[Request] Bricked Alienware x51 R1 Bios

@M3TAL


Yesss-ss-s! Without clip.
Only you must define conformity pins jack and chip. Use multimetr.
Good luck.

Found a technical manual :slight_smile:

Screenshot_20220206-203727.png

I have done several reads and all came back identical

read 1.zip (3.1 MB)

read result.PNG_2.png

Only gone and done it :slight_smile:
I cleared chip.
Found a.14bin and programmed it. Verified came back ok

I then reinstalled motherboard and it actually booted to a14!! Hahahaha

It allowed me to enter service tag and I set to uefi and am now back in windows.

Thanks guys so so so so so much I really appreciate it

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Good to hear that you succeeded.

Bios static parts were a 100% identical to A14 in your dump, so error might’ve been in NVRAM (1st NVRAM not properly emptied), ME seems not to be touched by update.

Machine specific info is in first padding of bios region, but I think for a machine as old as this one serial possibly might not be relevant…

16.jpg

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@M3TAL
Our Congratulations!!!
You can flash my modded bios.

Thanks again. Guess I’m back in the master bedroom again haha

Hello M3TAL!! Sorry to bother you mate, but I have an X51 R1 and I had the same problem with the BIOS as you.

Can you confirm me if this chip is the correct one? I see another MX 25L512 chip (normally used for bios) on the motherboard and I have doubts. When making the backup of this MX chip, the file that I have exported occupies 64KB and the BIOS .bin occupies 8MB and does not fit into this type of chip… the CH341A programmer tells me that the size is too large…

In the event that the chip is the one you indicate in the photo (with the green sticker), how did you hook the clamp? the turret right next to it prevents me from grabbing all 8 pins. Did you remove it? I’m afraid of damaging the mb…

Thanks in advance!

Check out this video he explains why download files from the manufacturer are too large and how to extract the bios from the package

Hi,

Yes you attach the clip to the no.2 labeled you will have to remove the spacer (thats partially circled) as other told me, make sure you get a few solid reads and compare for any diffrences prior to clearing and flashing. I’m sure the others on here will be able to help if you make your own thred as this one is quite old now :slight_smile:

Hey I was wondering if anyone is still responding to this thread. I did the exact same thing to a used x51 r1. It froze during the bios flash from a12 to a14. After that when it powers in it just gives 2 beeps. I bought a ch341a programmer and tried to reflash my bios with the 3 options in this forum. No luck with post. when I use the a14.bin it powers on but no video and no post. When I tried the a14mod.bin it powers on for a second then powers back off then just repeats. Does anyone have any ideas on why these bios file are not working. Or does anyone have a dump of A12.bin? Also, I don’t get any errors during the read, erase, or flashing of the 25Q64FV chip. I’d appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Did you backup your own firmware before flashing the chip? If so attach the dump here or post a link to it.

Awesome thanks for your response! I did backup the file before trying to flash a new bios. I’ve shared it with google drive. Also I did try to reflash the original bios and the 2 beeps are gone but it powers on and never POSTs.

Thanks. The file you linked is been a firmware somtime but it’s corrupted in every region: Bios region not recognizable, no µcodes recognizable, no ME region with readable structure.

Compared to a structured firmware from same type:

I’d recommend to dump the actual content of your spi chip until you at least get 2 a 100% identical dumps which aren’t all “00” or “FF”. Please attach this valid dump.

I think you have a problem/ incompatibility with your flashing process. And no- this kind of corruption wouldn’t be caused by a Dell bios update.

Ok that makes sense. I did see that in a post from earlier. Thanks for the info and advice. I’ll try to reconnect the clip and try a few rom dumps. Thanks again.