The ME itself seems to be fine and this is shown by MEManuf. MEInfo reports errors though, maybe it has to do with it being in Recovery Mode. Currently we can't really see anything at MEInfo, only the last part is shown. Generally, while at DOS it's best to save the output of the tools at a text file and then upload that or show it under Windows. For example MEInfo -verbose > result.txt will create a file called result.txt with the command line window output.

It is my belief that the problem lies with the rest of the system and not ME. I can think of three possible scenarios:

1) There is a jumper on the motherboard that puts the ME at a Recovery State. Have you changed any jumpers or anything else on the motherboard itself? What's the model?
2) There is an option at the BIOS menu that puts the ME at a Recovery State. Have you searched all the menus for anything related? It could be called HMRFPO, ME Enable, ME [something] etc, Recovery etc.
3) If the above do not help, the problem is with the HP BIOS. In such case, you need to contact them and ask for help.

@ bicalov:

Ok, I did some research and there are some weird things going on here.

1) At the MEInfo log I can see that there is no MEBx version supported (0.0.0.0) which should only be the case for 1.5MB systems and not 5MB like yours. 5MB systems need MEBx to work properly. It should be there and accessible by pressing CTRL+P after POST (before the loading of Windows).

2) I searched to see if I can find other people's SPI chip dumps from this laptop. I did find two full SPI/BIOS chip dumps (8MB, normal size). These images do have MEBx inside (as yours should have had) but here is the weird part: They both have a very old ME 7.1.0.1005 5MB firmware which I didn't have at my database and it's Pre-Production, not Production.



According to a Revision History, that was some Alpha/Engineering firmware for testing and not public release. It makes no sense for HP to ship a consumer system with Pre-Production firmware. And the fact that I found it at two different SPI dumps proves that it wasn't a one time thing from HP.

@ bicalov:

Generally, others have had this problem as well. For example, here is a Dell example.

CTRL+P does not work since MEBx is not detected. Can you compress & upload this 68SCF.bin 8MB file to see if it's the same I have? The HP tools won't work with such image, only FPT (fpt.exe for DOS, fptw.exe for Windows x86/x64 and fptw64.exe for Windows x64). If you wanted to flash such an 8MB image you would need FPT or a programmer. Since FPT works only when the Intel Flash Descriptor is unlocked (your's is locked, error 26 at fpt -d spi.bin command) the only way is via a Programmer.

However, if the problem is at the BIOS region and not ME, you can replace the 3MB BIOS Region via fpt -bios -f bios.bin command. The BIOS region is not protected by the locked Flash Descriptor (ME and the Flash Descriptor itself are) so in theory you should be able to replace it manually via DOS/Windows using the FPT tool. Fpt -bios -d dumps the BIOS Region whereas Fpt -bios -f flashes a new BIOS Region into the SPI chip. I believe the problem is at the BIOS and not ME region (if MEManuf is to be trusted).

Let's exhaust the software solutions first. Make sure you do a clear CMOS. This is a laptop so remove the external power, remove the battery and then remove the motherboard battery. The last step is the most important to perform a clear CMOS. Leave it for 5 minutes alone (you can also press the power button on purpose some times to clear any capacitors and stuff). Then reconnect the motherboard battery, laptop battery and external power. Turn the laptop on. It should tell you to reconfigure BIOS settings because a CMOS was performed. Enter BIOS settings and reset to defaults. Does that fix the problem?

If not, enter BIOS setup and under the menu System Configuration check the AMT options. Enable "Firmware Verbosity" in case it reports something useful, enable "AMT Setup Prompt (CTRL+P)", enable "Unconfigure AMT on next boot" to reset MEBx settings. Now, test if you can enter the MEBx menu after system POST (before Windows starts loading) by pressing CTRL+P multiple times (to not miss it). If you manage to enter MEBx, your goal is to find a "reset settings" option or similar. Just in case something is messed up there. You can find a MEBx User Guide at ME System Tools v7.x found at the start post, section C2. Check if the problem persists.

Zitat von gihan im Beitrag #1627

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thanks bro it worked really appreciate !!!! you're a genius!!!!!!!!

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Zitat von kurtextrem im Beitrag #1636

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Either I'm blind or I can't find the INF only version of 11.0.0.1157. Can you point me to it, or attach it?

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@ bicalov:

I remember that last time I checked you had the correct BIOS variant applied. I had given some advise and tests for you to run but they were never done. This could be an HP BIOS issue, a corrupted ME Region, a corrupted BIOS Region, wrong NVRAM settings, the fact that the motherboard is in a bad state etc. Too many variables. Without an unlocked flash descriptor we cannot exclude the ME Region as the issue, although as I said earlier I believe it's not ME-related. If your chip is removable I suggest you buy a cheap programmer to flash it freely or a least unlock the flash descriptor with the "pinmod". Go for the pinmod first and test if it works by trying command fpt -d spi.bin (no error 26 should be shown this time, a full 8MB dump is the resulting file).

Maybe @CodeRush can think of something else. To not waste his time searching, this is the beginning of the conversation.

@ gpvecchi:

Yes, we have been having this issue since Skylake launched. There is a bug either at Intel's side (FWUpdate tool) or the OEM's side (BIOS). I don't understand how BIOS engineers or Intel do not see this issue.

Based on previous tests and experiments not even an UPD image works. It will show another unexplained error. Still, do try it. I have attached the latest Consumer PCH-H 11.0.0.1173 UPD image.

As Pacman said and I mentioned twice, that is an Update (UPD) and not the Full Region (RGN) image I provide at the first post for any post-ME8 system. Thus the size is smaller. UPD images is what FWUpdLcl -save command creates.

Now, based on Pacman's tests on different Skylake systems, UPD images generate another error that "does not make sense". Is it "Restore Point is Invalid" as he mentioned?

@ Sekmeth:

Yes, you have ME7 1.5MB firmware so the latest you can update to is 7.1.80.1214. Thank you for reading the first post and for using MEA.

@ bicalov:

Yes it seems you answered but I didn't understand it at the time due to the small reply. Do try the pinmod to maybe narrow it down a little bit.