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BIOS booting error - error sending end of post message to me
It has been a while since I have been in these forums and I hope that someone might have an idea how to take care of an issue I have with my notebook.
When my system boots up, it stalls like nothing is happening and then a message pops up "Downgrading ME" and some other information that I didn't catch.
Then a screen comes up with the following "error sending end of post message to me"
Then sometimes Windows will start up and other times I have to restart the system.
I have searched the internet and there are different possible solutions but none of them have worked.
Based on what I found on the internet, I updated the BIOS from A01 to A02 but that did not alleviate the problem.
Does anyone have an idea how to correct this issue?
Here are my system specifications
Dell Latitude E5520
OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2620M CPU @ 2.70GHz, 2701 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A02, 7/10/2011
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7601.17514"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Bay Wolf
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October 4th, 2011 20:00
Update: Dell will be coming out with BIOS ver A03 for the Latitude E5520 to fix the following issue
The system doesn't make it "Starting Windows". I get a black screen with the following:
(A7) Me FW Downgrade - Request MeSpiLock Failed
It stays on that screen for a very short time. Then another black screen comes up with the following:
Error sending End Of Post message to ME
Bay Wolf
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September 4th, 2011 15:00
Thank you for the quick response.
During the POST a message displays "Downgrading ME" with some other information. I was not able to see the entire message. It doesn't stay there very long. Then the message "error sending end of post message to me".
It then stays here. Windows does not boot up at this point.
I then restart the system and it will go through the boot process and Windows will load.
speedstep
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September 4th, 2011 15:00
This seems to be Non Dell Specific. That would lead me to believe its malware infection.
The ME seems to be ASM/ME
ASM Automatic Snapshot Manager.
ASM/ME User Guide
.
Error code: Error sending end of post message to M... - Toshiba Forums
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►Error sending end of post message to ME on Toshiba - Portable Devices
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Bay Wolf
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September 4th, 2011 15:00
It's good to see people that I remember in these forums still helping others!
I tend to agree with you about this issue not being specific to Dell's systems. I visited the sites you posted earlier when I did a google search. Unfortunately, the suggested answers that they gave did not fix the issue.
If it is a Malware as you suggest, then it was on the system when Dell sent it to me. This is a new computer and I haven't really done anything with it - haven't had the time to set it up the way I want it.
I will use MalwareBytes to scan the system to see if it finds anything.
speedstep
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September 4th, 2011 15:00
Windows has the following kinds of reduced functionality mode:
* Out-of-grace reduced functionality mode
* Non-genuine reduced functionality mode
* Wallpaper and theme disappear whenever you logout, or turnoff the computer, resulting in a black background.
*repeatedly get on screen messages saying that I may be a victim of software counterfeiting?
What do you mean by Downgrading?
Bay Wolf
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September 4th, 2011 16:00
I haven't really done much with this notebook yet. The only thing that I have done so far is load my HP printer drivers and MS Office 2010.
I haven't cloned the system yet. The system is exactly how Dell set it up and sent it to me. If all else fails, I might try to restore it back to the factory image and see what happens.
I don't believe that I have any data encryption software on my system. At least, I haven't installed any.
The information you provided helps some but I am not sure exactly what I have to do to fix the issue. Your responses at least are making it a litle bit clearer to me and for that I want to thank you.
Bay Wolf
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September 4th, 2011 16:00
I just wanted to report back that the MalwareBytes scan finished. I performed a thorough scan and reported back that no malicious items were detected.
speedstep
8 Wizard
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September 4th, 2011 16:00
The ME issue can be summarized in this way.
EqualLogic Auto Snapshot Manager/Microsoft Edition | Microsoft .
ASM = Auto Snapshot Manager
ME = Microsoft Edition
The ME is having problems with Love letters from Equalogic.
This would appear to me to be some kind of data encryption like Safeboot etc.
If the drive has been cloned that would explain a lot.
I do not think this has anything to do with bios unless the ASM somehow ties in a signature with the Fritz Chip aka TPM module.
speedstep
8 Wizard
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September 4th, 2011 23:00
Check the event log for VSS Errors. ASM/ME uses the Volume Shadow Service.
Bay Wolf
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September 5th, 2011 09:00
Sorry to take so long to get back, but other issues are starting to develop.
To answer your question, I looked at the event viewer for VSS and there were 15 events that were recorded. All 15 said "The VSS service is shutting down due to idle timeout." No other events were recorded.
As I eluded to in my opening comment, my wireless adapter is not working now. I am connected to the network using an ethernet connection at the moment.
Last night, my wireless connection started to loose connection and then regain connection randomly until it was gone completely. The message for the Intel WiFi Link 6205 was that there is "No supported Wifi adapters in the system".
I looked in the device manager and it reports that the WiFi adapter is operating correctly. I used the trouble shooting of Windows and it says that the driver may not be installed correctly. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the driver but no luck in getting it to work.
Once again, I appreciated the help that you are giving. I do realize that you are volunteering your time to help out. I used to hang out in here quit often helping out but life's activities got in the way. Now that all of the kids but one are off to college, I may have more time.
speedstep
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September 5th, 2011 10:00
Starting to sound like physical damage to sectors on the drive.
Bay Wolf
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September 5th, 2011 15:00
A hard day of yard work. It was great being outside and not have the temperature above 100F. It's only 88F out right now and it feels cool.
To rule out the hard drive issue, I am going to run SpinRite and have it analyze the disk. This may take some time.
Bay Wolf
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September 5th, 2011 20:00
I'm performing a scan of the hard drive using SpinRite 6. I started out using level 4 scan but it was going to be another 48 hours to complete. I stopped it and I am now performing a level 2 scan.
Bay Wolf
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September 5th, 2011 21:00
Just finished the Level 2 analysis on the hard drive. SpinRite found no bad spots on the hard drive. It is in excellent working order.
Bay Wolf
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September 5th, 2011 22:00
I ended up restoring my system to the factory setup and all is well so far.