery Disk with a different version of PHLASH16.EXE on it, by running:
C:\CRDC>COPY /Y PHLASH1A.EXE PHLASH16.EXE C:\CRDC>CRISDISK B:
Remember, simply copying a different version on PHLASH16.EXE over the existing one on the floppy won’t work. It will screw up the directory entries. Silly, I know, but that’s how this system was designed. Run the full CRISDISK script instead, as shown in the command above.
If PHLASH1A.EXE doesn’t work either, try PHLASH1B.EXE and work your work down the list until you find one that works. For me it was PHLASH1B.EXE (v1.3.5.1) that did it.
If none of the included versions work, you could try the whole process from the beginning but with a different (older or newer) BIOS.WPH file for your system. Remember, if you can get the system to boot in Recovery Mode and read the floppy, you’re almost there. Keep trying. Follow my instructions to the letter. It can get tedious and time consuming, I know; I was almost ready to give up after three days of fruitless attempts, but when I finally found the right combination of files, it was all worth it.
Of course there are situations where Phoenix Crisis Recovery does not give the desired result. What other options are there? Some people have reported bringing dead machines back to life by ordering a pre-programmed replacement BIOS chip. There are several sites out there that offer such services. Some of them are Biosman.com, Biosflash.com, and Badflash.com. Typical prices for one BIOS chip are 25 – 30 USD. Keep in mind not all BIOS chips can be easily replaced; in some cases soldering is involved.
Another option would be to find an identical system or motherboard that’s on offer as broken/dead on eBay, and try to swap the motherboard.
Lastly, you can ask the manufacturer to repair your system, but this will not come cheap in most cases (assuming warranty has expired).
Many thanks to all the people who posted information and files related to Phoenix Crisis Recovery on various forums around the net. Without you I would never have been able to bring my laptop back to life. Thank you!
Some of the websites I got information from are:
If you have questions or comments you can reach me at crd@y1.cc. Make sure to add "CRD" in the subject, or your message will end up in my spam filter.
Good luck!
M.