[Request] Unlock options for Dell XPS 8930

BIOS/UEFI Modding BIOS Modding Requests
1

hi all, any chance of this bios being unlocked for extra features? I already know you need to jump pins 5 and 9 for the front panel, but any chance of getting the bios unlocked for more options? Link below:

https://dl.dell.com/FOLDER06350341M/1/XPS8930_1.1.15.exe

2

Modern Dell bios’ are very tough to mod beyond updating microcodes. [Bios region] Volume space and related stuff in Volume GUID: 61C0F511-A691-4F54-974F-B9A42172CE53 are above me at this point.

The bios you attached is old.

Your board is here.

To put the computer into service mode, it’s the unnumbered blue pin between 10 and 11. You just move it up one. Once in service mode, I would dump your full bios, save a copy as an unmodified backup, and then copy and play with another one.

You can mess around with the UEFI-Editor.

It’s easy to brick these Dells, so if you’re going to mess around, have the full backup.bin (via fptw64 -d backup.bin in service mode) and a CH341A programmer at the ready.

[Edited for clarification]

3

thanks for the reply, it sounds like it’s not really worth it. i just wanted a few features enabled like above 4g decoding or resizable bar, but i can just live with the computer as is

4

It looks like you’re 1 generation early on that 8930.

You could pull the 8940 bios and see if it’s possible/how it’s done. But that board is different than the board they were using from 8910-8930.

What makes modding Dells so difficult is, I think, a lack of direct Padding area under drivers, and related FPT protected regions. It may not be impossible, but it sure wouldn’t be easy, and it may require a programmer after hex editor work. I think you’re making the right call in leaving it be.

Late Edit 1: After looking at Kuri0’s Resizable BAR BIOS EFI Module topic, and then her github page, and then downloading the latest XPS 8930 bios upgrade from Dell and examining it with UEFITool NE, as far as enabling resizable bar is concerned:

  1. A Header only GUID search for 3C1DE39F-D207-408A-AACC-731CFB7F1DD7 brings up a cyan colored Volume and sub-Volume. I believe they’re protected.

  2. Kuri0’s ReBarDxe.ffs is too big to fit into (or at the bottom of) the Volume GUID: 5C60F367-A505-419A-859E-2A4FF6CA6FE5. Direct underlying (and cyan colored) Volume free space is too small.

  3. PCIe Resizable Base Address Register (BAR) is not a present, but hidden feature in the XPS 8930 bios. It would have to be added. That bios region is protected and the direct sub-Volume free space is too small to make adding the feature reasonably possible.

  4. However, running this through UEFI-Editor, I am seeing that Above 4GB MMIO BIOS assignment is enabled, for what that’s worth.