I dumped that chip and it's empty. All filled with FF FF FF FF...
The chip is winbond 25x i dont remember exact model. But i know for sure that there is no firmware on it.
Yes i sent you photos of each bios page by pm as you requested.

That does not mean it's empty, like I said that's highly unlikely or it wouldn't boot. This means you need to dump with some other software version until you get a valid dump with data.
That is why I asked you for the chip ID, in case I knew what version or ID you need to use if not exact one. I did not request anything by PM, I'll see if I can find your message again
* Edit - I checked the images, thanks! I can make full unlocked BIOS for you with this kind of BIOS! Then you can adjust anything you want, in order to try and resolve the fan/heat issues.
Please wait, and I will make you unlocked BIOS. There may be a few BIOS I need you to flash interim and give me answers about, before full unlock BIOS is done. I'll update soon

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #30

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How do you know? That can't be right, or it wouldn't boot. Probably you need to use other software version to dump that chip, or you tried to dump something that is not a flash rom. What is the chip ID?
Is BIOS images what you linked me to in PM? If yes, I'll go check, if not, please put that link here with explanation of what it is, I can't keep track of anything in a PM

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@code9523 Yes, I will repeat too I guess for the third time, maybe forth, that is not possible or the board wouldn't boot. Not all programmers automatically can dump everything properly, so you can't just accept that it's empty.
Please dump with another programmer or software if you can, if not then nothing we can do until you have another programmer such as CH341A and dump with all software versions so we can confirm.
I can dump any BIOS and use the wrong thing I know doesn't work and dump will be verified and all FF or 00, so a dump of all FF only means that to me, incompatible programmer/software in many cases.

Does this system have two BIOS chips? If not, then that's probably also why the stock region wont work for you, it's setup in a way that BIOS is split, like you're used to and mentioning.
Anyway, nothing we can do, if you want further help please explain to me your issues with the BIOS from post #4 and I will see if I can address via updating anything and I will unlock the BIOS for you so you can access all settings.

"7MB" HDR stock BIOS region has already been tested by you, in four ways and you said they all failed to boot.

I will repeat the same that chip is empty. Look i downloaded regular bios from winafix for this board. I checked dump from winafix with one i dumped from board and my dump was empty. I'm not sure that dump i downloaded was ok or not so i flashed it on two chips as it signed. And got no boot on that one. Then i flashed back 32mb and the board works fine. So ue2 dump on ES can be emty it's not doing anything. I attached You those files i downloaded. Here is the link for those files https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xp9JI0P...iew?usp=sharing

My issues in current bios are:
Fans spin from 50% all the time even in idle.
AlienFX lightning is blinking and i'm unable to configure it.
UCB C device controller is in task menager with error code 43. I cant do anything with it i think it's related to thunderbolt not working.
No Thunderbolt settings in bios / cant flash it / Tb port is not working.

I repeat it's not, and since you want to argue about this, I will step away from this thread or we can stop that part of the discussion. I know nothing about a winafix BIOS, if you mean vinafix, also not mine or related to anything we're doing here.. EC chip is usually 1MB or so, often less.
Are you saying you erased your EC Chip to try and program in some unknown EC, without confirming your EC chip was actually blank, but now since you erased it then it's for sure blank? If yes, then nothing we can do there, you erased the EC FW, it's not blank because it's unused and was always blank, you erased it.
I do not need to see any vinafix BIOS, often those are stock BIOS anyway. Plus, no need for me to look at those, they do not apply to your board.

Thank you for the issues list! Fan spin at 50% sounds normal, some chips are so hot, or heatsink is so weak, there is no way around that in a laptop.
However, once I unlock BIOS for you then you can tinker with all the related BIOS settings. AlienFX stuff has nothing to do with BIOS, only EC, so nothing I will ever be able to do for you there. Unplug the LED's if they bother you
USB is not related to thunderbolt, those are two totally different devices. However, both could be failing due to ME FW/settings, which would make them related, or they both may be failed due to some BIOS module I can't address, or the FW in their chips, hard to say for ES system.
TB settings in BIOS, if there, you will see once I unlock. I'll work on that now.

I just wanted to say that it may be blank and EC controller can be programed in other way like direct programming. And that ec chip is empty. Because ec controller has a firmware inside. And i dont have any more dumps of that chip to confirm that ec controller will act different with another firmware on that chip. If you have such dump and you can share please i will program it and we will see. I have only dump from 17 r4 of that chip and yes it looks like firmware but i dont think it will work. As it's different model.

About the heat and chips. I wrote before here. That i can connect 15 inch lcd to this motherboard and then the laptop thinks it's alienware 15 r4 the gpu changes to Maxq version and then fans spin normally. In idel they are silent and uder load they are loud. The heatsink is giant copper pice here 198wat. It can handle any kind of heat. Any way i repasted it with good thermal compound. In idel temps are 35c on cpu and gpu. But fans keep spinnig if it's with 17" lcd. If with 15 lcd fans are silent. Also the cpu 0000 is cut by clocks to 3.6 ghz and it's pretty cold either.

I attach file with dump of aw17r4 fron UE2 chip and it looks like firmware. May be this is an issue that my 17r5 is not working with swaped bios region because it needs also such firmware on that chip to work with?

And if there is 32mb dump it's configured to work without that chip?

You erased it though, so you can't program anything back, since you did not get a valid dump and then proceeded to erase and try to put in something else, so original contents lost now. And I'm sure right after you did that you noticed fan and LED behavior changed, due to EC Failure/change from previous behavior
You need original ES EC FW that was on there before you did anything, nothing else will match up with this ES BIOS and ME FW etc.

Interesting thing about the LCD, thanks, I didn't notice you mentioned before, or didn't realize it was important. Please explain more, how you see this >> The laptop thinks it's alienware 15 r4 << Where do you see this? And same >> gpu changes to Maxq version << Where do you see this
Are those changes OK for you, I mean you don't mind if I found the reason for this, and change it to be same for 17" as with 15"? With GPU-z, can you dump the GFX vBIOS? If yes, send me a copy, and I will check on inside the BIOS too.

Before we go any further on BIOS editing, please test this BIOS for me and let me know it's OK or not, this will be my base moving forward. This is BIOS plutomaniac made for you at post #4, but with updated CPU microcodes only.
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...112487643193200

* Edit - to your edit - Other system have nothing to do with this system, nothing from other system can be used here. But yes, in general, the now blank EC could have something to do with why all the stock BIOS test I sent you failed, but again nothing we can do.. you erased this chips contents.
I did not check above 4MB contents, do not need to, 4MB is not EC that is ME/FD usually for Dell. EC FW is always on a 128KB-1MB chip only usually. OK, I checked, this is FID (Flash ID) and ME FW, along with some other details info, nothing to do with EC FW as I already knew.
Please let me know about above BIOS so I can move forward with editing, thanks

Look at my preveous post i edit it. There was no change in fans or lights i tested all things before any programming and tried to figure out in windows with that aw software to control it.

If i will connect 15'' lcd it will change the model name to aw 15r4 on first bios page and it will also change gpu to MaxQ in device menager in windows.

I think the missing 4mb firmware for UE2 chip is important in this modding. I know that it can be extracted from dells bios update but i don't know how to do that i can only write hdr file.
Also i found a thread about similar situation of an engeneering sample here Reviving dead Dell Workstations with bricked BIOS

And all was done by flashing two chips. Like i mentioned before EC controller's in some casese are soldered to the motherboards with a basic firmware flashed in factory to make the board working. Then ther are couple ways to update it's firmware:
1. is to use programmer to connect it to keyboard port on motherboard and flash it with the dump. I know russian developer Vertyanow made special programmer for such EC controllers to flash them when they are relpaced
2. Is to flash IC chip by programmer like in this case it's UE2 chip.

If you can please extract such firmware fro dell bios update and i will flash it and than we will see any changes.

Yes, I saw that, you look at mine, I edited it For your new comments, yes, most Dell have two BIOS chips, yours does not, so nothing you read applies.
EC FW can be directly flashed in with programmer, you do not have ES EC FW, you erased it, thus nothing we can do except forget about that, as mentioned above.
I do not have Dell stock EXE for this system, so I cannot extract the EC FW from it, if it's even in there. Once you link me to the stock EXE From Dell and I do get you that file, you need to go back and test all four of those BIOS I sent you initially with that EC FW already programmed in.
Then if nothing works still, move along and don't think about this chip again since you do not have it's original contents the only way you can fix it is to purchase another EXACT same ES system from that same seller.

Additionally, to help resolve some of your confusion about Dell's two BIOS system and EC FW/chip. There would be three chips on these boards, two holding the BIOS contents (8MB + 4MB or 8MB + 8MB etc) and then a third much smaller chip, 128KB-1MB, this would be EC FW chip

Please test BIOS I posted above so I can continue here tonight, otherwise I'm going to have to move onto next thread for now.

Here it is. https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/...alienware-17-r5

If there is an extractable firmware 4mb i will reflash all that bioses. And also will check the last one in 30 minutes.

Again, 4MB have nothing to do with EC FW, so I wont be giving you anything 4MB in size. Thanks for link

Yes it may be smaller. I just said because dump from aw 17r4 of this ue2 chip was 4 mb.

No, you are incorrect there as well, I tried to explain above and this will be last time since you seem sure you know more about BIOS than I do. Please listen, today is not my first day
EC FW on any Dell/Alienware is not 4MB, that is FD/ME and other BIOS contents, this has nothing to do with EC FW and never does. EC FW goes into a 128Kb-1MB chip only.

I checked the stock BIOS EXE, this contains a 10.3MB BIOS region only (Which does contain some EC FW contents @256KB), two flash tools (32/64) and two driver files.
Also there is a batch file command line entry and a batch file info text for user to be sure to update to certain Command center version before using this BIOS or Alienware FX lights wont work
There is no HDR file in this EXE, so not sure what you thought you came up with on page one or how you got there but it's not HDR

Did you locate the 1MB or less flash rom chip yet? What size is the chip you erased, that you tried to put the vina fix contents onto?
And speaking of that again, never mind I guess, saying that out loud reminds me you are stuck on this 4MB thing, so if what you thought was EC from Vinafix was a 4MB file then you've not tested any EC FW from Vinafix either, since no EC FW is anywhere near anything close to 4MB (That would be FD+ME etc)

Please locate the less than 1MB flash rom chip on this board and dump it's contents for me, since I know this is not what you've been discussing when I mention EC FW and to dump it, otherwise you'd have never tried to program anything 4MB into a much smaller chip and expect it to be possible.
Also, you are looking at the board always, give me this chips ID too, in full. Otherwise, this is last time I want to discuss EC FW

There is only one 1mb chip on the board and i already said that it was empty. It was UE2 i also attached photos of the motherboard with all firmwarechips couple posts ago. UE2 chip size is arround 1mb. It;s regular 25 sop8 chip. And there was nothing on it.

This bios is working. (#38)