The laptop is entirely unusable following the Windows 10 update?
The laptop is entirely unusable following the Windows 10 update?
Hello, I own a Fujitsu U939X equipped with an Intel i5 8365U and 8GB RAM.
I've been using this laptop for quite some time with Windows 11 without any updates.
Last week, I sold it to a friend and reinstalled Windows 10. I didn't install any drivers, assuming they would auto-install during the update.
After several reboots, everything seemed to function properly.
However, three days later, my friend reported that the laptop was dead. The only indication was that the LED light turned on when charging, but there was no power or BIOS activity.
No battery indicator appeared, and the power button didn't respond.
He tried connecting the charger, but the charge display remained white, with no battery status or power button response.
During disassembly, the mainboard looked intact, with no blown components detected.
I removed the battery and CMOS, then attempted to power it up again. The charging indicator briefly lit white for 0.1 seconds before going dark.
When I connected a battery and charged it, the indicators stayed white but didn't light up at all.
I also tried using a Type-C charger with Thunderbolt, which provided 20V PD at 0W—still no improvement.
I suspected the BIOS might be corrupted, as he wasn’t familiar with updating it himself and thought the Windows 10 update would fix it.
I’ve ordered a USB programmer (CH341A) to refresh the BIOS, and I’m hopeful Fujitsu has the U939X model available online.
My question is: is this likely due to a BIOS issue?
If reflashing fails, what should I do next besides discarding it and purchasing a new one?
Thank you very much.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
I didn't install the driver because I thought it would auto-install with the Windows 10 update.
For a platform from that time, the first step is to install the OS in offline mode, then manually add all necessary drivers for your system using an elevated command, such as right-clicking the installer and selecting Run as Administrator. After completing this, you can connect to the internet, and the OS will handle updates itself. Occasionally, a driver update might occur, but you're effectively stopping the OS from downloading the correct drivers for your setup, which is usually not the intended behavior.
There have been cases where BIOS updates caused the system to become unusable.
I was very upset when someone bricked my laptop and demanded a refund. When I asked how they did it, they seemed unsure, and the laptop remained inactive until turned on. That wasn't their fault at all.
Right away, I unplugged the battery and CMOS, then tried plugging in power. The charge indicator and battery light flickered white for a brief moment before going dark completely.
It seems like there might be a short circuit.
My question is, is this most likely due to a corrupted BIOS?
If the BIOS is damaged, the programming toolkit should restore the motherboard—and the laptop.
If flashing doesn't work, what should I do next besides discarding it and purchasing a new one?
Consider using a multimeter to check for any short circuits on the motherboard. If none are found, visiting a local laptop repair shop would be your best option.
Just a quick update, today ch341a arrived and I tried to flash it right away. The laptop mostly has short circuits inside because my PC, USB HUB or Laptop USB cut off immediately after plugging in the programmer. I unplugged everything from the mainboard and the problem still happened. Eventually, I desoldered the BIOS and flashed the chip, but when I soldered it again the laptop was still dead with the same issue. I threw it away since nobody sells the mainboard, and I lost the money too 😅