Resetting the BIOS on an EeePC 701

This evening, my other half’s Eee 701 broke.

Whenever she turned it on, the green power LED and blue wireless LED came on, stayed on, and nothing else happened. The screen backlight didn’t come on, no power was supplied to the USB ports and the fan did not start to spin.

I tried the usual fixes – taking the battery out, poking a paperclip in the reset button in the back. This didn’t work.

Next I reset the BIOS. To do this, you need to:

• Remove the battery and disconnect from the mains
• Remove the memory cover from the back with a small screwdriver
• Locate the BIOS contacts. Turn it so the memory chip is at the bottom, and look at the top half (the bit that isn’t covered by the memory chip). The contacts are in the bottom-left corner of this, and they are small copper triangles. I’ve circled them in red in this picture.

• You need to short-circuit the two small triangular copper contacts with a screwdriver for a second or two.
• Replace the memory cover and battery, and turn the Eee on again.
• For me, this worked and it booted normally. Your mileage may vary!