Hello, I need help identifying the BIOS ROM chip on my laptop's motherboard so I can buy an SPI Programmer and clip to help un-brick it by reading and writing to that rom.
Here is a picture of what I think may be the romchip :

by the way, My regional laptop model name is N580GD and X580GD is the motherboard model.
Please if you need full picture of my motherboard do say so and also if you need picture of the opposite side.
My bios may have been corrupted while trying to whitelist a wifi chip :(. after i flashed the modded bios and restarted, my laptop's screen and keyboard light doesn't light up, only the power led and I can restart with power button but still no screen or keyboard light.

So please if anyone can help, I would be eternally grateful!

@neon_xeon - Yes, that is the BIOS chip >> ID >> GD25B127 (Gigadevice)
use 1.18 with chip ID GD25Q128, or ASProgrammer using the GD25Q128C ID
Here is package with both of those programs/versions - http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...213094641136166
And here is guide on using CH341A - [GUIDE] Flash BIOS with CH341A programmer

Don't erase or write chip until you've dumped it and someone checked the file for you to be sure you have a good valid dump, then I or someone will make you a file to program back in.
For your mod flash that bricked the BIOS, what did you use as source BIOS to modify, and how did you flash it in? Please attach what you edited, before and after edit, so we can check what you did and see if the fail was in your mod, or just in how you flashed (maybe accidental CMD line error etc)

@Lost_N_BIOS
Thank you so much! I ordered a ch341a usb programmer and a SOIC8 Clip online, will arrive in less than a week :)

While that arrives let me explain how I got to this situation.

Firstly, I needed to unlock the true advanced menu of my machine's BIOS(it was an AMI bios) as my laptop for some odd reason had max memory speed locked to 2400mhz even though my cpu (i7-8750h) natively supports 2667mhz, so I post a thread in bios-mods.com to help unlock my bios, a modder replies and tells me to send my current bios as a dump to him, I do so with their sent over file which creates a dump.rom

Secondly, modder successfully unlocks the bios menu ! I set the ram speed to 2666mhz !, but I also wanted to upgrade my wifi chip to wifi 6, so I buy an intel wifi ax201 chip, I plug it in my machine replacing the Intel 8265 it had, but after powering on, no screen or keyboard light comes, as if the machine was bricked, so i again insert the machine's intel 8265 wifi card and it boots successfully. I insert that same card into my desktop's motherboard and that recognizes it. After research i found out about this whitelisting of wifi chips by manufacturers (ASUS in my case) :(.

Finally I ask the modder again if they were able to whitelist this ax201, they said to send the same dump again, so i do and they send my back another file, I flash it with their supplied .bat file, afterwards I restart the machine only to see it does not anymore! no screen no keyboard lights, i insert the wifi ax201 to see if it would help but still same result. only the power led works and holding power button sends the laptop into a bootloop. I ask the modder what may have gone wrong and they say they are not sure as they did whitelist the ax201 device id correctly in the bios file. so as result my laptop now has bios corruption.

I will upload a complete zip file of all the files I used to dump and flash the modded roms as well as original bios that was running on my machine before i started to flash mods to it. if you need any other info please ask!
zip file

Sounds like the edit they did to whitelist your card was a failed edit and bricked the BIOS. But, it could have just been random bad flash, it happens sometimes.
Only way to know for sure is to get system running again, and then risk flashing that BIOS once more to confirm it's a bricking BIOS.
Did you ask them to double check and maybe redo the edit?

So they added ID for the new card, instead of just bypassing the whitelist check altogether?? Is that what you understood from the conversation you had?

Why are you using such an old BIOS version?

I see the cause, probable cause anyway! Padding file removed on second edit, this often = bricked BIOS
Actual module is there, but structure is changed and non-UEFI data removed, thus = non-UEFI padding file removed = brick almost always when it's removed/changed at this location (76C2C0h just above VTF)
Easy fix, either do mod properly / differently (ie use different tool, and or don't touch this PEI volume) Shouldn't have to touch this to do whitelist mod anyway, at least I think not, but I'm not sure without knowing both WIFI card ID's here.
Or replace this exact module via hex from OG BIOS to mod BIOS after final mod edit is done.

However, due to MANY edits in this PEI section, I can't say for sure this is the only issue and or only way to fix this, looks like lots of stuff was changed without reason here possibly.
Normally, to remove whitelist (bypass it), or change allowed ID's to match new card, I'd have to see the error on screen, which doesn't happen here.
So I can't be sure what is needed to be done to fix this for you like they did, so all they edited may be required, it's just not done in a way that = non-bricking BIOS here due to the padding stuff I mentioned.
All the same edits may be OK, just done differently with other tool instead may be 100% OK, only with more testing would you know.

Wait for Edit, I'll get you some images of this side by side so you can see what I mean, and or show them so they can fix for you if you want.

* Edit - @neon_xeon - OK, here is side by side images to show what I was talking about above.
This may or may not be the only issue causing the brick, but I would start there because this is one thing I check to avoid at ANY BIOS edit I do, often changed padding (added or removed) in any volume can = bricked BIOS.
And it does not always show in the bottom parser area of UEFITool like this either, any touched volume needs manually skimmed through to see if padding before/after = same/same.
This particular one however, is one of the more critical and easy to see padding to be checked, due to how it does show up at parser in UEFITool

IF All other edits in this volume, and rest of BIOS OK, and this is the only issue causing brick, this fix via direct hex replace from working BIOS to failed edit.
Or, redo the entire mods for the Whitelist edit, but use different method/tool to touch the PEI volume (ie if used UEFITool before, use MMTool instead) << This may take several tools, methods to work and figure out which is OK

@Lost_N_BIOS
Yes they said they only replaced the module id, I'll quote what they wrote "I don't understood what problem it is , bypass the whitelist need spend time to decompile and read a ton of code ,so i only replace device id within bios.If you wanna bypass whitelist , you could ask other specialist for edit whitelists , i mainly do ami bios menu unlock.
In fact ,most of asus's laptops usually doesn't include whitelist of wifi card ,only very few model had." So it was my fault to be honest to ask the modder for unlock as they do mainly deal with bios unlocks.

Anyways the reason I am using older 309 BIOS is that after 309, ASUS heavily throttled this laptop(probably to prolong battery and durability which heavily impairs CPU while GPU is in usage,reducing performance so much so that even basic windows explorer starts to lag while GPU heavy application is running like media encoding or games) I tested it with all the bios until 317, so 309 really is the last viable bios option for me.

so the bios has some unnecessary edits? yes it could be as when the bios was unlock , a special word was displayed on the lower right menu(the modders signature I believe "339 mod") probably that's where these unnecessary edits that your tool is detecting?

I have never used UEFI modding tools unfortunately, that's why I asked someone else to unlock the bios, but when the tools do arrive for me, what file would I need to do to atleast unbrick it? if i can flash a mod that has both the unlocked menu AND the whitelist bypass, that would be AMAZING! but if the mod only has bios unlock, that would be great too, just would like to get it to working atm with correct file to flash with the ch341a programmer.

@neon_xeon - I also mainly do menu unlocks, bypass whitelist is less edit than changing ID.
The issue I pointed out above is the problem (one of, or maybe only one), they need to do same edit, but rebuild BIOS another way.
As I mentioned, if they used UEFITool, use MMtool instead, show them that image and tell them this padding missing/changed in PEI volume is the problem with their 2nd edit.

I agree with him, I've never seen Asus do whitelist block usually, and your description of the issue does not sound like a blocked wifi card initially either.
Usually if wifi card is blocked, system will boot to error screen and tell you to remove the card, otherwise boot cannot proceed.
Since they've seen Asus block stuff before, they know more about this kind of edit than I do, I only know bypass whitelist if I can see the error on screen, or replace ID's like they mention (But rebuild BIOS properly so no brick)

If their edit is OK "generally" then all they need to do is properly insert those modules they edits back into the PEI volume without making that padding/non-UEFI module change (or swap it back in from original dump via straight hex, after done with other edit)

I don't know for sure if there is unnecessary edits, it looks like it, there is a TON of changes, but as I mentioned I've never seen Asus block anything so not sure how much needs edited.
In a normal whitelist edit, few bytes (2-4 maybe) need edited to bypass, or to change ID that may need ID bytes changed in 1-3 places etc
This BIOS has 100's and or 1000's of bytes changed, but many of that may be due to the volume rebuild and rebase (causing the main issue)

There you go, as you mentioned! Yes, 339 Mod is definitely unnecessary and has nothing to do with the edit you requested! He should quit doing that, this is at least 2-3rd BIOS that I can remember where I've seen it done and BIOS was bricked.
It may not be cause of the problems here, unless that module is in the PEI volume and that was his only reason for touching that volume, but it's definitely unnecessary and not part of your requested edit.
It's just him tagging the BIOS to say "I was here" Last bricked BIOS I can remember like that was this one, but there's been a few others too but I can't remember where.
We all make mistakes, and bricked BIOS during a mod can happen even when you think all is OK, but adding stuff like this just adds more risk for zero reason.

Due to rebase, and re-compress of BIOS, I could spend years trying to compare, and still never see or find all that has been changed here, so you'll really have to discuss that with him
All I can say is, that anywhere I find your other cards device ID, remains the same in the mod BIOS too. BUT, I did not disassemble anything as he mentions, because I do not have error from your screen to know what module is causing error
So without disassembly, all I see is still same, in places with your old cards ID (86 80 FD 24), which may also be other code, not relating to your card. Just same/same in before/after for that cards brand and devID together via hex
And I do not see the new card ID (86 80 F0 06) anywhere post-edit either, but as I mentioned, I don't know where the ID's he edited via assembly are stored
So I cannot extract modules to compare, only can say I still see same original ID's there in before/after using a general hex search method

To unbrick the board, once your programmer arrives, tell me your BIOS chip ID, and I will tell you what software/version is best to use to read/write with
Then all you need to do is erase, blank check, and then open your full dump you made after first unlock, then write, verify.

If he does not want to try and fix the mod BIOS he made, about the padding thing I mentioned, as a test for you, I can do it if you want? But, it may brick again, if that is not the only issue.
If that does not fix it, my suggestion to you is to go back to the original menu unlocked BIOS and use another wifi card instead, or the original Wifi card. I don't think this wifi card is blocked by any whitelist here, I think it's just not compatible
But, that is my assumption, based on all I've ever seen with blocked wifi cards. I too mainly unlock BIOS menus, only do whitelist edits on rare occasion, and only have ever done them, or seen them requested or done, when using says there is error on screen telling them me to remove card to proceed etc

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #6

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To unbrick the board, once your programmer arrives, tell me your BIOS chip ID, and I will tell you what software/version is best to use to read/write with
Then all you need to do is erase, blank check, and then open your full dump you made after first unlock, then write, verify.

If he does not want to try and fix the mod BIOS he made, about the padding thing I mentioned, as a test for you, I can do it if you want?

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@neon_xeon - Yes, but you need to tell me the BIOS chip ID first so I can tell you what software/version is best to use.
No, doing that will not erase anything, you will be programing back in the full BIOS you dumped and sent to him right after first menu unlock mod you flashed in (where all was OK, I think, correct?)
You do not need to connect programmer to chip to give me the ID, you need to read this off the chip with your eyes

Yes, specific versions of the software matter, that is my whole point why I keep saying that to you, that you need to give me the chip ID so I can tell you what software or version is best to use.
No, latest version is not best for all chips.

What do you mean "Trying a bit more" about the AX201? How can you try anything a bit more with a bricked BIOS??

Yes, I'm sure he probably does not want to hear my advice or corrections/suggestions etc, but he should since it = brick and I show the main "possible" cause.
Some people are weird that way Odd he would tell you to get programmer, when he already knows you have programmer

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #2

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@neon_xeon - Yes, that is the BIOS chip >> ID >> GD25B127 (Gigadevice)
use 1.18 with chip ID GD25Q128, or ASProgrammer using the GD25Q128C ID
Here is package with both of those programs/versions - http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...213094641136166
And here is guide on using CH341A - [GUIDE] Flash BIOS with CH341A programmer

Don't erase or write chip until you've dumped it and someone checked the file for you to be sure you have a good valid dump, then I or someone will make you a file to program back in.
For your mod flash that bricked the BIOS, what did you use as source BIOS to modify, and how did you flash it in? Please attach what you edited, before and after edit, so we can check what you did and see if the fail was in your mod, or just in how you flashed (maybe accidental CMD line error etc)

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@Lost_N_BIOS
Hi!, my programmer finally arrived, I already read the [GUIDE] Flash BIOS with CH341A programmer Guide.

Before I start anything I have some questions :
1. Could you please check if the full bios that I dumped before this this bios brick, found here has all the UUID, OEM Key, MAC id etc of my laptop?

2.After I connect and use the correct v1.18 software and follow all the procedure of the guide, IF the full_dump.rom is correct, I simply flash that whole file,correct? or do i need to rename it to .bin? Sorry for asking all these noob questions!

3. Before I flash do I need to reset cmos? (I am not sure how a CMOS reset of a laptop works) :(

4. In the future, IF my bios again gets corrupted, I can keep flashing this file(full_dump.rom) to un-brick my system again and again , correct?

EDIT : You suggested v1.18 of the CH341A Programmer, which does not detect the chip correctly using detect button , should I still use v1.18?

but v1.34 detects it correctly and displays correct manufacturer name, should I instead us v1.34 for flashing the chip?

Also the red box on the scrollbar, it is all empty value in this area, is it normal to have large chunks of empty value like this? or did i have reading error?

EDIT 2: I successfully unbricked my laptop with the working modded bios backup I had !! I used ch341a programmer v1.18 as you said! erase>blank check>Load full_dump.rom>program>verify :D, my laptop serial and mac everything is alright and good :D

but I still have not unlocked the whitelist so I am a little sad about it :(

Edit 3: I found out why the AX201 was not booting in my laptop! , it uses something called a CNvio2 interface instead of the widely compatible PCIe BT interface, even though they are both m.2 2230! the card that would be compatible with my asus machine would be a AX200 wifi card

anyways for future reference this Page details the comparison between my default 8265ac, a ax200 and ax201, at the interface notice ax201 using CNvio2 *facepalm*


Wow! Cannot believe I went through the trouble of bricking my laptop and repairing it only to find out it was incompatible because of some STUPID proprietary connection by Intel

Anyways, Happy Holidays!

(...message has moved to its right place...)

bump!