[quote="Lost_N_BIOS, post:15, topic:34953"]
@unique1188 - No file attached there, so I can't even check what you've dumped
Use software version 1.34 and Gigadevice GD25Q128 Read, verify, then save Then do exact same with ASProgrammer 1.41 using the GD25Q128C ID
Then zip both using max compression and send to me. Both have been confirmed working on your chip ID, but there is a few chips with that same ID under different actual ID's
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@Lost_N_BIOS Hello!
I have downloaded the apps and extracted my bios file. CH341A v1.34. v1.29 both gave me errors while verifying. ASProgrammer 1.41 worked with no issues when used GD25Q128C ID I also used Flashrom on both Linuxmint and Ubuntu 20.04 just to make sure I get the right files.
All files were read and then verified with no issues. I made an archive afterwards using the max compression as you instructed. You will find them here >>https://ufile.io/jqo4kim9 Folders also contain screenshots to give you the idea how I got the files extracted.
@unique1188 - I did not mention to use 1.29 Please dump BIOS as mentioned and send me these two files. You do not need recovery.bin and you should stop trying to recover/do anything to the BIOS until you do this below and wait for me to reply Otherwise you’re possibly going to loose important data that is not easy to recover or put back into it’s proper place.
So 1.34 gave you errors? That is unexpected, but at least we can now compare flashrom and asprogrammer dump
Sorry, I was just now reading my initial reply on page one, about the “Advanced Settings” thing, and we could have tested changing that via grub w/ setup_var and seen outcome. Sorry I didn’t think to mention this until now, I think I meant to add at that reply, but it got so long and I forgot
All files you sent @ post#21 = 100% match, so if write works perfectly for any of those, the same as read has, then use whichever method is easiest for you to use
However!! Is this bricked BIOS now at this point (And at point of dump of file at post #16 too)?? I ask because these files are all corrupted BIOS, and that was not expected, so unsure what’s going on here! Ohh, I guess so, reading above! How did that happen, you shouldn’t have been writing anything yet! Ohh yeah, BIOS is all corrupted, as is ME FW too. Kinda looks same as your original failed dump at #16 too - whatever version you dumped with there, was already corrupted too, aside from possibly bad software version dump
Also, I checked, FPRR is disabled everywhere, but BIOS Lock was enabled in many places (45+ places = now disabled), so you may be able to FPT BIOS region dump and reflash now, hopefully! Please test to confirm (FPT Spoiler steps #1 + #2, use a new different BIOS region name so you know it’s new again) If you still get error 167, the FPRR is set in a BIOS Module, and I can’t find it, I checked
Erase, then blank check, then open file and write/verify. Unless using flashrom, if using that do whatever is standard procedure
Once back up and running let me know! Then we can do unlock, OR test that “Advanced Settings” thing first if you want?
Hello @Lost_N_BIOS ! How are you doing. I hope you have had a good weekend. Mine was kinda unsure as laptop was not booting. It is all behind now! Thanks to you it is up and running.
No, you did not mention v1.29 it was linked to the GUIDE I was following. I now have the all recent versions including 1.34. However, I am getting errors while VERIFY command is running. Probably Win 10 related issue as mentioned from other users. And now I remember and keep in mind not doing OEM/HP recovery as it deletes UUID and MAC etc.
No problem. Now we know we can try this out. Let me know what needs to be done via grub and setup_var. And enable "Advanced Settings"
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As I mentioned on #16 post I might have pressed wrong key while using different versions of CH341A program and following the guide for another version. And corrupt the BIOS in the process. I am sorry you had to go through that files and rebuild bios file.
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@Lost_N_BIOS you are the true savior. The laptop booted after have flashed the bios you provided in the link. Thank you. REALLY
I have tried flashing the new BIOS file you provided in below order: 1. ASProgrammer 1.41: normal read>erase>write>verify procedure. Gave verification error. I did not try the unlocked/unsecured method. 2. CH341A programmer v1.34: with detection no issues. read>erase>check blank>write>verify. Same error while verifying. Memory contents do not match. 3. Flashrom on Ubuntu 20.04: Everything worked as intended. No issues at all.
After flashing on UBUNTU I booted my laptop. It immediately opened up the HP BIOS Recovery screen. I could not stop the process as I was afraid to corrupt the BIOS again. There was no recovery USB connected. Perhaps it has been saved into somewhere else.I am attaching the pics I made during the recovery process thinking it may be helpful in the future.
I have tried FPT both DOS via USB and WIN32 version from ADMIN CMD with new bios region name but got the ERROR 167 again. Then I went back to UBUNTU once more and flashed the bios file you have made once more. This time before booting I removed HDD with system recovery image and NVMe SYSTEM SSD. Laptop did not boot and CAPS LOCK blinked again. I put back only the NVMe SSD with OS next time. When turned on it again started the HP BIOS Recovery screen like last time. Once booted I checked Intel FPT again and it gave me the same error as before.
I believe you are right about FPRR is being set in BIOS module. I am not sure now whether I still have the BIOS file_unique1188-RebuildGoMEFDNVALLBL2MM you updated or was it replaced by HP ORIGINAL bios.bin during first boot. So what’s next now? If I have done something wrong let know in the next response, please so I will not repeat it again. Should I install Win7 if CH341A apps more friendly with it or can I just stick to Flashrom on UBUNTU, because flashrom gave no errors so far.
Thank you very very much again for reviving my laptop from coma. I was really worried because I need it for my for my university as all lectures are now online over Zoom. I will be waiting for updates from your side and wish you a great week ahead. BTW, do you still need the dump files because I recovered from the one you gave me.
If you get verify errors, it’s due to software version probably not compatible, so don’t use that version. The info I had on 1.34 may be wrong, maybe only read is OK (or not), and maybe only ASProgrammer is working for this chip ID It’s OK, BIOS rebuild wasn’t too hard, because I had your previous FPT BIOS region dump, so all I had to do was unlock FD, update and clean ME FW (using stock as base for both), and then do the changes I made for BIOS Lock (Sorry, if I was thinking, I should have done “Advanced Setting” thing then too) You’re welcome, glad to hear BIOS is now booting properly!!
Flashing BIOS does not involve read?? >> Erase, blank check, open BIOS file >> Write/verify, that is how you do a write with programmer, read/verify is only used if you are reading chip contents.
Sounds like this system has HP Sure Start and BIOS is going to auto recover anytime we edit certain regions of the BIOS (or any) This is common with HP, it’s EVIL, and cannot be bypassed. Google around for your model and SureStart or Sure Start and see if you find it mentioned. If we can’t get around auto BIOS recovery, then the BIOS I sent you with simple edits mentioned above is not even being used (This BIOS Lock is still enabled, what I sent you was written over with BIOS recovery that is auto invoked once boot block restored when you programmed in BIOS)
Sadly, I see HP OEM SureStart in several posts at first page of google results! So we cannot mod this BIOS in normal BIOS editing ways, you can only try to see if you can change settings individually with setup_var
We can try changing the advanced setting via Grub/setup_var, follow this guide but start at step #6, I will give you info from 1-5 for “Advanced Setting” Option below [GUIDE] Grub Fix Intel FPT Error 280 or 368 - BIOS Lock Asus/Other Mod BIOS Flash Alt boot to grub when no boot to EFI on exit page - [Help needed] Hidden Advanced menu Bios HP Z1 J52_0274.BIN (2) << you will need to use this method, since you do not have launch/exit to shell, do only steps #1-2 from the additional link at this linked post, then follow image Or stovorsen will help you, he explains it easier/better than I do I think.
Advanced Setting Variable to change >> 0x475
So, at grub prompt you will type the following, then hit enter, case sensitive >> setup_var 0x475 0x1 Then reboot, enter BIOS, does it look any different??
Let me try what you have intructed and I will get back to you with proper and full response to your post. Will talk to @stovorsen as well. Have a nice evening/day!? Which time zone are you?
All noted about v1.34 and ASProgrammer. I may test them on Win7 once I have time and keep you posted.
I would love to learn this FD ME FW thing. Will you please show me the guide and tools to test it out.
I do not think it does, seems like I took one extra step there but Flashrom did read the BIOS when I gave the command -w to write. Well seeing this HP Sure Start was a real bummer. So sad, I hope someone finds a way around it.
So I read all the instructions and created another USB drive. I actually had one working with shell.efi in it. First I used only setup_var 0x475 0x1. 0x0 changed to 0x1. Restarted, checked BIOS no Advanced Settings. Then I used setup_var 0x9F6 0x0 to remove BIOS Lock. It changed from 0x1 to 0x0. setup_var 0x475 0x1. was already 0x1. Rebooted>BIOS> Still no Advanced Settings. No idea what else needs to be done. Tried couple of more times after logging into WIN and rebooting. NO results. I did not flash with FPT because there is no modbios.bin file for me. This is the EFI i was using, attached below.
EDIT May 6 2020 Good morning, @Lost_N_BIOS ! I came across this post HP Pavillion 17g121wm AMI Aptio V modding trials of @MrPopz when I searched the forum. Do you think my case is the same? Although nothing mentioned of HP SURE START on my BIOS like others and it also doesn’t have password protection enabled. I read your answers to the post and thinking how to proceed further. I hope you have got some more tricks up your sleeves by now as those posts were from last year. PS. Finally I am a proper member of this forum and can now post links
Yes, HP Sure Start sucks! Me and another guy here tried to find a way around it for a few weeks on another board, no luck and we could never find the source of the BIOS it was recovering with either. So it must be stored in some unusual chip, we dumped everything possible and couldn’t find it.
Sorry, I don’t see how the linked thread is related to yours, different model and nothing there helps here. Same sure start crap there too, some HP have this and some do not, those that do you are stuck on stock BIOS period. As soon as I looked up your model in google with surestart/sure start, first pages of results with either had users complaining and discussing it, so it’s there on this model. Not all have related BIOS options you can change regarding this, but even those that do you cannot disable it for flashing in mod BIOS.
We can do a test to confirm 100% your BIOS has Sure Start and will auto recover any time we flash in mod BIOS, do the following and send me current BIOS region dump. I will edit this few ways, and then you flash back using step #2, and on reboot we’ll see if it auto-recovers BIOS again or not.
If you have already modified the BIOS in ANY way, you will need to re-flash it back to factory defaults using factory method (NOT FPT)!!!
If you do not have Intel ME drivers installed, install them now from your system driver download page, then start over here after reboot. Check your BIOS’ main page and see if ME FW version is shown. If not then > DOWNLOAD HWINFO64 HERE <
Once HWINFO is open, look at the large window on the left side, expand motherboard, and find the ME area. Inside that section is the ME Firmware version. Take note of the version. (ie. write it down or get a screenshot)
Once you have that, go to the thread linked below, and in the section “C.2” find and download the matching ME System Tools Package for your system. (ie if ME FW version = 10.x get V10 package, if 9.0-9.1 get V9.1 package, if 9.5 or above get V9.5 package etc) > DOWNLOAD " ME System Tools " packages HERE <
Once downloaded, inside you will find Flash Programming Tool folder, and then inside that a Windows or Win/Win32 folder (NOT x64). Highlight that Win/Win32 folder, then hold shift and press right click. Choose “open command window here” (Not power shell! >> * See Registry file below *).
If you get an error, reply to this post with a screenshot of it, OR write down the EXACT command entered and the EXACT error given.
((If “open command window here” does not appear, look for the “Simple Registry Edit” below…))
Now you should be at the command prompt. You are going to BACKUP the factory un-modified firmware, so type the following command: Command: " FPTw.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin "
>> Attach the saved "biosreg.bin ", placed into a compressed ZIP/RAR file, to your next post!!! <<
Right after you do that, try to write back the BIOS Region dump and see if you get any error(s). Command: " FPTw.exe -bios -f biosreg.bin " ^^ This step is important! Don’t forget! ^^
If you get an error, reply to this post with a screenshot of it, OR write down the EXACT command entered and the EXACT error given.
Here is a SIMPLE REGISTRY EDIT that adds “Open command window here as Administrator” to the right click menu, instead of Power Shell Double-click downloaded file to install. Reboot after install may be required > CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CMD PROMPT REGISTRY ENTRY <
If the windows method above does NOT work for you… Then you may have to copy all contents from the Flash Programming Tool \ DOS folder to the root of a Bootable USB disk and do the dump from DOS ( DOS command: " FPT.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin " )
Yes, I meant exactly this one. Thank you. I am going to learn it. Yeah, if I also have HP Sure Start that would really suck. Let’s check it then. I am attaching the new FPT dump and screengrab of that same error once more. Will be waiting for your edits and further instructions. Thank you very much and best luck in your mods, @Lost_N_BIOS. Have nice one!
@unique1188 - Since you cannot flash via FPT without other edits, maybe just simpler to send me new programmer dump of your BIOS and then I will make a few test edits and you program back and then see if on bootup if auto-recovers original BIOS or not. Sorry for delay, I just noticed this tab was open and I haven’t replied for a month!
I am actually really interested in this, i am using the AN012DX model of this laptop, but i have looked at other laptops with the same chipset and it seems they all use the same or similar bios. so i’m hoping this will work for me too.
No problem at all. I know you are busy person. I faced another issue of my own as well. Right now the laptop I was using to flash BIOS with a programmer is not booting up after cleaning up the dust inside. Probably did something wrong, not sure, or BIOS issue too. CAPS lock and NUM/Scroll lights are on. I am not getting any message on display (just black) and no sound clues (beeps) too. Need to solve this issue before going further with HP OMEN. I am again hoping for your rescue here. I searched and left a post on www.bios-mods.com to no avail, no one replied to my question. So below is the specs and files usually you need. Please separate this to its own thread if you think necessary as this laptop has INSYDE BIOS.
After reading some forums I have extracted the .fd & .rom file and copied into USB 2.0 drive and tried to recover BIOS but BIOS recovery process never initialized. It seems the .fd or .rom file must be renamed into BIOS specific name but I have no idea what that file name supposed to be. I believe you can figure that out as well.
As soon as I got this old laptop working I will dump the BIOS file of the new HP OMEN laptop. Thanks very much!
@unique1188 - Sorry to hear! Did you write to BIOS chip when this happened? If yes, did you write using same software version you had used before that you know works to write and was OK previously? If yes, did you also this time erase AND blank check, before write/verify? Did you disconnect everything again, and then reconnect it all, just to make sure nothing was connected off-center or nothing was missed being re-connected? If not, do that now in case it’s something simple like that.
The recovery method you mention, did you read it directly applied to your model? If not, it may not work, you need to find something specific to your model or at least that "family" I do not see .fd or .rom in either BIOS as a recovery type name, only 3603.bin or 3602.bin, AND both BIOS are not complete BIOS images, only partial BIOS region + some mess (ie probably not used/not part of actual BIOS) - I need to see dump from this model before we can know anything here.
You have too many links (+ attached file too) above, not sure what is what, I downloaded sp45138.exe though . Since you have flash programmer, none of that is needed to fix this, unless BIOS needs rebuilt possibly. Do you have BIOS region or flash programmer dump from before anything happened? If yes, send to me. What is BIOS chip ID? No need to waste time trying recovery methods that may or may not ever work, since you have programmer, lets fix it
I see in sp45138.exe two BIOS images (3602F21.fd + 3603F21.fd), so need some original dump from this system to know which even applies here, unless you know from previous BIOS flash which family or which BIOS by ID? And, after that, I see this recovery info specific to your system, but you need to know which applies to this system so hopefully you have dump if not make one first - https://blogs.qub.ac.uk/helpdesk/2013/07…failed-to-work/
@Lost_N_BIOS Thank you for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I never expected this issue would happen so I did not make any backups/dumps of BIOS from old laptop. And the recovery methods were not directly for my model rather for HP Pavilion DV5 1000xx family laptops or for general INSYDE BIOS revisions.
I used the above method and the link you shared for dv5. Tried renaming the 3603f21.fd file to 3603.bin, 3603.rom, just 3603.fd after opening the platform.ini file from original bios.exe. However, there was no beeps, but CAPS/NUM SCROLL LOCK flashed continuously. No bios recovery screen appeared, no self shutdown in the end either. I waited like hours, couple of times.
Then I went back to trying out the CH341A programmer, on Win10 and on Ubuntu. In both cases it had detection issues. On linux I was not able to read at all. On Win10 tried to pick couple of EON chips and read then save the DUMPs but not sure they are the right ones or any good at all. Attaching them just in case anyways. Below is the CHIP I was trying to read. I hope that is the correct BIOS chip, otherwise I must open the whole laptop again to see whether there are other BIOS chips. Let me know please.
Here are the DUMPS, not sure if they are the right ones, all from one chip but I choose different chip name every time. https://ufile.io/c28y48evc28y48ev
I will try again once you can give the right chip name from the picture. All the best!
Hello @Lost_N_BIOS@Fernando ! The issues stated on #30 and #32 have not been resolved yet. Should I create another new thread or… I really need this old Laptop working again.
@unique1188 : Since I cannot help you and Lost_N_BIOS hasn’t been online for a long time, I suspect, that you need to re-flash the latest original BIOS into your laptop. Creating a new thread wouldn’t make much sense. My sarcastic comment: A laptop with limited BIOS options is at least better than a bricked one…
It is a pity @Lost_N_BIOS not here. Yes, you are right, @Fernando :D. I have already gave up my ideas about advanced bios and just want the limited one working again. The issue is I am not able to initialize the re-flash. Laptop gives no sounds and screen is black. CAPS and SCROLL keys turned on. That’s it. I do not know whether MOBO is dead or CHIP is gone… I do have a flash programmer it would be great if someone in the forum can create the bios image for me. Who is the right person to address if Lost_N_BIOS not here?
Hello everyone, please help to revive the laptop (it does not turn on), there are suspicions about the bios. I made a dump of the original bios, but I do not know how to combine the update and my dump…
here is my dump and bios from the official hp website:
Please dump BIOS as mentioned and send me these two files. You do not need recovery.bin and you should stop trying to recover/do anything to the BIOS until you do this below and wait for me to reply
So we cannot mod this BIOS in normal BIOS editing ways, you can only try to see if you can change settings individually with setup_var
