Forum RSS Feed Follow @ Twitter Follow On Facebook

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
[-]
Welcome
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username:


Password:





[-]
Latest Threads
[Request] Lenovo v520s sff unit bios sup...
Last Post: alegatorul
Today 04:31 AM
» Replies: 16
» Views: 3571
[REQUEST] Lenovo Ideapad Z710 (7FCNxxWW)...
Last Post: Dudu2002
Yesterday 03:56 PM
» Replies: 224
» Views: 140211
[Request] Mod Adaptec ARCCONF to allow x...
Last Post: Teetrinker
09-13-2025 10:14 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 3320
[REQUEST] Lenovo G580 (5ECNxxWW) Whiteli...
Last Post: Princeneo
09-12-2025 09:23 AM
» Replies: 1726
» Views: 908270
[REQUEST] Lenovo Ideapad 100-14IBD & 100...
Last Post: Dudu2002
09-12-2025 02:22 AM
» Replies: 26
» Views: 29591
[REQUEST] Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 BIOS Unl...
Last Post: iku56m22v
09-11-2025 10:02 AM
» Replies: 37
» Views: 33161
3rd Party RAM Mod For HP EliteDesk 705 G...
Last Post: AmyGrrl
09-10-2025 09:40 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 5341
MSI PR210 AHCI
Last Post: iday82
09-09-2025 04:40 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 5449
Honor Magicbook D14 Ryzen 4800H
Last Post: Altermann
09-09-2025 05:04 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 5565
[REQUEST] Thinkpad X60S WiFi WhiteList r...
Last Post: Vigor89
09-08-2025 04:46 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 6735
[REQUEST] GIGABYTE G6 MF (2024) Bios Unl...
Last Post: lovesickugh
09-07-2025 09:15 PM
» Replies: 3
» Views: 11123
Gigabyte GA-G33-DS3R: USB Boot
Last Post: dinix
09-04-2025 10:37 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 8539
Optiplex 7060 SFF 9th Generation Intel C...
Last Post: DeathBringer
08-31-2025 01:59 AM
» Replies: 68
» Views: 39163
Bios Powered classmate
Last Post: MosheNessi
08-28-2025 08:08 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 8418
[REQUEST] Lenovo Thinkpad X12 Detachable...
Last Post: Kokoko123
08-28-2025 12:48 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 8679
[REQUEST] Unlock advanced options to HP ...
Last Post: huguito
08-26-2025 02:57 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 8643
[REQUEST] Dell Precision T3500 BIOS Unlo...
Last Post: DEX0ZEN
08-25-2025 01:30 PM
» Replies: 45
» Views: 57903
[REQUEST] Samsung NP900X4D AES-NI enable...
Last Post: Vesly
08-23-2025 05:25 PM
» Replies: 63
» Views: 53239
Acer Veriton X2640G Xeon support
Last Post: hercares
08-19-2025 03:21 PM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 2784
[Success] [Bios Mod] Dell XPS L321X EFI ...
Last Post: tuwumo
08-17-2025 11:37 AM
» Replies: 18
» Views: 36027

Gateway ML3108; BIOS mod to support Turion X2
#1
The BIOS file can be downloaded from here.

This BIOS belongs to the Gateway ML3108 laptop. It is also used in several other Gateway laptops which were shipped with AMD Sempron, AMD Turion, and AMD Turion X2 CPUs. I'm amongst a few how have tried to update their Gateway laptops from a Sempron to a Turion X2. The Turion X2 is recognised and identified correctly by the BIOS, but the laptop refuses to load the OS, and instead displays the following message:

'Fatal Error !!! Please change CPU !!!'

I've tried a TL50, a TL52, and a TL60. Since some of the laptops using this BIOS are shipped with Turion X2, I'm thinking that Gateway is using a sort of a white list to stop people from upgrading their CPU.

I've requested help in various forums but no one was able to help. These are some of the threads I posted in the past:
Link1, Link2, Link 3

I need help locating the routine inside the BIOS that checks the CPU ID and disable it so that the laptop can load the OS instead of displaying the above error message and halting.

I've opened the BIOS in Phoenix BIOS Editor, and was able to find the above error message inside the 'STRINGS0.ROM' file. I tried to disassemble the BIOS with IDA pro but failed. I'm having issues locating the BIOS 'entry point'. Unless I'm doing something wrong, the usual 'entry point' at the offset F000:FFF0 doesn't seem to work.

This is what I did in IDA:
1- I open the 7910.ROM file in IDA Free 5.0 in 16-bit mode.
2- Following the info emailed to 'kizwan' by 'asscut', I clicked on Edit -> Segments -> Create Segment, and set the following parameters:
Name: F000
Start address: 0x00070000
End adress: 0x00080000
Base: 0x7000
Class: Code
16-bit segment
3- I went to segment F000:FFF0 and pressed 'C' to start the autoanalysis but nothing realy happens. IDA complains saying: "Command 'MakeCode' failed".

I have been trying to got the upgrade to work for 4 years now. I've bought a 2nd hand Gateway ML3108 laptop and a TL58 just so I can experiment.

I would appreciate any help any help I can get.
Thanks
find
quote


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)