Unsure how to properly flash BIOS - Acer Aspire E 15

PantsMagee

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Nov 14, 2015
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4,510
Hi everyone, let me get you up to speed on my current situation.

About a year ago, I bought a new laptop on sale, Acer Aspire E15. I immediately got rid of Windows 8 and installed Ubuntu as the sole OS. Everything was great, and Linux is fantastic, but now I'm starting to do more development on Windows platforms so I wanted to put Windows 7 on my laptop.

I currently have a .zip copy (legally purchased) of Windows 7 64-bit and I used RUFUS to make my bootable USB. I planned on completely wiping my HDD and starting fresh with Win7, then installing Ubuntu as separate partition, but installing Windows has been a pain.

First things first, after finally getting UEFI to detect my USB, trying to start up my computer gives me a, Security Boot Fail message, and after hitting Enter I'm put into GNU GRUB (Ubuntu has been wiped from disk, so no OS currently is set on my laptop).

Several threads suggest doing a factory reset, but after numerous button combinations (Alt+F10, Alt+F2, Alt+0) I am unable to get a factory reset, and it just puts me into GRUB.

I've read that I need to modify my Secure Boot Mode in UEFI in order to bypass the fail message. The issue is I cannot remember my Supervisor Password, and it locks me out after 3 tries.

I've also read that flashing, or updating, my BIOS/UEFI (don't we use UEFI nowadays?) will reset any passwords, but after calling Acer Support, they told me that they cannot give instructions on resetting because it will void the warranty. I told them I don't care about voiding the warranty, I just want to fix my issue; they still refused to help.

I notice other threads about Acer Aspires, but never about the E15 model. Is it safe to do a firmware update using another model? I'm not exactly sure what I should do without destroying my laptop.

Any help would be appreciated!
 
Sorry but we are unable to help you with passwords on this forum you will need to contact Acer to prove ownership from there they will explain your options.

Sorry after re-reading the thread I seen the part about ACER.

You will need to have Acer flash the BIOS for you.
 

PantsMagee

Estimable
Nov 14, 2015
2
0
4,510


Thanks for your response. I'm guessing this will cost some money? If so, do you know how much? I'll give them a call in the mean-time. Thanks again!