Saturday 17 September 2016
Next Target HPs RSA BIOS
Next Target HPs RSA BIOS
Even before I started modding Insyde bios, there was a lot of talk regarding HPs unmoddable RSA bios. Most of the initial information about these kind of bios is very misleading, and Ive been able to clear up all these misconceptions after having some people test out some things. Unfortunately I was never able to successfully mod one of these unmoddable bios primarily because I did not actually having access to a computer that used one. Fortunately this is no longer a limitation for me.
Thanks to everyone who donated, I was able to buy an HP 2000-412NR laptop! Thanks for all the support! :)
And special thanks to David WU. His additional contributions are exactly what I needed to start working on these bios without any concerns. Ive met very few people as generous as him!
Update: So its been four days since I started this, and these bios have proven to be very difficult to work with. I have been able to make some head way on isolating the signature check based on a lot of comparisons between bios revisions! And thanks for all the support from the people Ive contacted about this. The bios modding community is incredible! :)
Update: One the sixth day, the most crucial piece of information was discovered accidentally.
Update: Day 29: After much doubt in the US postal system, I finally received David WUs contribution! Thanks again! I cant thank everyone enough for all the support. Already ripping apart the new laptop to test out the external programmer :)
Long story short, I need to buy a new mobo...
Update: Day 89: Only have a week before school starts again, and Im hoping to get this done before then. So after a few tests, I was able to determine that its definitely the PEI that verifies the DXE.
Some more good news! Heres a picture of the worlds first modded RSA bios :) Its the sp57474 F.19 bios with its "Main" formset renamed to "Nain".
Update: Day 90: Having some trouble determining what verifies the PEI. I think it might be the flasher. It also seems like the PEI is only verified once, and if it fails, then it reverts back to the previous PEI. The DXE is verified every time the computer starts, and it will brick if it fails the check. I plan on going a lot more into details about how I came to these conclusions in another post. So now we just have to find what part of the bios verifies the PEI and what part of the PEI verifies the DXE, then these bios will be moddable. Hopefully Ill have one of these two figured out today.
Update: Day 102: I guess the SPI programmer that Im using doesnt support PCT brand chips, so I couldnt continue my work. I ordered a PCT chip off eBay to verify that it was issues with the flasher, but the seller sent the SST brand even though the item description and picture states otherwise. I was probably just unlucky, but I dont want to risk receiving the wrong part from another seller so I just decided to order a different universal programmer. Hopefully Ill get that soon :)
Update: Day 129: Finally located the module in the PEI that verifies the DXE!
Update: Day 135: Was able to modify the PEI so that it doesnt verify the DXE. Now all thats left it to determine what is verifying the PEI and remove that check. Then RSA bios will be moddable.
Update: Day 149: Wow, bypassing the verification of the PEI was really simple. Well thats everything; I now know how to modify HPs RSA bios. Probably one of the biggest accomplishments of my life :) Hope you all enjoyed the updates.
Available link for download
