ProBook 4540s - he starts when he wants ME related problem I think

Hi,

I posted in this forum a long time ago and I saw that in Device Manager or on macOS, IMEI device is not present at all so maybe it’s corrupt. I also found a user with the same problem (power on the power LED blinks and then turns off and then turn on sometimes AND turbo boost doesn’t work on battery) like mine on another HP model 65xx (if I remember right) and his ME was corrupted or something like that. So, what’s the solution to ME related problems ? What can I try ? Reflash via DOS, reset via some key commbinations ? I read something here but I am not exactly sure what I need to do.


Intel(R) MEInfo Version: 8.1.56.1541
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2014, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.


FW Status Register1: 0x00004181
FW Status Register2: 0x16460100

CurrentState: Init
ManufacturingMode: Disabled
FlashPartition: Valid
OperationalState: Bring Up
InitComplete: Initializing
BUPLoadState: Success
ErrorCode: Debug Error
ModeOfOperation: Normal
ICC: No valid OEM data, ICC not programmed
PhaseStatus: UNKNOWN


HECI device is found to be disabled.

Windows OS Version : 6.2.9200 “”
OS BIOS Support : UEFI

Table Type 0 ( 0x 00 ) found, size of 24 (0x 18 ) bytes

Windows OS Version : 6.2.9200 “”
OS BIOS Support : UEFI

Table Type 0 ( 0x 00 ) found, size of 24 (0x 18 ) bytes
Table Type 1 ( 0x 01 ) found, size of 27 (0x 1B ) bytes
Table Type 2 ( 0x 02 ) found, size of 16 (0x 10 ) bytes
Table Type 3 ( 0x 03 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 4 ( 0x 04 ) found, size of 42 (0x 2A ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 13 (0x 0D ) bytes
Table Type 10 ( 0x 0A ) found, size of 6 (0x 06 ) bytes
Table Type 11 ( 0x 0B ) found, size of 5 (0x 05 ) bytes
Table Type 13 ( 0x 0D ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 16 ( 0x 10 ) found, size of 23 (0x 17 ) bytes
Table Type 17 ( 0x 11 ) found, size of 34 (0x 22 ) bytes
Table Type 17 ( 0x 11 ) found, size of 34 (0x 22 ) bytes
Table Type 19 ( 0x 13 ) found, size of 31 (0x 1F ) bytes
Table Type 20 ( 0x 14 ) found, size of 35 (0x 23 ) bytes
Table Type 22 ( 0x 16 ) found, size of 26 (0x 1A ) bytes
Table Type 32 ( 0x 20 ) found, size of 20 (0x 14 ) bytes
Table Type 41 ( 0x 29 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 41 ( 0x 29 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 137 ( 0x 89 ) found, size of 12 (0x 0C ) bytes
Table Type 127 ( 0x 7F ) found, size of 4 (0x 04 ) bytes

Error 9458: Communication error between application and Intel(R) ME module (FW Update client)

Error 9459: Internal error (Could not determine FW features information)

PS C:\Users\Max\Desktop\Windows64> ./fptw64 -dumplock

Intel (R) Flash Programming Tool. Version: 8.1.20.1309
Copyright (c) 2007 - 2012, 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)


Lock Settings.
=======================
Host CPU master: 00 00 0B 0A
ME region master: 00 00 0D 0C
GBE region master: 18 01 08 08
FPT Operation Passed

Intel (R) Flash Programming Tool. Version: 8.1.20.1309
Copyright (c) 2007 - 2012, 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)

— Flash Image Information –
Signature: VALID
Number of Flash Components: 1
Component 1 - 8192KB (65536Kb)
Regions:
Descriptor - Base: 0x000000, Limit: 0x000FFF
BIOS - Base: 0x300000, Limit: 0x7FFFFF
ME - Base: 0x001000, Limit: 0x2FFFFF
GbE - Not present
PDR - Not present
Master Region Access:
CPU/BIOS - ID: 0x0000, Read: 0x0B, Write: 0x0A
ME - ID: 0x0000, Read: 0x0D, Write: 0x0C
GbE - ID: 0x0118, Read: 0x08, Write: 0x08

Total Accessable SPI Memory: 8192KB, Total Installed SPI Memory : 8192KB

Hi,

You need to find a way to unlock read/write access to the ME region of the SPI/BIOS chip ([Guide] Unlock Intel Flash Descriptor Read/Write Access Permissions for SPI Servicing), dump its contents and then follow [Guide] Clean Dumped Intel Engine (CS)ME/(CS)TXE Regions with Data Initialization

If I relfash the BIOS chip via Programmer it should work ? I found the full file. 8 MB BIOS file. Lost_N_BIOS said that the 5 MB file from HP is just an update file that’s encrypted.

║ HP PROBOOK 4540S.bin (1/1) ║
╟──────────────────────────┬────────────────────╢
║ Family │ ME ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Version │ 8.1.0.1248 ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Release │ Production ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Type │ Region, Extracted ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ SKU │ 1.5MB ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Security Version Number │ 1 ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Version Control Number │ 2 ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Production Version │ Yes ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Date │ 2012-06-21 ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Size │ 0x17D000 ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Flash Image Tool │ 8.1.0.1248 ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Chipset Support │ CPT/PBG/PPT ║
╟──────────────────────────┼────────────────────╢
║ Latest │ No ║
╚══════════════════════════╧════════════════════╝

If you have a programmer then things become much easier so of course use it. The current BIOS update from HP for HP ProBook 4540s Notebook PC (sp88392) is not encrypted, it just contains the BIOS region of the SPI chip only, not the full image that you need for FPT/Programmer use in order to fix ME firmware corruption. Dump your current SPI image via the programmer, follow [Guide] Clean Dumped Intel Engine (CS)ME/(CS)TXE Regions with Data Initialization and then flash the output back.

I don’t have it but I found it at a local ebay like store so I will buy it tomorrow. For the guide, I use D or D2 section ? and which tool I use for dumping the BIOS and flash it back ?

Pre-CSE (D1). The software depends on the programmer of course but I cannot be of help on that regard.

Thank you ! Great ! I tought that there is another software like made by Intel or HP.

Thanks again and keep the topic open for 2-3 days if I encounter any other issues. I don’t want to spam the forum

This is good right:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SOIC8-SO…286e3c00eD0d2b

?

Yes, that kit is good, as long as you get the programmer + the SOIC8 test clip cable too.
Here is software you will need - https://www.sendspace.com/file/gtcmvd

Before you write anything to the board, be certain that you have a verified and valid backup
Valid means you have opened the file in hex and made sure it was not all 00’s or FF’s, and that it opens in BIOS tools without issue and looks at least similar to the stock BIOS (not exact)
If you are unsure about your backup, upload for someone to check before you write anything to the chip, that way you don’t loose your board details such as serial, UUID, LAN MAC ID etc

Topics remain open forever here, so no need to worry any will close on you

I solved the problem using the tutorial above, one youtube video to see how I connect the pins, and software suite provided by Lost_N_BIOS.

GUYS, thanks a lot !!! Without you I was paying over 80 dollars for a BIOS reflash or diagnostic services at a repair shop !!!

Great you got it @EuroTy - So ME is fixed now, and not showing N/A? Hope so!

I did not checked that but I can assure you that the random power on cycles are gone and the Intel Management Driver shows up in Device Manager and also macOS.

Sounds like it’s fixed then!



Intel(R) MEInfo Version: 8.1.56.1541
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2014, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

CurrentState: Normal
ManufacturingMode: Disabled
FlashPartition: Valid
OperationalState: M0 with UMA
InitComplete: Complete
BUPLoadState: Success
ErrorCode: No Error
ModeOfOperation: Normal
ICC: Valid OEM data, ICC programmed

GBE Region does not exist.
Intel(R) ME code versions:

BIOS Version: 68IRR Ver. F.67
MEBx Version: 0.0.0.0000
Gbe Version: Unknown
VendorID: 8086
PCH Version: 4
FW Version: 8.1.70.1590
UNS Version: Not Available
LMS Version: Not Available
MEI Driver Version: 11.0.0.1172
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: Disabled
Host Write Access to ME: Disabled
SPI Flash ID #1: EF4017
SPI Flash ID VSCC #1: 20052005
SPI Flash BIOS VSCC: 20050000
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


I think that is okay. What do you say ?


Perfect