Travelmate 5742G ME locked

[onuracengiz]

hit an error while working on acer travelmate 5742g management engine firmware update
Intel(R) Core™ i5 CPU M 430 - Intel 5 series/3400 - HM55 mobile chipset

ME analyzer from ME System Tools v6 IBX r2 - (2018-02-09) says its an IBX 1.5mb version 6.0.31.1208

MeInfoWin result (Error 9269: Access to SPI Flash device(s) failed)

installed driver version on system is v6.2.50.1050

Intel Management Engine:Drivers, Firmware & System Tools

ME 6 1.5MB v6.2.50.1062 looks like the latest
For systems running ME 1.5MB v6 was the one i was going with
but here is the punch line (Error 8719: Firmware update cannot be initiated because Local Firmware update is disabled)

Unlock Intel Flash Descriptor Read/Write Access Permissions for SPI Servicing

Intel CSME version detection tool

latest bios installed (InsydeH2O v3.5)
bios files includes FLASHIT.EXE,MEInfo.exe,SPI.EXE,SPROM.EXE,Update.BAT in dos folder and PEW71130.exe in windows folder. so maybe there is a way around the blocks (E3. OEM/ODM Servicing Features & E4. OEM/ODM Servicing Utilities)

EzH2O v2.1.0.13
PhoenixTool v2.73

InSpectre

Already checked plutomaniac’s Guide-How To:Clean Dumped Intel Engine (CS)ME/(CS)TXE Regions with Data Initialization and his repo.files are good

got stuck at;
D2. ME 4 - 6
step 7
giving me ME Region: Decompose Data: Unknown FPT header version error when building

wanted to try a different version,ME analizer checks out,FIT says hm55 -mobile, v6.2.0.1019 from Intel (CS)ME, CS(TXE), CS(SPS), PMC, PHY & PCHC: Firmware Repositories
FWUpdLcl update_file_name.bin -generic
Error 8713: Firmware update not initiated due to an invalid FW image

Note: Intel (R) Anti-Theft Technology Permanently Disabled? Yes -by default in current, No -by default in update file.i guess it should not matter for updating
seems like all leads to pin method.manufacturer somehow updating this pre-locked files with a setup.but i could not find it

[lfb6]

• you deleted your old identical posts and started a new thread- why?
  
  - you can’t use UPD files for cleaning/ FITc as mentioned in Section C of the guide:
  

@plutomaniac

…
C. Method Compatibility
…
Since the purpose of the guide is to clean the DATA section, it is important to choose a clean RGN Engine firmware from the Intel Engine Firmware Repositories thread and not EXTR which is extracted from various SPI/BIOS images/dumps and considered dirty as far as the DATA section is concerned. Moreover, a full RGN Engine Region is required and not an Update (UPD) image. That means that you should look only for Engine firmware of this structure at the Repositories:
…

[onuracengiz]

cause it does not apply to bios modifications section,not exactly

i am aware.and that is a part of the problem.there is no RNG as an higher version.besides as the guide suggest “all 6-series (ME 7) or older systems must use UPD images in order to initiate a ME firmware update” which is what i am doing here
and you left the part from quote saying “otherwise the closest you can find in case that one doesn’t exist or it’s not RGN, same SKU etc.”
so i did try that aswell.cross checking sku,size,type
side note,EXT files are extracted so considered dirty
i am laying it out with examples.people tend to focus on their own machines first (by searches etc),may set an example in how it played out,i will edit it once i have figured it out.

[onuracengiz]

just adding a short hwinfo summery,nothing new yet

HWiNFO64 Version 6.40-4330

DESKTOP-JQ8EP2L -----------------------------------------------------------

[Current Computer]
[Operating System]

Central Processor(s) ------------------------------------------------------

[CPU Unit Count]
Number Of Processor Packages (Physical): 1
Number Of Processor Cores: 2
Number Of Logical Processors: 4

Intel Core i5-430M --------------------------------------------------------

[General Information]
Processor Name: Intel Core i5-430M
Original Processor Frequency: 2266.7 MHz
Original Processor Frequency [MHz]: 2267
CPU ID: 00020652
CPU Brand Name: Intel(R) Core™ i5 CPU M 430 @ 2.27GHz
CPU Vendor: GenuineIntel
CPU Stepping: C2
CPU Code Name: Arrandale Trans. SV
CPU Technology: 32 nm
CPU S-Spec: SLBPN
CPU Thermal Design Power (TDP): 25.0 W
CPU Thermal Design Current (TDC): 21.0 A
CPU Max. Junction Temperature (Tj,max): 105 °C
CPU Type: Production Unit
CPU Platform: Socket G1 (rPGA988A)
Microcode Update Revision: 11
Number of CPU Cores: 2
Number of Logical CPUs: 4
[Operating Points]
CPU LFM (Minimum): 1200.0 MHz = 9 x 133.3 MHz
CPU HFM (Base): 2266.7 MHz = 17 x 133.3 MHz
CPU Turbo Max: 2533.3 MHz = 19 x 133.3 MHz [Locked]
Turbo Ratio Limits: 19x (1-2c)
CPU Current: 2528.0 MHz = 19 x 133.1 MHz
Uncore Current: 1729.7 MHz = 13.00 x 133.1 MHz
CPU Internal Bus Type: Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) v1.0
Number of QPI Links per CPU: 1
Maximum Supported QPI Link Clock: 2400 MHz (4.80 GT/s)
Current QPI Link Clock: 2394 MHz (4.79 GT/s)
CPU External Bus Type: Intel Direct Media Interface (DMI) v1.0
Maximum DMI Link Speed: 2.5 GT/s
Current DMI Link Speed: 2.5 GT/s
[Cache and TLB]
L1 Cache: Instruction: 2 x 32 KBytes, Data: 2 x 32 KBytes
L2 Cache: Integrated: 2 x 256 KBytes
L3 Cache: 3 MBytes
Instruction TLB: 2MB/4MB Pages, Fully associative, 7 entries
Data TLB: 4 KB Pages, 4-way set associative, 64 entries
[Standard Feature Flags]
FPU on Chip Present
Enhanced Virtual-86 Mode Present
I/O Breakpoints Present
Page Size Extensions Present
Time Stamp Counter Present
Pentium-style Model Specific Registers Present
Physical Address Extension Present
Machine Check Exception Present
CMPXCHG8B Instruction Present
APIC On Chip / PGE (AMD) Present
Fast System Call Present
Memory Type Range Registers Present
Page Global Feature Present
Machine Check Architecture Present
CMOV Instruction Present
Page Attribute Table Present
36-bit Page Size Extensions Present
Processor Number Not Present
CLFLUSH Instruction Present
Debug Trace and EMON Store Present
Internal ACPI Support Present
MMX Technology Present
Fast FP Save/Restore (IA MMX-2) Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 Present
Self-Snoop Present
Multi-Threading Capable Present
Automatic Clock Control Present
IA-64 Processor Not Present
Signal Break on FERR Present
Virtual Machine Extensions (VMX) Present
Safer Mode Extensions (Intel TXT) Not Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 Present
Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.1 Present
Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.2 Present
AVX Support Not Present
Fused Multiply Add (FMA) Not Present
Carryless Multiplication (PCLMULQDQ)/GFMUL Not Present
CMPXCHG16B Support Present
MOVBE Instruction Not Present
POPCNT Instruction Present
XSAVE/XRSTOR/XSETBV/XGETBV Instructions Not Present
XGETBV/XSETBV OS Enabled Not Present
Float16 Instructions Not Present
AES Cryptography Support Not Present
Random Number Read Instruction (RDRAND) Not Present
Extended xAPIC Not Present
MONITOR/MWAIT Support Present
Thermal Monitor 2 Present
Enhanced SpeedStep Technology Present
L1 Context ID Not Present
Send Task Priority Messages Disabling Present
Processor Context ID Not Present
Direct Cache Access Not Present
TSC-deadline Timer Not Present
Performance/Debug Capability MSR Present
IA32 Debug Interface Support Not Present
64-Bit Debug Store Present
CPL Qualified Debug Store Present
[Extended Feature Flags]
64-bit Extensions Present
RDTSCP and TSC_AUX Support Present
1 GB large page support Not Present
No Execute Present
SYSCALL/SYSRET Support Present
Bit Manipulation Instructions Set 1 Not Present
Bit Manipulation Instructions Set 2 Not Present
Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2) Not Present
Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (AVX-512) Not Present
AVX-512 Prefetch Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Exponential and Reciprocal Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Conflict Detection Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Doubleword and Quadword Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Byte and Word Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Vector Length Extensions Not Present
AVX-512 52-bit Integer FMA Instructions Not Present
Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) Extensions Not Present
Software Guard Extensions (SGX) Support Not Present
Supervisor Mode Execution Protection (SMEP) Not Present
Supervisor Mode Access Prevention (SMAP) Not Present
Hardware Lock Elision (HLE) Not Present
Restricted Transactional Memory (RTM) Not Present
Memory Protection Extensions (MPX) Not Present
Read/Write FS/GS Base Instructions Not Present
Enhanced Performance String Instruction Not Present
INVPCID Instruction Not Present
RDSEED Instruction Not Present
Multi-precision Add Carry Instructions (ADX) Not Present
PCOMMIT Instructions Not Present
CLFLUSHOPT Instructions Not Present
CLWB Instructions Not Present
TSC_THREAD_OFFSET Not Present
Platform Quality of Service Monitoring (PQM) Not Present
Platform Quality of Service Enforcement (PQE) Not Present
FPU Data Pointer updated only on x87 Exceptions Not Present
Deprecated FPU CS and FPU DS Not Present
Intel Processor Trace Not Present
PREFETCHWT1 Instruction Not Present
AVX-512 Vector Bit Manipulation Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Vector Bit Manipulation Instructions 2 Not Present
AVX-512 Galois Fields New Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Vector AES Not Present
AVX-512 Vector Neural Network Instructions Not Present
AVX-512 Bit Algorithms Not Present
AVX-512 Carry-Less Multiplication Quadword (VPCLMULQDQ) Not Present
AVX-512 Vector POPCNT (VPOPCNTD/VPOPCNTQ) Not Present
User-Mode Instruction Prevention Not Present
Protection Keys for User-mode Pages Not Present
OS Enabled Protection Keys Not Present
Wait and Pause Enhancements (WAITPKG) Not Present
Total Memory Encryption Not Present
Read Processor ID Not Present
Cache Line Demote Not Present
MOVDIRI: Direct Stores Not Present
MOVDIR64B: Direct Stores Not Present
ENQCMD: Enqueue Stores Not Present
SGX Launch Configuration Not Present
Control-Flow Enforcement Technology (CET) Shadow Stack Not Present
AVX-512 4 x Vector Neural Network Instructions Word Variable Precision Not Present
AVX-512 4 x Fused Multiply Accumulation Packed Single Precision Not Present
Fast Short REP MOV Not Present
AVX-512 VP2INTERSECT Support Not Present
MD_CLEAR Support Not Present
Hybrid Processor Not Present
Platform Configuration (PCONFIG) Not Present
Indirect Branch Restricted Speculation (IBRS), Indirect Branch Predictor Barrier (IBPB) Present
Single Thread Indirect Branch Predictors (STIBP) Present
L1D_FLUSH Support Present
IA32_ARCH_CAPABILITIES MSR Not Present
IA32_CORE_CAPABILITIES MSR Not Present
Speculative Store Bypass Disable (SSBD) Present
Control-Flow Enforcement Technology (CET) Indirect Branch Tracking Not Present
Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX) Tile Architecture Not Present
Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX) bfloat16 Support Not Present
Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX) 8-bit Integer Operations Not Present
AVX-512 BFLOAT16 Instructions Not Present
[Enhanced Features]
Thermal Monitor 1: Supported, Enabled
Thermal Monitor 2: Supported, Enabled
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep (GV3): Supported, Enabled
Bi-directional PROCHOT#: Enabled
Extended Auto-HALT State C1E: Enabled
MLC Streamer Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
MLC Spatial Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
DCU Streamer Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
DCU IP Prefetcher Supported, Enabled
Intel Dynamic Acceleration (IDA) Technology: Not Supported
Intel Dynamic FSB Switching: Not Supported
Intel Turbo Boost Technology: Supported, Enabled
Programmable Ratio Limits: Not Supported
Programmable TDC/TDP Limits: Supported, Disabled
Hardware Duty Cycling: Not Supported
[CPU Ironlake GMCH Features]
CPU Package Type: rPGA
MCH Turbo: Enabled
VT-d: Not Supported
Secondary PEG Port: Not Supported
2 DIMMS per Channel: Not Supported
ECC: Not Supported
DRAM ECC Forced: Disabled
Internal Graphics: Supported
DDR3 Frequency Support: 533 MHz (DDR3-1067)
[Memory Ranges]
Maximum Physical Address Size: 36-bit (64 GBytes)
Maximum Virtual Address Size: 48-bit (256 TBytes)
[MTRRs]
Range 0-80000000 (0MB-2048MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range FFE00000-100000000 (4094MB-4096MB) Type: Write Protected (WP)
Range 80000000-A0000000 (2048MB-2560MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 9F800000-A0000000 (2552MB-2560MB) Type: Uncacheable (UC)
Range 100000000-200000000 (4096MB-8192MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 200000000-280000000 (8192MB-10240MB) Type: Write Back (WB)
Range 25C000000-260000000 (9664MB-9728MB) Type: Uncacheable (UC)
Range 260000000-280000000 (9728MB-10240MB) Type: Uncacheable (UC)

Motherboard ---------------------------------------------------------------

[Computer]
[Motherboard]
Motherboard Model: Acer TravelMate 5742G
Motherboard Chipset: Intel HM55 (IbexPeak-M DH)
[PCH Features]
Intel Identity Protection Technology: Not Supported
USB 2.0 Ports 6 and 7: Supported
PCI Express Ports 7 and 8: Not Supported
FIS Based Port Multiplier: Not Supported
SATA Ports 2 and 3: Not Supported
SATA RAID 0/1/5/10: Not Supported
[BIOS]
BIOS Manufacturer: Acer, Insyde Software
BIOS Date: 08/13/2012
BIOS Version: V1.30
UEFI BIOS: Capable
Super-IO/LPC Chip: Unknown

SMBIOS DMI ----------------------------------------------------------------


BIOS ----------------------------------------------------------------------

BIOS Vendor: Acer
BIOS Version: V1.30
BIOS Release Date: 08/13/2012
BIOS Start Segment: 0
BIOS Size: 1536 KBytes
System BIOS Version: 30.240
ISA Support: Not Present
MCA Support: Not Present
EISA Support: Not Present
PCI Support: Present
PC Card (PCMCIA) Support: Not Present
Plug-and-Play Support: Not Present
APM Support: Not Present
Flash BIOS: Present
BIOS Shadow: Present
VL-VESA Support: Not Present
ESCD Support: Not Present
Boot from CD: Present
Selectable Boot: Present
BIOS ROM Socketed: Not Present
Boot from PC Card: Not Present
EDD Support: Present
NEC PC-98 Support: Not Present
ACPI Support: Present
USB Legacy Support: Present
AGP Support: Not Present
I2O Boot Support: Not Present
LS-120 Boot Support: Not Present
ATAPI ZIP Drive Boot Support: Not Present
IEE1394 Boot Support: Not Present
Smart Battery Support: Not Present
BIOS Boot Specification Support: Present
Function key-initiated Network Service Boot Support: Not Present
Targeted Content Distribution Support: Present
UEFI Specification Support: Not Present
Virtual Machine: Not Present

System --------------------------------------------------------------------

System Manufacturer: Acer
Product Name: TravelMate 5742G
Product Version: V1.30
Product Serial Number: LXTZL0C015040648B91601
UUID: {4099CC7F-7CC8-DF11-8303-1C7508095569}
SKU Number: Calpella_CRB
Family: Intel_Mobile

Mainboard -----------------------------------------------------------------

Mainboard Manufacturer: Acer
Mainboard Name: TravelMate 5742G
Mainboard Version: V1.30
Mainboard Serial Number: Base Board Serial Number
Asset Tag: Base Board Asset Tag
Location in chassis: Base Board Chassis Location

System Enclosure ----------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer: Acer
Case Type: Notebook
Version: V1.30
Serial Number: Chassis Serial Number
Asset Tag Number:

On Board Device -----------------------------------------------------------

Device Description: Intel Video Graphics Controller
Device Type: Video Adapter
Device Status: Enabled

On Board Device -----------------------------------------------------------

Device Description: Realtek Lan Controller
Device Type: Ethernet Adapter
Device Status: Enabled

OEM Strings ---------------------------------------------------------------






System Configuration Options ----------------------------------------------







Built-in Pointing Device --------------------------------------------------

Device Type: Touch Pad
Interface Type: PS/2
Number of Buttons: 4

Portable Battery ----------------------------------------------------------

Battery Location: Fake
Battery Manufacturer: -Virtual Battery 0-
Manufacture Date: 10/12/2007
Serial Number: Battery 0
Device Name: Li-lon Battery
Device Chemistry: Lithium-ion
Design Capacity: Unknown
Design Voltage: Unknown
SBDS Verison Number:
Max. Error in Battery Data: Unknown
SBDS Serial Number: Unknown
SBDS Manufacture Date: Unknown
SBDS Device Chemistry:

Cooling Device ------------------------------------------------------------

Type: Fan
Status: OK
Nominal Speed: 2000 RPM

System Boot Information ---------------------------------------------------

Boot Status: No error occured

System Power Supply -------------------------------------------------------

Location: OEM_Define0
Device Name: OEM_Define1
Manufacturer: OEM_Define2
Serial Number: OEM_Define3
Asset Tag Number: OEM_Define4
Model Part Number: OEM_Define5
Revision Level: OEM_Define6
Max Power Capacity: 75 mW
Power Supply Status: Present
Power Supply Type: Regulator
Power Status: OK
Hot replaceable: No
Unplugged from wall: Yes

Additional Information ----------------------------------------------------




On Board Device -----------------------------------------------------------

Device Description: Hanksville Gbe Lan Connection
Device Type: Ethernet Adapter
Device Status: Enabled

Intel ASF -----------------------------------------------------------------

Intel ASF Status: Enabled

Intel AMT -----------------------------------------------------------------

Intel AMT Support: Supported
Intel AMT Status: Enabled
IDE-R Status: Enabled
SOL Status: Enabled
Network Interface: Enabled

Processor -----------------------------------------------------------------

Processor Manufacturer: Intel(R) Corporation
Processor Version: Intel(R) Core™ i5 CPU M 430 @ 2.27GHz
External Clock: 1066 MHz
Maximum Clock Supported: 2266 MHz
Current Clock: 2275 MHz
CPU Socket: Populated
CPU Status: Enabled
Processor Type: Central Processor
Processor Upgrade: ZIF
Socket Designation: CPU

L3 Cache ------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: L3 Cache
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Location: Internal
Cache Type: L3 Unified
Cache Scheme: Write-Through
Supported SRAM Type: Synchronous
Current SRAM Type: Synchronous
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
Maximum Cache Size: 3072 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 3072 KBytes
Cache Associativity: Unknown

L1 Cache ------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: L1 Cache
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Location: Internal
Cache Type: L1 Data
Cache Scheme: Write-Through
Supported SRAM Type: Synchronous
Current SRAM Type: Synchronous
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
Maximum Cache Size: 32 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 32 KBytes
Cache Associativity: 8-way Set-Associative

L2 Cache ------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: L2 Cache
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Location: Internal
Cache Type: L2 Unified
Cache Scheme: Write-Through
Supported SRAM Type: Synchronous
Current SRAM Type: Synchronous
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
Maximum Cache Size: 256 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 256 KBytes
Cache Associativity: 8-way Set-Associative

L1 Cache ------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: L1 Cache
Cache State: Enabled
Cache Location: Internal
Cache Type: L1 Instruction
Cache Scheme: Write-Through
Supported SRAM Type: Synchronous
Current SRAM Type: Synchronous
Cache Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
Maximum Cache Size: 32 KBytes
Installed Cache Size: 32 KBytes
Cache Associativity: 4-way Set-Associative

Memory Devices ------------------------------------------------------------


Physical Memory Array -----------------------------------------------------

Array Location: System board
Array Use: System memory
Error Detecting Method: None
Memory Capacity: 16 GBytes
Memory Devices: 2

Memory Device -------------------------------------------------------------

Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Device Size: 4096 MBytes
Device Form Factor: SODIMM
Device Locator: DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK 0
Device Type: DDR3 SDRAM
Device Type Detail: Synchronous
Memory Speed: 1067 MHz
Manufacturer:
Serial Number: 000ADCDD
Part Number: TS512MSK64V3N
Asset Tag: Unknown

DIMM0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: DIMM0
Memory Type: DIMM
Memory Speed: Unknown
Installed size: 4096 MBytes
Enabled size: 4096 MBytes

32-bit Memory Error Information -------------------------------------------


Memory Device Mapped Address ----------------------------------------------

Starting Address: 00000000
Ending Address: 003FFFFF
Partition Row Position: Unknown
Interleave Position: 1
Interleave Data Depth: 1

Memory Device -------------------------------------------------------------

Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Device Size: 4096 MBytes
Device Form Factor: SODIMM
Device Locator: DIMM1
Bank Locator: BANK 2
Device Type: DDR3 SDRAM
Device Type Detail: Synchronous
Memory Speed: 1067 MHz
Manufacturer:
Serial Number: 000A9D19
Part Number: TS512MSK64V3N
Asset Tag: Unknown

DIMM1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Socket Designation: DIMM1
Memory Type: DIMM
Memory Speed: Unknown
Installed size: 4096 MBytes
Enabled size: 4096 MBytes

32-bit Memory Error Information -------------------------------------------


Memory Device Mapped Address ----------------------------------------------

Starting Address: 00000000
Ending Address: 003FFFFF
Partition Row Position: Unknown
Interleave Position: 2
Interleave Data Depth: 1

32-bit Memory Error Information -------------------------------------------


Memory Array Mapped Address -----------------------------------------------

Starting Address: 00000000
Ending Address: 007FFFFF
Partition Width: 2

Memory Controller ---------------------------------------------------------

Error Detecting Method: None
Error Correction: None
Supported Interleave: 1-Way
Current Interleave: 1-Way
Max. Memory Module Size: 8192 MBytes
Supported Memory Speed:
Supported Memory Type:
Supported Memory Voltage:
Associated Memory Slots: 2

System Slots --------------------------------------------------------------


J5C1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J5C1
Slot Type: PCI Express x16
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 16x / x16
Slot Length: Unknown

J6C1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J6C1
Slot Type: PCI Express x1
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 1x / x1
Slot Length: Unknown

J6C2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J6C2
Slot Type: PCI Express x1
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 1x / x1
Slot Length: Unknown

J6D2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J6D2
Slot Type: PCI Express x1
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 1x / x1
Slot Length: Unknown

J7C1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J7C1
Slot Type: PCI Express x1
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 1x / x1
Slot Length: Unknown

J7D2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J7D2
Slot Type: PCI Express x1
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 1x / x1
Slot Length: Unknown

J8C2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J8C2
Slot Type: PCI Express x16
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 16x / x16
Slot Length: Unknown

J8C1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Slot Designation: J8C1
Slot Type: PCI Express x1
Slot Usage: Empty
Slot Data Bus Width: 1x / x1
Slot Length: Unknown

[lfb6]

Maybe you can find and change the value for bios ME protection in NVRAM? There’s at least one hidden option in setup:

0x8235A And {15 02}
0x8235C Setting: Ignition ME Protect, Variable: 0x20D[1] {05 09 0D 02 01 F0 01 F1 01}
0x82365 Option: Disabled, Value: 0x0 {09 09 38 00 00 00 00 00 00}
0x8236E Option: Enabled, Value: 0x1 {09 09 39 00 01 00 01 00 00}
0x82377 End of Options {10 02}
0x82379 End If {18 02}

[onuracengiz]

E6. OEM/ODM Hidden BIOS-UEFI Options
bios is UEFI capable but not active (also shown as in hwinfo above).I have tried all the tools EzH2O v2.10.3 not showing information PhoenixTool v2.73 is a mess
ubu tool not recognizing bios files (fd,rom), UEFIT tool’s FIT panel is not clickable

fptw -d spi.bin

Error 26: the host cpu does not have read access to the target flash area.To enable read access for this operation you must modify the descriptor settings to give host access to this region

so yes,all leads back to pin method.(E1. HDA_SDO/GPIO33 (a.k.a. "Pinmod")) manufacturer somehow updating this pre-locked files with a setup.but i could not find it (E3 & E4& E5& E6)
which means bios modding,and thats also a challenge since being an insyde bios