Finally got a stubborn laptop to boot after a tough call on the BIOS
Had to choose between a full chip reflow or just a clean flash with a programmer. Went with the flash, used my CH341A, and it posted on the first try after three days of headaches. Anyone else have a go-to method for corrupted UEFI on those cheap Acers?
That "stubborn thing back to life feeling" is real, but I have to say, watching someone go full hot air reflow on a Dell is like bringing a flamethrower to a candle lighting. I've been there with cheap Acers where the UEFI just randomly nukes itself for no good reason. For me, it's always the CH341A first because why risk turning a paperweight into a slightly melted paperweight. Your buddy's Raspberry Pi hack is clever though, I bet it felt like a proper underdog victory after that hot air disaster.
Watched a buddy fight a bricked Dell for a week. He tried a hot air reflow first, but it just made things worse. Ended up using a Raspberry Pi as a cheap programmer to force a clean BIOS image. That finally brought the stubborn thing back to life.
Yeah, that "stubborn thing back to life" feeling is the best. It's like fixing anything else, you try the simple fix first before going nuclear. Saves a lot of time and hassle.