[Request] How to enable greyed out BIOS options

when i set “Pasword on Boot” - i get a Password prompt immediately - iam not able to enter Setup or boot in WIndows, becouse - there i cannot pass the prompt with empty password an Enter :frowning: there must be a password in the bios saved from clevo that i dont know :frowning:

now currently my notebook is bricked, and i must hope, that i get the bios defaults when i unplug the accu and the bios battery cross fingers

edit
puuhhh
its back to life…clear cmso by remove bios battery has work :slight_smile:

God you got it going again with clear CMOS! That is strange how you can’t pass the password screen when it’s enabled, but then when it’s disabled it still pops up, and then allows you to bypass. Very wrong!
Did you purchase this system new, or used from place like ebay or some other re-sale place? Maybe it came from corporate place where they did use a pass?
Well I think we could get it fixed, if you had a programmer, using a few different ways (program back clean stock, or several edits I could make to disable the prompt). None of those are safe to do without a programmer in your hand, so for now I guess we’ll have to forget about this and get on with the BIOS unlock.

I will be working on this over next few days, sorry it’s so slow, each edit for every setting has to be done in hex one by one (with 2-5 edits per setting), no software or GUI to enable/disable settings, all has to be done by hand so it takes some time to do.

* Edit @M249 - send me FPT dump of current BIOS >> Go to this thread and in the section “C” download the ME System Tools Package V9.1
Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools

Once downloaded, inside you will find Flash Programming Tool folder, and inside that a Windows or Win/Win32 folder.
Select that Win folder, hold shift and press right click, choose open command window here (Not power shell).
At the command prompt type the following command and send me the created file >> FPTw.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin

Notebook was purchased from ebay

Here the biosreg file:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil…335862967861444

So it could have came from some corporate usage before you got it, maybe this is the issue with the password oddities.
I looked around for password issues and that model, and nothing caught my eye as being a “Normal issue/bug” for this model like your experiencing, so I assume it has to come from it’s previous use.
Thanks for the dump, I will look and see if I can find the pass or maybe remove it etc.

but why can i enter the Bios without enter a password in the password prompt? I have flashed the BIOS full with afudos biosname.rom /P /B /N /E /K

Right! Yes, it’s messed up somehow - these are the only two ways a password should be applied (And your BIOS it’s disabled by default at the setting below the password application fields too)
“User” password is a “power-on+BIOS” type password = is a power on password and must be entered to boot or enter Setup/BIOS
"Admin/Super" password is a “Enter BIOS” only type password = this only limits access to Setup/BIOS and is only asked for when entering Setup/BIOS
Either one would require a password, but yours seems to be Admin/Super since you’re only asked at BIOS entry, and since it’s asking that means enabled while the setting clearly is disabled, and it’s asking meaning clearly it wants a pass but then accepts blank.
So to me that says something is not functioning properly, the way it looks to me you shouldn’t be asked due to it’s disabled. Then once enabled at the setting, User Password is requested instead which you couldn’t get past.
And even if both enabled to prompt for pass, if a blank pass is set, then that disables the prompt any time I’ve ever seen.

/P /B /N /E /K does not cover all BIOS. Without knowing how it was all originally programmed, the only way I know to flash entire BIOS is via FPT (after FD unlocked via pinmod, or Programmer reflash) or entire BIOS via programmer, there’s too many variables/regions/areas to flash with AFU Flash.
And you can’t blindly use them all since some will cause it to fail to flash if missing and it would take a while to narrow out all the incompatible ones, plus that way would cause you to loose some board specific data probably.
BIOS region and GbE can be fully reflashed via FPT, this only leaves FD, ME which do not have the password in them so not really a concern here.

Do you have a dump of the entire BIOS via programmer? If yes, it is 6MB, or 8MBt? Send me that and I will unlock FD for you, then you can reflash everything via FPT from now on if you want.
Or, is there 2MB chip and 4MB chip? If this, can you dump one at a time with the way you have your programmer setup, or not? I see in the ME FW settings, there should be a 2MB chip and 4MB chip, but you’d have to confirm by looking at the board if you can’t dump one by one with the way you have programmer setup now.
Or, this would have to wait until you had a SOIC8 test clip. We can still unlock the FD and reflash entire BIOS via programmer, I just meant you can’t send me each chip dumped separately if you can’t distinguish with your current setup and you don’t have SOIC8 test clip.

Please test this BIOS (For password removed or not), this is “Stock” BIOS region extracted only (all previous mods gone for this test) reflash via FPT >> FPTw.exe -bios -rewrite -f StockExtract.bin
Please note, this has cleared NVRAM (one volume missing) + one stock NVRAM volume not populated with board-ran data, so while testing this BIOS you will not have board specific details (Serial, UUID etc).
If this works, and the password issue is gone, then we’ll have to find a full proper dump from your board that does not have this password issue, then I can port in all the mods and your board specific details.
Once done with this test, reflash your original FPT dump you made previously, using this command (No -rewrite here) >> FPTw.exe -bios -f biosreg.bin
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil…170942844812022

While I was digging around, I seen a CPU ratio limit as a sole entry in NVRAM, are you limited to 14x or 20x for CPU multi? If yes, does your CPU actually allow more than that, if so we can test changing that later too.

sorry for late reply…

IT WORKS :slight_smile: i flashed you testbios here with FPTw and i can enter Bios without a password prompt. There is a Supervisor password under Security Tap, and i can enter a new Password. On Next reboot when i enter Bios, i get a password prompt and i must enter my new set password… funny thing is - i can also enter the bios when i do not enter a password in the prompt… but when i enter a wrong passwort i get a invalid password message…weired thing … but it works :slight_smile: the Supervisorpassword is gone away :slight_smile:
and i can fine clear my set password and then - no more prompts will show when i entering bios :slight_smile:


with the CPU… there is no limits under Windows, it will use turbo boost up to 3.2Ghz.
there is a limitation in accu mode (=without external Powersupply) - it will limmit the max frequency to 1.3Ghz, and GPU is limmiting also to lower clockrates…i think its ok, the thiny Li-Ion accu cant handle much power draw…

@M249 - Great this fixes it! So you can also now set blank and make it go away totally, correct?

ON CPU, what is standard non-turbo multiplier you see in windows with CPU-z?

So, now I need to find where in your BIOS the original password issue comes from, so I can remove. First test, one of your NVRAM volumes back in each BIOS here, so I can narrow down which the password issue comes from, if any of these.
Please test each, see if you can disable password (whatever you need to do, to make it not prompt you for password)/ If all three of these, no pass, and you can set blank pass/remove the prompt at BIOS entry, then I know issue is not coming from NVRAM area but inside main BIOS volume.

Once we nail this down, then we can sort out all the BIOS menus. And to think, we almost gave up on this thinking we could not remove it without you having flash programmer
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil…468707284085924

so, could i flash all “new” Bios’es with the FPTw flash programmer?

i have testet the previously bios more and found out - when i set a supervisor password, and wil re-enter the Bios - i get a password prompt. In this, i can input nothing (blank) or the password i have set. When i enter nothing and only press Enter, i can change many things in Bios, but things e.g. TPM, Intel Rapid Boot are grayed out.
But when i enter the Bios with type in the passwort prompt the password i set - then all things can be changed, incl. UEFI Boot! wow


strange programming from Clevo xD but it works :smiley:

Yes, flash each current test one like this >> FPTw.exe -bios -rewrite -f name.bin

Then once done, put back whatever FPT backup you have that you want to use for a bit while we tinker more with BIOS
FPTw.exe -bios -f name.bin

That is strange how that works with the password and settings, it must be logging you into the BIOS as User and then Super at different times, they do have different grayed out or suppressed (hidden from you) variables in the BIOS.
So, if you make super password blank, it works, and no prompt, but then you get a lot of grayed out settings? Only if you set actual password (not blank) then you have to enter prompt each time, but have more visible / not grayed out settings

no, i can see also all options and modify those options when the supervisor password is disabled (set blank password to clear it).

when i set a password like "test" and i re-enter the bios and dont type in anything in the password prompt - then i see all options but cannot modify many things like UEFI or TPM.
When i enter the bios and type in "test" in the prompt, i can also change all things fine. Then iam was also able to clear the supervisor password. And after that when i re-enter the Bios, i can get in without a password and can also modify all things fine :slight_smile:


sorryfor my bad english…only german school english ^^

Thanks for explaining again, I understand now. That’s how it should work, so this is good.
When yours in the BIOS with settings visible like this, do you also see all the ones that were originally hidden that I started to unhide for you, or did you just mean in general the BIOS settings are grayed out unless you enter a password then you can change them (the limited original BIOS settings shown always)

UEFI is unhide and can configured by me :slight_smile:

hmm…i think, in you other Bios where many things unlock, they should also many things unhide now…

Did you test last 3 BIOS I send you yet, from post #28? Need to know results of each so we can move forward towards final unlock BIOS. Is your Ethernet LAN working on the BIOS from post #26?

not yet…but what is when the bios is stuck somewhere, and with FPT flasher it have un-stuck ?
is it possible to flash the original bios with FPT ? i will test this and see, if the password prompt show again or not.