Hello guys i have an Alienware 17 R1 that burned the PCH, i did the replacement for a new one,
pch is hm87 lynxPoint.
Now, the ssd in UEFI do not boot anymore, and post takes 20 sec to be shown.
i did a research and i know that the pch has it own ID/Private key, and bios ME has the corresponding ID/Public Key, they need to match to get that working properly… And since i have replaced the PCH chipset, the private ID/key has been changed…
My doubt is, can i get the new ID/Key of the new PCH and re insert in the ME/Bios flash memory to adjust it and keep all working as original ? or the only way is to clear the ME to disable that?
Please get in contact and help me to understand a bit more of that,
thanks
When you replace PCH that key is empty, and it only needs to match the one set in BIOS’s ME region if you wanted Intel BootGuard working. Since you replaced PCH, you may need to reset ME state, or disable BIOS Guard in the ME settings using FITc
Cleaning ME (Not clear or disable etc) via the clean ME guide will show you about setting the boot guard option, one of the steps mentions this setting, there you choose default/0 instead of whatever is set in the default BIOS, since you replaced the PCH.
Can you enter the BIOS? Do you have hardware flash programmer like CH341A and SOIC8 test clip cable? If not, check your motherboard for ME/FD/FDO/Service etc 2 pin jumper, in case you do need to re-write the ME region
plutomaniac I’m sure will have some more exact advise for you about the ME settings and what exactly you need to do when you replace the PCH.
Basically you need to follow [Guide] Clean Dumped Intel Engine (CS)ME/(CS)TXE Regions with Data Initialization on your SPI dump and flash back the result.
Thanks Plutomaniac - ON step #5, does he need to set Boot Guard Profile 0 - No_FVME, if not already? Since no key burned to FPF now?
i have schematichs of motherboard and also tl866 programmer, i did a dump and had a look with some intel tools that i downloaded from here, but i’m new in such procedures…
see the schematic http://laptopblue.vn/download3.php?id=1586.
so, is there any chance to write down the keys again in new chip ?
I already had a look at the dump with intel FIT tool
can you explain me how the system works ? i would like to know a bit more on how they program and match the pch with bios
You cannot “transfer” the FPF from one PCH to another. The fact that the system boots though might be a good sign of recovery. Do you have the SPI dump from before you replaced the PCH? If yes, compress and upload/attach/link it. Run “MEInfo -verbose” tool from Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools and show us the output to hopefully see the current state of the PCH fuses.
You tried programming the clean Bios and EC?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/…8#post-10851521
You have neither run MEInfo -verbose nor followed the CleanUp Guide.
did the verbose and clear, post appears faster but bootguars is still active, i did the "Boot Guard Profile 0 - No_FVME", so pls check dumps i did
FPT POSTCLEAr.TXT (806 Bytes)
MEINFO - AfterAnyChange.TXT (7.67 KB)
MEINFO-POSTCLEAR.TXT (8.6 KB)
The log after the CleanUp Guide looks proper. Your issue should be gone now.
It shows post faster, as use to do before i replaced the pch, but the boot still do not work… im not able to boot uefi and legacy in FPT log you see bootguard enabled… something is not good yet, let me know if i could do any other test or config, regards
Looks like you burned Bootguard active on the PCH again, time to replace once more 
The PCH that you replaced was already FPF-committed and that is a permanent action which was done from the OEM of the machine it originally came with for use with their own only. You have two choices. Either find a non-committed PCH or a PCH which was removed from the same system model.
But it was a brand new pch, how could they burn the fpfs? Could it be caused by me turning that on with the original me bios region ? Btw, when i buy a pch they send it with no information, a sealed one should be a non comited ? Can’t i write the keys to get that boot guard working ? I’v pai USD $100 on that chip, i’m about to cry, LOL
Intel gives new PCH to OEM/ODMs only, under NDA. Everything that is circulating outside of that is usually taken from end-user systems which were salvaged. So it wouldn’t be surprising if that PCH was taken from some other system which happened to have committed BootGuard FPF. Your system does not use BootGuard. MEInfo does report an ID mismatch but maybe it is something which is checked by/through the BIOS. Since Dell does provide a stock full SPI/BIOS image for your system, I suggest you try to flash that via the programmer and see if it helps. The image is attached. Also, show us the outputs of “fpt -readfpf” and “fpt -readfpfattrib”. I think you need to run “fpt -vars” first to see the FPF names and then enter them at the “readfpf” and “readfpfattrib” commands.
VAS00A16.rar (3.29 MB)
PCH should be $12-15 maybe a bit more last I’ve seen for sale, nothing near $100 or even $50 Buy one on ebay from China, ask seller to ensure no FPF burned in before shipment
* edit @Dan_422 - Hey Dan! I found your thread again after PM, now I know what we’re talking about. Give me the PCH info and I’ll see if I can find you one on ebay cheap.
Did you replace yourself, or someone did for you? If someone did for you, that may be why price is so high, 20% for the chip 80% for their time/work etc.
Try what plutomaniac suggested above, you might get lucky and it’s fixed!
i paid that much because here in Brazil one guy only had it in hands to deliver imediatly, i had sold that notebook when it got in trouble, now i lost the sell, but no problem, since i solve the issue all will be fine… i did the replace by miself, i have bga machines etc… i will check for a new pch from china
I understand. Yes, best bet now is to buy cheap, ask for please no burned PCH Fuses, and wait for long China delivery.
I bought another chipset from china, did the procedure to clean ME of bios file, now that is working. But i don’t know if the old chip came with burned fpf or it burned in first run due to the bios being in original settings (for first chip i didn’t clean that before trying to boot),so for new chip i have started the mobo with me cleanned bios to avoid that possibility, wdyt ?