Lenovo Slim 7i 14IMH9 - Failed BIOS Update and Stuck in Boot Loop - BIOS Request

[yellowtiger]

Hello Everyone,

I have a Lenovo Slim 7i 14IMH9 that got stuck in a boot loop with black screen after a failed BIOS update through Lenovo Vantage.

Here are my laptop details:
- Model: Lenovo Slim 7i 14IMH9
- Serial Number: YX09M0K7
- Machine type: 83D80003US

**Problem:**
About two weeks ago a BIOS update for this laptop failed and the laptop has been stuck in a boot loop with black screen ever since. Now when I press the power button, the keyboard lights come on and the fan starts running. However, the screen remains black. The laptop shuts off automatically after ~1 minute then repeats the whole process again and again until I forcefully shut it down by long pressing the power button.

**What I have already tried:**
Here are a few things I have tried:

- I have downloaded official Lenovo BIOS and put it on a USB drive. Then I tried BIOS recovery by pressing Fn+R and powering on.
- I have sent the laptop to Lenovo Support Center. They quoted me ~$700 to replace the motherboard since my laptop is out of warranty. I declined the proposal and they sent it back to me unrepaired. Now I need to find a way to fix it myself.
- I have done quite some research. It looks I can try to use a flasher to flash the BIOS chips to save the laptop. I happen to have a CH341A mini programmer with 1.8V adapter. I believe my laptop has dual BIOS chips. So I took a look and found two chips labeled XMC 25QU128CHIQ and XMC 25RU128CHIQ (see attached pictures). I have successfully read information from both chips using the CH341A programmer.

I have attached the BIOS files that I read from both chips as well as two pictures in this post. I am hoping someone can help me with working BIOS files.

Thanks for your time and help in advance!

[Sparo]

Hello Everyone,

I have a Lenovo Slim 7i 14IMH9 that got stuck in a boot loop with black screen after a failed BIOS update through Lenovo Vantage.

Here are my laptop details:
- Model: Lenovo Slim 7i 14IMH9
- Serial Number: YX09M0K7
- Machine type: 83D80003US

**Problem:**
About two weeks ago a BIOS update for this laptop failed and the laptop has been stuck in a boot loop with black screen ever since. Now when I press the power button, the keyboard lights come on and the fan starts running. However, the screen remains black. The laptop shuts off automatically after ~1 minute then repeats the whole process again and again until I forcefully shut it down by long pressing the power button.

I have attached the BIOS files that I read from both chips as well as two pictures in this post. I am hoping someone can help me with working BIOS files.

Thanks for your time and help in advance!

Hi, try this file. It should work if your issue is BIOS-related

Lenovo Lenovo Slim 7 14IMH9 - Type 83D8
Lenovo Slim 7 14IMH9, Yoga Slim 7 14IMH9
Machine Type Model 83D80003US
BIOS Version NPCN39WW
DMI/21B000-21CFFF

[yellowtiger]

Hi Sparo,

Thanks a lot for your help! A question for you. I have two BIOS chips but you only provided one .bin file. Which chip do I flash? Or do I flash the same file to both chips?

Edit: It looks the file is for the XMC 25QU128C chip (the chip on the right in my picture attached to the first post). I'll try to flash your file to that chip first. Will let you know if it works.

Hi, try this file. It should work if your issue is BIOS-related

Lenovo Lenovo Slim 7 14IMH9 - Type 83D8
Lenovo Slim 7 14IMH9, Yoga Slim 7 14IMH9
Machine Type Model 83D80003US
BIOS Version NPCN39WW
DMI/21B000-21CFFF

[Sparo]

MB, I didn't point out that it's the chip on the right (XM25QU128C, as m1ch43lzm mentioned)

[m1ch43lzm]

Hi Sparo,

Thanks a lot for your help! A question for you. I have two BIOS chips but you only provided one .bin file. Which chip do I flash? Or do I flash the same file to both chips?

Edit: It looks the file is for the XMC 25QU128C chip (the chip on the right in my picture attached to the first post). I'll try to flash your file to that chip first. Will let you know if it works.

Yes, that file is for XM25QU128C, don't touch the XM25R128 for now

[yellowtiger]

Hi m1ch43lzm,

Thanks for your reply.

Good news. I just flashed the file provided by Sparo to XM25QU128C. Now my Lenovo laptop is back to life! It now boots up into Windows with no problem. I went into BIOS and checked. All DMI information is there (as Sparo specified in his filename). I also tried Windows update and it seemed to work fine. Thanks again to both of you, m1ch43lzm and Sparo! You are life-savors.

One more question for you guys. My BIOS shows BIOS version: NPCN39WW and EC version: NPCN38WW. Do they need to be on the same version?

Yes, that file is for XM25QU128C, don't touch the XM25R128 for now

[Sparo]

Hi m1ch43lzm,

Thanks for your reply.

Good news. I just flashed the file provided by Sparo to XM25QU128C. Now my Lenovo laptop is back to life! It now boots up into Windows with no problem. I went into BIOS and checked. All DMI information is there (as Sparo specified in his filename). I also tried Windows update and it seemed to work fine. Thanks again to both of you, m1ch43lzm and Sparo! You are life-savors.

One more question for you guys. My BIOS shows BIOS version: NPCN39WW and EC version: NPCN38WW. Do they need to be on the same version?

I'm glad it's all sorted out, Enjoy and you're Welcome!
As for the EC version, it's not a big deal, but if you want you can install the latest update here:
> https://download.lenovo.com/consumer...s/npcn39ww.exe and see if it updates the EC firmware (Give it all the time it needs). Good Luck!

[yellowtiger]

I think I'll leave my laptop as it is now. Will let you know if I encounter other problems. Thanks again for your help!

I'm glad it's all sorted out, Enjoy and you're Welcome!
As for the EC version, it's not a big deal, but if you want you can install the latest update here:
> https://download.lenovo.com/consumer...s/npcn39ww.exe and see if it updates the EC firmware (Give it all the time it needs). Good Luck!