Bios: external flashing

[monopole]

i typically disable intel ME in the bios by using an external flashing config, but the bios chip on this 13th gen mainboard (i7-1360P cpu) is notably different from the 8 lead bios chips i usually connect to. the chip is wider and flatter, and its leads are not readily accessible like most other older bios chips i’ve worked with.

i typically use a soic-8 clip and a ch341a bios programmer to read and write bios chips. i do see a chip that looks like a bios chip, a winbond W25R256JVEN, between the cpu and the memory, under the lower right plastic covering.

input is appreciated, thanks!

[MJ1]

You’ll need a pogo pin adapter. It’s not a soic-8.

How to prepare for reflashing firmware

I’m rebuilding my firmware to try to fix a keyboard issue I’ve been having. I followed DHowett’s guide for building. I’m using Windows Subsystem for Linux. It seems to have built a correctly-sized binary. I followed the warning to use GCC 10. I’ve got ectool booting properly and showing version as well, but I chickened out before reflashing because I really don’t want to brick my laptop. Before doing the reflash, what tools should I get or other preparation can I do to ensure I’ll be able to re…

[monopole]

hah, i had just found some videos about these adapters for the wson package bios chips.

thanks for confirming this is the correct route.

[monopole]

ok, i have confirmed that with a wson-8 to dip-8 pogo adapter it is possible to read the bios from the chip that i suspected is the bios. note that using such a pogo adapter is error prone and requires holding the adapter seated with just the right force for 3-4 minutes.

the intel ME version i’m seeing from the bios image is 16.1.25.2124.