Intel ME driver failed to perform handshake with the Firmware (FWSTS0: 0x00304181, FWSTS1: 0x153B0100)

Hi, I have a Sony VAIO laptop (SVF15213SNW) with broken ME .

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 is the log of MEManuf tool:



MEInfo reports the following:



I was able to dump the BIOS region and DESC region using fptw64 tool. However, when I tried to dump ME region I am stuck with this error:



Also, fptw64 -greset is also failing with following status:

C:\Users\Vishnu Das\Downloads\Compressed\Intel ME System Tools v8 r3\Flash Programming Tool\Windows64>fptw64.exe -greset

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)

Could not set the GlobalReset bit
Initializing HECI Client…
FW Status Register1: 0x00304181
FW Status Register2: 0x153B0100
Current ME State ( 0x1 ) : Bring Up
The ME is not is a functional state. Cannot execute ME Reboot.
The ME could not be reset from the program. The system requires a manual Power-off

Error 217: Setting Global Reset Failed

I am experiencing issues with laptop like sleep mode not working and all due to this I believe.

Anyway to fix this ? I am attaching the dumped BIOS and DESC regions.

Please help …

bios_and_desc_regions.zip (1.94 MB)

The ME firmware is corrupted and needs to be repaired/re-flashed. To do that, you need read/write access to the Engine region of the SPI/BIOS chip. Since the Flash Descriptor is locked, that is not possible.

Capture.PNG



You need to follow [Guide] Unlock Intel Flash Descriptor Read/Write Access Permissions for SPI Servicing in order to try to unlock the FD first. That’s the hardest part. Once that’s done, we can repair the ME firmware.

Thank you very much for helping :slight_smile:

I think the only way to unlock FD in my laptop is to connect pin 1 with pin 5 of ALC233 audio codec.

But do you happen to know anyother way to unlock the FD via any specific key combinations (In case of Sony laptops) or through other software means ?


If the (similar) ALC231 chip pinout is anything to go by, then yes, you need to connect pin 1 and 5.


No, I know nothing for Sony/VAIO. Only HP uses key combinations as far as I know. So you’ll need to try the other methods explained at the FD guide. Once you are able to read the ME region (fptw -me -d me.bin), we can proceed.