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I've got only Ubuntu 20.04 installed on Acer Aspire 5 and I want to update my UEFI (currently v1.11) because the screen will remain black once I close and open the lid and the only solution is to hard-reboot with the power button (3 years ever since and I've literally tried any proposed solution).

I've read that multiple users managed to solve the problem by updating the firmware. Could you please tell me how to do it from Ubuntu? I definitely don't have enough time to modify partitions and dual-boot Win10 just for updating the firmware.

I've got the latest .exe UEFI update in a formatted FAT32 USB stick but it would NOT appear in both grub/UEFI settings. I've also read that with uefi version it could be possible to update just by copying and pasting the executable file into /boot/efi/EFI , rebooting and selecting the proper boot from grub. Nevertheless, I haven't tried yet cause in that directory I've got three more folders (/Boot, /OEM, /ubuntu) and I don't know which one to choose.

Any help is really appreciated!

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  • That is an update file that can only be run from a Windows OS. No you can not just copy it. You may brick the computer.
    – David
    Oct 20, 2022 at 16:55
  • You do not update from Ubuntu unless newer system and vendor has added specific model to fwupdate. Acer only shows two models: fwupd.org/lvfs/devicelist Normal way is to download the update, save to a FAT32 partition and then from UEFI read that update. The .exe contains the update, normally but is only for Windows. Does Acer offer the update as a separate file?
    – oldfred
    Oct 20, 2022 at 18:56
  • @oldfred no, Acer only offers .exe files and yes I was aware of fwupd. It's a fact though that some users even here on askubuntu managed to do it by modifying the boot directory, e.g. link , read last comment by redy . Unfortunately I cannot comment there below as I do not have enough reputation..
    – tango
    Oct 20, 2022 at 23:51
  • Every brand is somewhat different. Do not know if something like this may work. HP UEFI update - extract .bin from .exe file and copy into FAT32 partition. askubuntu.com/questions/539120/… & h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebooks-Archive-Read-Only/…
    – oldfred
    Oct 21, 2022 at 3:27
  • There is no .bin file inside the extracted .exe file. Apparently I should use a Win tool (Phoenix) for extracting the .bin file from the only .fd file, rename it properly and paste it into a formatted FAT32 USB stick before rebooting. However the sources of such procedure come from people that bricked the laptops, not from anyone that used it for updating UEFI. I guess I feel more comfortable by installing Win o a separate partition and running the .exe from there :/
    – tango
    Oct 23, 2022 at 15:44

1 Answer 1

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I had the same problem with a Lenovo laptop: The vendor would only provide a BIOS update that needed to be run from Windows 10; and I only had Ubuntu installed on it.

My solution was to open Windows on another machine (any machine is fine) and use Rufus to create a LiveUSB Windows 10 by selecting "Windows To Go" (it's disabled by default. See Youtube tutorial).

After that I booted from the USB. Windows 10 took forever to boot and setup itself for the first time because I was using an old thumbdrive (5MB/s write, 15MB/s read...) but eventually I was running Win 10 on my laptop; I then ran the Firmware Upgrader from my manufacturer which prompted the system to reboot into a BIOS flashing utility.

I let itself continue and by the time it was done and rebooted I had my laptop with latest BIOS version on Ubuntu without ever installing Windows 10 on my laptop's main drive.

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    I tried one more time and I booted Win10 instead of Win11. The UEFI update went smoothly. I confirm that FINALLY the machine works like a charm and that any update (I did the latest) beyond V.1.15 solves the black screen after closing the lid ! Be aware that later I had to reset the battery (switch off & unplug --> rear side --> battery pinhole --> grab paper clip --> press for 5 seconds --> wait 5 minutes ) and switch the SATA mode to AHCI in UEFI settings (to modify SATA you must go in Advanced tab and click Ctrl+S, if it does not work try same combination in different tabs).
    – tango
    Oct 27, 2022 at 17:20

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