Hello i’m new and it’s my first post on you forum, i found it looking for an updated guide on the subject, the one i had before was on tweaktown forum.
I have an asus k46CM that needed the bios to be reprogrammed after a failed flash, flasher after many attemp said that it couldn’t find a match between the bios file and the bios chip, i sent it to a laptop repair lab who i work with and they fixed it right away with the latest 317 bios version.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/K46CM/K46CMAS317.zip
Problem is that (as i read in the numerous pages before deciding to reply and ask for help) Asus provides only 6 Meg bios which means the ME firmware isn"t contained in it and thus my machine has zero ME firmware in its bios chip.
The main symptom is the exclamation mark in the device manager with the following remark : (Code 10) STATUS_DEVICE_POWER_FAILURE
In the event viewer it’s this one :
Intel(R) Management Engine Interface driver has failed to perform handshake with the Firmware (FWSTS0: 0x00304181, FWSTS1: 0x153B0100).
Here’s the log of the ME tools as recommended on the forum :
E:\Windows64>Meinfowin64
Intel(R) MEInfo Version: 8.1.20.1309
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2012, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
Error 9458: Communication error between application and Intel(R) ME module (FW Update client)
Error 9459: Internal error (Could not determine FW features information)
E:\memanuf>memanufwin64
Intel(R) MEManuf Version: 8.1.10.1286
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2012, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
Error 9256: Communication error between host application and Intel(R) ME FW
Error 9255: Internal error
Error 9296: MEManuf Test Failed
E:\flash>fptw64 -d SPI.bin
Intel (R) Flash Programming Tool. Version: 8.1.60.1561
Copyright (c) 2007 - 2014, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
Platform: Intel(R) HM76 Express Chipset
Reading HSFSTS register… Flash Descriptor: Valid
— Flash Devices Found —
W25Q64BV ID:0xEF4017 Size: 8192KB (65536Kb)
- Reading Flash [0x800000] 8192KB of 8192KB - 100% complete.
Writing flash contents to file “SPI.bin”…
Memory Dump Complete
FPT Operation Passed
I have uploaded the SPI.bin at ( https://www.dropbox.com/s/qzkm0y9hbg9pvpr/SPI.bin?dl=0 ) just in case, now to my understanding i’m supposed to do this next in an attempt to solve the problem :
1) fptw64.exe -greset
2) FWUpdLcl64.exe -f 8.1.65.1586_1.5MB_PRD_RGN.bin
Is that correct command and file for my platform?
Is there any chances that it might render the laptop one more time bricked?
thanks in advance for your help
Hello @NHJ ,
You need to follow the cleanup guide, reflash the ME region and then install the latest OS drivers. I’ve done the cleanup myself and attached a new image for you to flash back. Use Flash Programming Tool with “fptw -f SPI_Fix.bin” followed by “fptw -greset” commands and after the reset, install the latest v11.0 INF driver from Section A of the ME thread you originally posted at. Restart the system and check if MEInfo & MEManuf now report everything as being ok.
P.S: I tagged you because your post got moved to a new thread of its own.
SPI_Fix.rar (3.56 MB)
Thanks for your quick answer,
i started the procedure as detailled in the guide but then it crossed my mind to check my SPI dumps to see if they match, to my surprise they don’t, it’d seem that they do match when they’re dumped during the same windows session, if i reboot then 5-7 differences (total commander file comparison by content) do appear between the different session dump(s) .
Is this something to be concerned or is it normal because of the broken ME engine FW?
The Engine firmware is not static and its firmware can slightly vary from one dump to another. So what you observed is totally normal and has nothing to do with whether the ME is corrupted or not.
I reflashed Yesterday and everything seems to be in working order.
I just had Error 217: Setting Global Reset Failed but after a shutdown and removal of battery for a few minutes everything seems to be in working order., no more exclamation mark with windows 10 default ME driver.
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2014, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
Intel(R) ME code versions:
BIOS Version: K46CM.317
MEBx Version: 0.0.0.0000
Gbe Version: 1.3
VendorID: 8086
PCH Version: 4
FW Version: 8.1.65.1586
UNS Version: Not Available
LMS Version: 11.0.0.1158
MEI Driver Version: 11.0.0.1157
Wireless Hardware Version: Not Available
Wireless Driver Version: Not Available
FW Capabilities: 0x01101C40
Intel(R) Capability Licensing Service - PRESENT/ENABLED
Protect Audio Video Path - PRESENT/ENABLED
Intel(R) Dynamic Application Loader - PRESENT/ENABLED
CPU Upgrade State: Not Upgradable
Cryptography Support: Disabled
Last ME reset reason: Power up
Local FWUpdate: Enabled
BIOS Config Lock: Enabled
Host Read Access to ME: Enabled
Host Write Access to ME: Enabled
SPI Flash ID #1: EF4017
SPI Flash ID VSCC #1: 20052005
SPI Flash BIOS VSCC: 20052005
BIOS boot State: Post Boot
OEM Id: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
Capability Licensing Service: Enabled
Capability Licensing Service Status: Permit info not available
OEM Tag: 0x00000000
Localized Language: Unknown
Independent Firmware Recovery: Disabled
Intel(R) MEManuf Version: 8.1.56.1541
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2014, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
MEManuf Test Passed
I’d like to upgrade the ME firmware of my asus p8z77-v lx while i’m at it, it currently has FW : 8.1.2.1318 , i’ve been able to dump the SPI.bin, no error 26.
1) does it mean that even if i screw the ME part, i can always rewrite it or reflash the ME backup i’ll have done before doing anything?
2) Could the flash of a more recent ME firmware affect what they call multi core enhancement ?
Removing all batteries & cord for 1 minute or so is equivalent to that -greset command so yes, you are good to go at the laptop. For the desktop, just use FWUpdate tool with the latest ME8 firmware from the ME thread.
1) It means that you have an unlocked Flash Descriptor which in turn allows read/write access to the ME region which is required to reflash it in case of a problem. FWUpdate tool does not care about a locked Flash Descriptor and should always be used when a simple update is needed. An unlocked FD does not mean that you can always recover, just that you have software read/write access. If you brick the ME firmware by flashing something wrong, the platform may even refuse to boot, at which point a hardware programmer will be needed.
2) I don’t understand what you mean by “multi core enhancement”. Either way, you can safely update to latter ME8 firmware versions via FWUpdate in such case.
I’ve been browsing the forum, it’s real base of knowledge and i’ll order a cheap usb programmer as recommended in case in my future experiments i make a brick of my machines.
the multicore enhancment is an Asus, asrock, gigabyte and probably other mainboard makers that tricks the intel turbo to run all four cores at the max turbo speed the processor can reach on 1 or 2 cores.
i had once purchased a second hand asrock mainboard and while the 2500K was recognized properly, no multiplicator setting was available, the ME engine version was stated as unknown in the mainboard uefi, after a little chat with asrock it appeared that they allowed boards with sandybridge CPU to be updated with a BIOS that was to be used only on ivybridge and the upgrade process was in two step, first flash the bios, then on reboot the ME part was updated BUT if you were unaware of that and removed the usb stick containing the firmware you just happened to screw up the ME firmware part, asorck offered to send for free a bios chip but i simply returned the board to the seller.
Thanks again for your help, i’ll continue to browse the forum and gain knowledge from it 
As I said, you can safely update via FWUpdate. What ASRock did was to upgrade the ME from v7 to v8 to add IVB support, that’s all.